Cheery Yuletide tales
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Christmas Light by
M.T.L. Ebell
Published by Vijitha Yapa Publishers
Price: Rs 400
Reviewed by Yomal Senerath-Yapa
Christmas Light by M.T.L. Ebell harks back to the joyful tradition of Yuletide tales – cheery, bright like the star over Bethlehem, spreading the warmth in the manger whereto came the shepherds and kings from the East to worship the Christ Child.
Ms. Ebell has produced prose and poetry at regular intervals always with a remarkable perspicacity when it comes to observation. This collection of tales of Noel reflects the variety of audiences she has: there is a Beatrix Potter-like tale of woodland creatures getting ready for the holy day with nut gathering as well as the story of an international school teacher who has to grapple with an unforeseen pregnancy as the season beckons.
Just like the very tradition of Christmas stories, Ms. Ebell’s collection too begins in Bethlehem. It has to do with the inn where Joseph and Mary sought refuge, and the dramatis personae include the henpecked inn-keeper, his wife and their old mule whom she insists should be got rid of.
Written over five decades and published originally in a medley of publications, these stories and a poem make up such a variegated feast.
Two stories skip ahead to Christmases yet to come, well nigh a century away in the future. One concerns a little girl in the twenty second century who wants to be a historian and regards not the creed of ‘all forward-looking compatriots’- “Foresee, Foretell, Forecast”. In a world where Christmas is extinct, her faith in an anachronistic tradition is blessed with a miracle.
The longest story in the collection is Recording App where Ms. Ebell shows how impecunious we would be without traditions like Christmas to fill the hearts with ‘Hark the herald angels sing’ and the message of Jesus on a nippy night when a comet trails. It features a ‘recording apprentice angel’ from Heaven getting in touch via the interface of a dead boy with a generation who have only vaguely heard of the ‘retro-festival Yule’.
Stories celebrate the flurry of activity that usually precedes Christmas in households- told with humour when children contribute to the seasonal frolic. Others look at how the season brings messages that reaffirm our faith.
The tales have all been reworked to suit the times. The tale Trouble in Jerusalem, first written in 1978, needs special mention. It is told by a shepherd (whose father ‘killed wolves with his bare hands’) who witnesses the birth at Bethlehem and the Golgotha. It is resonant and raw, powerful- with the message of the season.
The collection is filled with the hope of the nativity and makes for an illuminating read.
Christmas Light is available at Vijitha Yapa bookshops.
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