A Very Strange Christmas! is a story designed to wet one’s appetite to the traditions for which Christmas stands. Centered around a loner who is born in 1901 into a poor family in England, his father is an alcoholic who rarely holds down a job while his mother is the catalyst who holds the family together but passes away shortly after his ninth birthday.
On Christmas Eve in 1932, penniless, thirsty, and hungry, he is out on the prowl to commit the unimaginable. He is looking to rob some unwary victim to satisfy his vulturous craving. That nefarious act, and all those which follow, are thwarted by nature whose winter storm creates havoc and intercedes.
Each time he is prevented from accomplishing his nasty deed, his is briefly taken into his past, a time when he was young and vulnerable, knew right from wrong, and had witnessed the violence his father’s drunkenness created, in the home and elsewhere. In those flashbacks, he recalls the shame and the hardships endured. In the end, he is reminded of a vow he had made to his mother, an oath not to grow up and live much like his father. In that miraculous moment, his conscious thought questions the maleficent path he has followed, and he turns from his wicked ways.
The story ends in good spirits. He has learned from his past and embraces the winter storm as he seeks out the poor woman he first tried to rob. It becomes a Christmas he never forgets.
That strange Christmas, his life is forever changed, Yet, he keeps in mind those in need, especially each and every Christmas Eve.
Anton Von Stefan
