#137: The Christmas Cracker Hat
Hat, crackers, and pop!
Christmas is fast approaching as I await the third snowfall here in Durham, eat Eleanor’s vanillekipferl, and attend my fourth Christmas party dinner tomorrow evening, where I will also end up wearing a colourful paper hat.
This colourful but flimsy headwear pops out of the classic Christmas cracker, along with a questionable joke and some mysterious toy, most likely a spinning top or a fortune telling fish. They are dispensable trinkets, a bit of fun at the Christmas table before being lost in the recycling bin.
The centre of the show is, of course, the
POP!
of the crackers. Then it is the cheer of the people around the table, who have felt a sense of community as they interlinked their arms, the end of a cracker in each in each hand. And then, as they pull out the goodies inside these crackers, the jokes are told, the toys are played with, and the Christmas hats are balanced atop their heads, delicately unfolded so as not to tear this fragile piece of colour.
Eventually the excitement of the crackers fades, and everyone turns their mind to the delicious meal ahead. Yet while the toys and jokes lay tossed to one side, the hats stay on their heads. Some may refuse to wear them, saying that they are silly or ridiculous.
But what a lovely sight it is, to look around the room as everyone is eating and chatting, and see this multicoloured collection of paper hats. It’s a cheering sight, just right for this festive time. I hope you will be wearing your hat this Christmas.
