The 4th CHRISTMAS GHOST

The 

FOURTH CHRISTMAS GHOST?

The Ghost of Christmas Never To Be ... 

Again.

Perhaps Christmas 

will never be as innocent 

as we remember

 because we are not 

as innocent as we were then.

Families were bigger in the Christmases of the Past

Now, single child families are the norm ...

where Mommy and Daddy 

may be separated, divorced, or 

never together

in the first place.

LONELY

is now the word that comes to mind

at the mention of

Christmas

for many

 when once it used to be 

JOY 

POVERTY

Christmas has become a season of sorrow for many women who can barely put food on the table, 

much less presents under the tree. 

My mother was one such person.

Weeknight movies were cheaper than weekend showings.  

On the way back to our basement apartment, 

we would walk down dark, scary streets holding hands

and singing our theme song, Side By Side:

Oh! We ain`t got a barrel of money
Maybe we`re ragged and funny
But we`ll travel along
Singing a song
Side by side

With no money for a tree, 

Mother scooped up the largest fallen branch from the lot selling them and brought it home.

Topped with shiny aluminum scraps from Hershey's kisses, 

it was just as wonderful to me as the one in New York's Time Square.

CHRISTMAS MAGIC

Can be conjured to push back the 4th Christmas Ghost, if we but cling to the truth that love and imagination

is within the heart of each of us to share 

with all those in our world who are going through harder times than they appear.

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Celebrate Christmas Eve in 1946 

New Orleans. 

The ghost of Charles Dickens 

recommends it!