par Nicolas RAINER

Comity has come to town, albeit temporarily. And the festive season is the catalyst of this atmosphere of collective harmony. As bad taste engulfs the nation in a tsunami of tinsel, promotional offers and fake plastic trees, politicians are left marvelling at the ability of Christmas and New Year to extricate the population from the mire of pessimism that pervades the rest of the year.

How is it that no amount of social and economic engineering can rival the sheer enthusiasm unleashed by the arrival of the end of year? One of the answers is that people want to feel happy and exalted. In fact, it?s all they ask for. Even if they spend much of the rest of the time pretending otherwise. Humans complicate their lives with details that are ultimately insignificant. Even if the true meaning of Christmas and New Year have long been lost in a frenzy of unadulterated consumerism, the two events instinctively startle the population out of its habitual stupor in the same way that the ringing of Pavlov?s bell caused his dog to salivate.

Contrarily to what Counting Crows expounds in ?Long December?, there is no reason to believe that next year will be better than the last. In fact, most signs indicate that it could actually be far worse. Yet people persist in thinking that shedding the skin of 2005 and slipping on that of 2006 will bring light to their lives. This is another typical human trait. Just like they hoped that by simply electing a new government their standard of living would miraculously shoot upwards. But that is another issue?

In Paul Auster?s short story, ?Auggie Wren?s Christmas Song?, the grumpy and blasé eponymous protagonist decides to return the wallet of a young delinquent, Robert Goodwin. The latter had dropped it whilst attempting to steal a pornographic magazine from his tobacco shop. When Auggie Wren arrives at the address indicated in the wallet he is greeted by a blind old lady who is none other than the delinquent?s grandmother. When he asks for Robert Goodwin, the lady says something along the lines of, ?Is that you Robert? I knew you?d come. I knew you wouldn?t forget your Granny Ethel on Christmas ?.

Not wanting to disappoint her, Auggie spends the whole evening pretending to be Robert, even if he knows that Granny Ethel isn?t fooled by his role-play. ?It was like a game we?d both decided to play?, he recounts in the story. Auggie then prepares a Christmas dinner for Ethel and tells her ?a hundred pretty stories?. He quietly slips away when she falls asleep after the meal. Needless to say, Auggie leaves Ethel?s apartment feeling rather content with himself.

?Auggie Wren?s Christmas Song? simply illustrates the point that this time of the year drives us to do things we normally wouldn?t dream of doing. It sometimes even brings the best out of us. Whatever next year may have in store, make the most of the now and the here. Enjoy the company of your friends and family, don?t drink and drive and simply be happy. Oh, and, champagne oblige, drink a lot of water before going to sleep in the early hours of 2006.