Christmas time in Haputale
View(s):By Shireen Senadhira
It was 5 p. m., and many parents were trickling in through the gates of a plantation in Haputale, as invited. They took their seats in the garden looking towards the large porch of the house where a stage was set up.
Miss. Annie was the plantation owner and she was having a merry time in the lobby of the house that had been turned into a children’s dressing room for the evening. Some thought Miss. Annie eccentric but she was well thought of by the children who worked with her in the garden and with her animals in the animal yard. Miss. Annie gave them their meals and also gave them English lessons. The children loved her. Together they had planned a little concert for the evening.
In the lobby, Miss. Annie and a friend painted the children’s faces, put lipstick and powder, rubbed glitter on their faces and stuck stars on the cheeks of the dancers. Miss. Annie was attired in a long skirt in pastel shades with a shiny blouse. Her hair was in streaks of pastel colour and glitter shone on her face and arms. She certainly outdid her macaws in the animal yard. Her two big dogs, friendly retrievers, not wanting to be left out, were weaving in and out among the children.
First in the programme was the Nativity play. Mary and Joseph took their places to go out on the stage. When Mary dropped Baby Jesus in the scurry, Joseph gave her a scuff. Others scolded Joseph. There was a little rumpus. Tears sprang in Mary’s eyes when she bent to lift the little doll Baby Jesus and Rosen one of the dogs gave her a comforting nudge with his snout.
Miss. Annie overseeing it, held her index finger high. When Mary saw the twinkling eyes of Miss. Annie, all returned to normal and the cast took their places. They enacted the Bethlehem scene.
Miss. Annie’s friends provided the music. The costumes were provided by the hostess and her friends. The Nativity play was enacted with the Holy Family, the three kings, the shepherds and some farm animals and ended in loud applause.
The play was followed by dances with much ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’. The concert ended with many carols sung in English, Sinhalese and Tamil.
Miss. Annie’s garden was like a fairyland when the lights came up and a big pine tree was decorated with tinsel, balloons and large shiny ornaments. It was indeed a beautiful and heartwarming scene. The much awaited goodies were served. There were sandwiches, cupcakes, sweets, patties and cutlets.
It was a jolly party with the parents too enjoying all the goodies. They washed them down with the fruit punch made by Miss. Annie. Then Santa arrived with a big ‘Ho, Ho, Ho,’ and gave the children gifts from a big sack. Some of them received games, others books, some clothes and the little ones got toys. The parents thanked the hostess and friends and left, some carrying the little ones nodding off to sleep.
Miss. Annie and her friends relaxed and put off arranging the place for the next day. It was very late when they went off to sleep. However, Miss. Annie was up early the next morning to attend to her animals with the gardener. Her friends were still fast asleep. When they woke and joined Miss. Annie in the garden everything was in order. All the chairs were piled up neatly and the garden swept.
There was a surprise under the Christmas tree. Many gifts lay there. There were whole combs of bananas, pineapples, avocado pears, oranges, mandarins, curd and honey, bundles of jaggery, baskets of vegetables and flowers. Miss. Annie showed them to her friends and said how touched and appreciative she was. Then, the friends started talking excitedly:
“Wow, Santa has certainly come.” “Isn’t it great?” “Should we have another party?” “Yes, we could have a lunch.” “Stop, stop, don’t get carried away.” “Why not? These are the things that carry us really away.”
Miss. Annie smiled and said, “This is what Christmas is all about. Giving and receiving.”