Christmas Time! Holiday wishes, and book, by Chimezie Ihekuna

Large church with lit windows surrounded by ice, snow, evergreen trees, and people walking nearby with warm coats and hats. Santa's there with gifts in his sleigh.

Christmas Time! is a collection of short stories that reflects the mood of the season-Christmas-as it affects the lives of people who have its worth appreciated. From children to young adults, it mirrors, in the form of stories, the ordeals people go through to observe the yuletide but the encouragement they get, the courage they summon, the inspiration and the motivation they receive leave footprints of happy endings-celebrating the season in delight.

From one of our regular contributors, based in Lagos, Nigeria.

The collection is available here. 

Excerpt from Christmas Time! 

Introduction

“A Christmas to Remember” tells a story of a certain couple, Frances and Sean, whose over-the-years Christmas celebration routine was cut short by the inability of Ron, Sean long-time friend , to pay back his debt as at the time stipulated. His whereabouts weren’t known and this subsequently brought hopelessness to Sean (though he had some ‘belief’ that something would happen) until the eleventh hour miracle…barely two hours before Christmas-the 25th day of December. His twin daughters witnessed it!

Chapter two shows the  sudden end  of a relationship that existed between Sandra and Grace when a Skater,  disabled in physique, hit Sandra on their way coming home from the shopping mall, after the purchase of their favorite cloth- The Grant’s Designer’s Blouse. This was seven days to Christmas. Grace’s sudden departure from Sandra’s life paved way for James, the skater, whose life experienced a meaning…seven days to Christmas. It continued afterwards…

Chapter Three’s “I Love Christmas” portrays the boy-in-a-man figure in Mr. Ted whose ‘boy-child’ manner was inspired by the statement his five-year-old son, Grant, made, ‘I Love Christmas’.  The way Mr. Ted and his wife celebrated Christmas as their son had fun with his peers, was a scene to behold!

“Your Christmas View” is a play depicting how the long-held ‘tradition’ (yearly hosting of the event-twenty four hours before Christmas and whose venues were held at their various apartments) of meeting of Yates and friends not only ensured the proper view of Christmas to readers or listeners but enabled he and his wife, Michelle, to be in the ‘business’ of putting to proper perspective the view of Christmas in the life of their twelve –year-old daughter, Jasmine using what we recorded the last time  the event was hosted- ‘Your Christmas View Hosted by Yates’.

The feel of sensuality in the stories harmonizing with their “messaging” undertones, and the unveiling of the article: “Christmas: Recognizing its true worth” birth…Christmas Time!

Merry Christmas!