The Boy that stole Christmas!

When I was growing up in Ireland Christmas was a very special time. Weeks before Christmas my mother starting making the plum pudding. I think that was what they called it anyway my mother boiled it in a white flower bag for days over the fire. It was full of fruit. We did not have a Christmas tree or lights but we had holly that grows on the holly tree from the farm.

One of the special times for me at Christmas was when Santa came. He usually brought us some shoes and candy that we normally never had all year. One of the bad, but funny times was my brother had figured out who the real Santa was. After my mother father did their Santa thing my brother used to sneak up to our stockings and eat some of our candy. Even thought my mother and father knew someone was doing it they couldn't confront the thief because that would let the Santa thing out of the bag so they set out to catch the thief in the act.

It just so happened to be that year my brother wanted company in his sneak hole watching the Santa's do their thing. He told me who was really Santa and brought me along to watch from his hiding place. I was sad and shocked.

Just after I'd seen Santa filling our stockings I heard a big slam behind me. It was my mother with the broom. The broom was her favorite weapon and sent us running for our life's. No matter how hard I tried to explain that I was new to my brothers game no one believed me. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of the punishments for my brother and I was my mother took all the candy out of our stockings and give it to my other 3 sisters who knew nothing about the crime. That was a big punishment since there was no more Santa for me.

I still do not know who was sneaking on who but I do know I lost a piece of my childhood that Christmas.