Christmas In Its Place

ONCE upon a time there was a little girl who didn't believe in Christmas, Santa Claus, God or the spirit of the season. She knew that Christmas cards were a commercial gimmick and that Christmas itself was a suckers' trap put out by greedy merchants. "Christmas is for kids and the birds" was her sophisticated observation. This little girl also knew that Christmas was the loneliest day of the three hundred and sixty-five day year and it bothered her three hundred and sixty-four days.