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Description
I first heard about it when dad picked me up from school. Stucked in traffic jam, we listened to the radio, it was 'the news time'. Of course, they stared off with the most tasty and the most shocking bit.

Christmas is cancelled this year. At least in Britain.

'What?', I muttered, not really believing my ears. My father also seemed puzzled, judging by the crease that appeared on his forehead. He glanced at the radio as if it could bite him if he touched it. I hurried up and increased the volume, trying not to miss the littlest piece of information.

'… the idea was brought up in Copenhagen, where the United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place… christmas was claimed to be 'one of the causes of global warming' as millions of electric-powered Christmas decorations are used every year, each one emitting additional heat into the atmosphere and causing overuse of the current energy… both Queen and Prime Minister had confirmed the event's cancellation…protests against the decision are held in cities across Europe and North America…The crowd which gathered in Rome in front of the St. Paul's Chapel…'

I listened to the bits of information which my mind could process, still doubtful.

'They can't cancel Christmas,', said I, turning the radio off. They won't play any Chritmas songs anyway. 'Can they?', I asked, hoping that dad will just comfort and pat me, saying that everything will be okay. Instead, his reply was quick and simple.

'I don't know,' he sighed. 'But your mother is going to be furious.'

And indeed she was.

'Have you heard the news?!', she exclaimed as soon as we had stepped through the front door. Normally I would not know what news she meant: it could be anything, from grandpa's heart attack to George Clooney finding a new girlfriend. But today, we knew what she was thinking about. She meant THE NEWS.

'Yeah… But chill out, mum, I'm sure it's some kind of a–'

'Joke?', she interrupted me. 'I doubt it, this is bloody serious! Take off your shoes, honey… I mean, what is Gordon Brown thinking? That he could just cancel Christmas, who is he to do that? Even bloody Gordon Ramsey would have been a better PM!'

I obeyed her command and stepped into the living room, my dad followed. Neither of us commented on mum's political views. However, as we sat by the table, waiting for dinner to be served, it was clear that she hasn't finished yet.

'Oh, Harold, what are we going to do?', she cried. 'Everything's arranged… All presents bought… YOU, don't listen to this!', she said, meaning me.

'It's not like I do believe in Santa, mum…', I shrugged and turned the TV on. I wasn't surprised to see THE NEWS on BBC.

My parents were talking in low voices, murmuring something about aunt Marge and cousin Barry. Oh, they must be seeing red. Barry won't receive the newest, the fanciest and the most expensive mobile phone available in the world.

What a pity.

I focused on the speaker in the television. She was presenting arguments for and against THE IDEA, and I must say that I was now a little more convinced that it made sense. Generally, it seemed reasonable. Since the global warming gets our butts, and hasn't been resolved yet, it is a wise thing to do to remove the reason. So, Christmas and its lights… Literally heating the atmosphere up. I have no idea how the ambassadors in Copenhagen came up with the ridiculous idea of canceling Christmas because of it and I don't really care. But how come somebody had accepted it? The programme I was watching informed that almost half of the EU, as well as U.S, have agreed and the other half is still to decide.

'This will cause strife, I tell you', I voiced my thoughts, 'it's an important event in Christian calendar. Can they revoke it just like that?'

'Maybe it will be postponed', suggested dad. 'I've read that Christ was in fact born in August. Why don't we try celebrating it then?'

'No spirit!', shouted my mum from the kitchen, accompanied by the sound of tapping bowls. 'No snow!'

'There is no snow now,' said I. 'And what would be the difference, if it was in August? I thought the idea was to cancel it.'

'Oh, you know… Days are longer in summer, so there won't be the need to light the lamps.'

I laughed. 'Sorry, it makes no sense. Do you light them because it's dark? Or because it looks nice?' Just after finishing the question I heard my mobile phone ringing with Santa Claus' famous 'ho, ho, ho!'. 'Moreover, there will be winter in Australia. It makes no difference.'

'But winter in Australia is different to winter here', my father defended his thesis, as I read the text message that I had just received. My friend, Lee, wrote:

'lulz. no presents this year huh. undress the tree gurl or im informing the police ur breaking the law'

'ur not having the xmas tree either, duh', I texted her back and looked at my dad. Apparently he was waiting for answer.

'Uhm, sorry, I wasn't listening…'

My dad just rolled his eyes. Luckily, my mother saved me by entering with three plates of fried eggs and chips.

'Ronnie's not coming?', I asked. Ronnie was my older brother. My mum shook her head.

'Speaking of which, I bet he loves THE IDEA', she commented. 'Imagine how many turkeys it would save!'

I giggled. Ronnie's vegetarianism wasn't accepted fully by my parents, who considered it as another teenage extravagation.

We started to eat. The TV was still on, so was THE NEWS.

'Oh, the Pope agreed!', exclaimed m mum. 'The world is going mad…'

My phone rang again. The 'ho, ho, ho!' signal sounded more grotesque than before.

'danish rules dont apply to us chinese', Lee wrote.

'Hah, it seems like Lee's having normal celebration', said I.

'Oh? Why is that?'

'She says that >>Danish rules don't apply to Chinese<<'.

My parents giggled. 'Well said', commented dad.

For a while, we ate in silence.

'Let's look for pros', I broke it. 'We'll save up a fair amount next year. Ronnie won't argue with you about the turkey. So much paper will we saved without Christmas cards! And we will save the world!'

'Yeah.'

'Ah.'

'You're not eager to save the world, are you', I said bluntly. At least they won't cancel the New Year's Eve…', I haven't stopped looking for positive sides.

'Let's hope so.'

'I won't go to school…'

'Oh no, schools are open during the what-it-used-to-be-Christmas, you're going.'

'Mu-um! I'm totally not going!', I opposed.

'Yes, you are.'

'So let's rebel! Let's have a proper Christmas Eve! What a conspiracy!', I exclaimed. 'What d'you think?'

'I think… You're going.'

Well, considering that aspect of the new law, it was a really, really senseless one.

Description
I first heard about it when dad picked me up from school. Stucked in traffic jam, we listened to the radio, it was 'the news time'. Of course, they stared off with the most tasty and the most shocking bit.

Christmas is cancelled this year. At least in Britain.

'What?', I muttered, not really believing my ears. My father also seemed puzzled, judging by the crease that appeared on his forehead. He glanced at the radio as if it could bite him if he touched it. I hurried up and increased the volume, trying not to miss the littlest piece of information.

'… the idea was brought up in Copenhagen, where the United Nations Climate Change Conference takes place… christmas was claimed to be 'one of the causes of global warming' as millions of electric-powered Christmas decorations are used every year, each one emitting additional heat into the atmosphere and causing overuse of the current energy… both Queen and Prime Minister had confirmed the event's cancellation…protests against the decision are held in cities across Europe and North America…The crowd which gathered in Rome in front of the St. Paul's Chapel…'

I listened to the bits of information which my mind could process, still doubtful.

'They can't cancel Christmas,', said I, turning the radio off. They won't play any Chritmas songs anyway. 'Can they?', I asked, hoping that dad will just comfort and pat me, saying that everything will be okay. Instead, his reply was quick and simple.

'I don't know,' he sighed. 'But your mother is going to be furious.'

And indeed she was.

'Have you heard the news?!', she exclaimed as soon as we had stepped through the front door. Normally I would not know what news she meant: it could be anything, from grandpa's heart attack to George Clooney finding a new girlfriend. But today, we knew what she was thinking about. She meant THE NEWS.

'Yeah… But chill out, mum, I'm sure it's some kind of a–'

'Joke?', she interrupted me. 'I doubt it, this is bloody serious! Take off your shoes, honey… I mean, what is Gordon Brown thinking? That he could just cancel Christmas, who is he to do that? Even bloody Gordon Ramsey would have been a better PM!'

I obeyed her command and stepped into the living room, my dad followed. Neither of us commented on mum's political views. However, as we sat by the table, waiting for dinner to be served, it was clear that she hasn't finished yet.

'Oh, Harold, what are we going to do?', she cried. 'Everything's arranged… All presents bought… YOU, don't listen to this!', she said, meaning me.

'It's not like I do believe in Santa, mum…', I shrugged and turned the TV on. I wasn't surprised to see THE NEWS on BBC.

My parents were talking in low voices, murmuring something about aunt Marge and cousin Barry. Oh, they must be seeing red. Barry won't receive the newest, the fanciest and the most expensive mobile phone available in the world.

What a pity.

I focused on the speaker in the television. She was presenting arguments for and against THE IDEA, and I must say that I was now a little more convinced that it made sense. Generally, it seemed reasonable. Since the global warming gets our butts, and hasn't been resolved yet, it is a wise thing to do to remove the reason. So, Christmas and its lights… Literally heating the atmosphere up. I have no idea how the ambassadors in Copenhagen came up with the ridiculous idea of canceling Christmas because of it and I don't really care. But how come somebody had accepted it? The programme I was watching informed that almost half of the EU, as well as U.S, have agreed and the other half is still to decide.

'This will cause strife, I tell you', I voiced my thoughts, 'it's an important event in Christian calendar. Can they revoke it just like that?'

'Maybe it will be postponed', suggested dad. 'I've read that Christ was in fact born in August. Why don't we try celebrating it then?'

'No spirit!', shouted my mum from the kitchen, accompanied by the sound of tapping bowls. 'No snow!'

'There is no snow now,' said I. 'And what would be the difference, if it was in August? I thought the idea was to cancel it.'

'Oh, you know… Days are longer in summer, so there won't be the need to light the lamps.'

I laughed. 'Sorry, it makes no sense. Do you light them because it's dark? Or because it looks nice?' Just after finishing the question I heard my mobile phone ringing with Santa Claus' famous 'ho, ho, ho!'. 'Moreover, there will be winter in Australia. It makes no difference.'

'But winter in Australia is different to winter here', my father defended his thesis, as I read the text message that I had just received. My friend, Lee, wrote:

'lulz. no presents this year huh. undress the tree gurl or im informing the police ur breaking the law'

'ur not having the xmas tree either, duh', I texted her back and looked at my dad. Apparently he was waiting for answer.

'Uhm, sorry, I wasn't listening…'

My dad just rolled his eyes. Luckily, my mother saved me by entering with three plates of fried eggs and chips.

'Ronnie's not coming?', I asked. Ronnie was my older brother. My mum shook her head.

'Speaking of which, I bet he loves THE IDEA', she commented. 'Imagine how many turkeys it would save!'

I giggled. Ronnie's vegetarianism wasn't accepted fully by my parents, who considered it as another teenage extravagation.

We started to eat. The TV was still on, so was THE NEWS.

'Oh, the Pope agreed!', exclaimed m mum. 'The world is going mad…'

My phone rang again. The 'ho, ho, ho!' signal sounded more grotesque than before.

'danish rules dont apply to us chinese', Lee wrote.

'Hah, it seems like Lee's having normal celebration', said I.

'Oh? Why is that?'

'She says that >>Danish rules don't apply to Chinese<<'.

My parents giggled. 'Well said', commented dad.

For a while, we ate in silence.

'Let's look for pros', I broke it. 'We'll save up a fair amount next year. Ronnie won't argue with you about the turkey. So much paper will we saved without Christmas cards! And we will save the world!'

'Yeah.'

'Ah.'

'You're not eager to save the world, are you', I said bluntly. At least they won't cancel the New Year's Eve…', I haven't stopped looking for positive sides.

'Let's hope so.'

'I won't go to school…'

'Oh no, schools are open during the what-it-used-to-be-Christmas, you're going.'

'Mu-um! I'm totally not going!', I opposed.

'Yes, you are.'

'So let's rebel! Let's have a proper Christmas Eve! What a conspiracy!', I exclaimed. 'What d'you think?'

'I think… You're going.'

Well, considering that aspect of the new law, it was a really, really senseless one.