Rakkaudella, Joulupukki
With love from Joulupukki
Nyt se luulee, että kaikki suomalaiset uskovat joulupukkiin.
Näin siinä kävi.
Koko aamupäivä vierähti joulupaketteja kääriessä ja kortteja kirjoittaessa - viime tipassa liikkeellä niin kuin yleensä. Teoriassa paketit ehtivät vielä jouluksi Suomeen.
Herra säveltäjä on näinä päivinä kovin kiireinen pienien lyijykynäpisteidensä kanssa, joten paketoin myös Englantiin lähtevät paketit ja uskaltauduin kirjoittamaan pienet pakettikortit (en siis oikeita joulukortteja, johon kirjoitetaan kuulumiset ja sensellaista). Totuttuun tapaan vetäisin kauniilla käsialalla kuhunkin lahjan saajan nimen.
Jossain vaiheessa apuvoimat saapuivat, ja kaikki saatiin kasaan puolta tuntia ennen postin lähtemistä. Mutta pakettikortit eivät läpäisseet tarkastusta. On näemmä epäkohteliasta kirjoittaa vain saajan nimi.
"Niihin pannaan, että To X - with love from A & A", minua valistettiin.
"Ei meillä vaan koskaan laiteta muuta kuin pelkkä nimi."
"Mitä ihmettä varten? Miksei antajan nimeä?"
"No kun muutenhan selviää, keneltä lahjat tulevat."
"Mitä sitten vaikka selviäisi?"
"No kun niittenhän on tarkoitus tulla joulupukilta... "
Ja ai että sitä naurettiin taas kauheasti kun vaimo on ihan hassu ja hellyttävän etninen.
***
Now he thinks all Finns believe in Father Christmas - or Santa Claus, or Joulupukki.
This is how it came about:
I had spent the morning writing cards and wrapping presents - as usual, we were in a bit of a hurry to get everything in the mail so that they make it to Finland and England for Christmas. In theory they still might. They usually do (which is why I guess I do believe in Him after all).
The Composer is very busy these days with his little pencil dots. I was having fun with wrapping paper and sealing wax and had even filled in the little cards that go with each present. In my usual way, I just wrote the name of the recipient on each gift card - pretty ones they were, too, with pictures of snowmen and snowflakes with a bit of glitter glued on.
Eventually he came from the back room to help. We got everything ready just before the mail leaves Robertson (3:15 pm on weekdays). Only the little cards did not pass the inspection.
"Why on Earth did you not write our names? You should write: To X - with love from A & A"
"I never do."
"Whyever not?"
"Because then they'd know who the presents are from."
"Well, why shouldn't they?"
"Because that's not how it is done... all the presents are meant to come from Joulupukki..."
A lot of hearty laughter. Dear wife was again charmingly silly and oh-so ethnic.
(I squeezed in the rest of the text.)
Comments - Kommentit
DATE: 9:47 PM
Hmmm. You'd think the Australian postmark might be a bit of a giveaway...On the early-wrapping front, we suffer more than we used to because we seem to acquire more and more families (totally disparate) as we go along. So there's the two halves of "my" family (me, my mum, my sister and her fiance OR me, my dad, my sister and her fiance) plus extended family of mother (approx. eight hours north) and extended family of father (conveniently close, not that we see them with much greater frequency) plus urban family of close friends plus, these days, extended family of sister's fiance (who is half-American so is genetically engineered to go a bit overboard on the decorating front). Phew.Between early installations of Christmas and late installations of Christmas and Christmas itself and a much-rehearsed carol service about a week beforehand and plans for new year's eve and the oh-so-inconvenient birthdays of the rotters who have them any time within the late-November-through-December front, it'd just be easier to plan for Christmas in January and get it out of the way.Today our Christmas tree (a venerable 110 cm of plastic bonsai fir over ten years old) spontaneously lost a "leg" and nearly knocked one of my students out. Fun!And for the record, "charmingly silly" is a highly undervalued character trait.I think I've set a record now for the least exclamation marks used in one of these messages.A quick seasonal top up:!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: anonymity is a wonderful thing (not that I've ever been particular | February 23, 2006 06:17 PM
DATE: 12:45 AM
Wow. What an epistle by "Anonymity, etc". You will need a rest after Christmas, if not beforehand, from just thinking about it.Don't forget to actually enjoy it, will you?I also liked the "charmingly silly" reference. Nice, but elegant too. Denis
Posted by: Denis Wilson | February 23, 2006 06:17 PM
DATE: 9:01 AM
You are not only gifted at it, you are redefining the whole concept of anonymity! And Denis is right, I hope you have nothing too strenous planned for January (?).Anni
Posted by: ah | February 23, 2006 06:17 PM
DATE: 3:12 AM
We all need a bit of magic in this harsh world. I clap my hands when Peter Pan asks if we believe in fairies, to save Tnkerbell from extinction!
Posted by: Marford | February 23, 2006 06:17 PM
Päivitys 2006: Lahjat ehtivät perille vasta joulun jälkeen.
Update in 2006: The presents did not make it in time.
Posted by: Anni | February 25, 2006 05:23 PM