The Holly King

by Chris Martin

  ~ “It’s a Wonderful Life:” “ ‘Zuzu’s petals!’ “ ~

  “Without noticing it, we play with a trunk of mysterious emblems, icons, devices, memories and tributes not only in store windows and commercials, but in Christmas movies, books, plays, music. In the dreamlife of our society, our culture, the best way to celebrate Christmas is by examining the lives of those who won’t or can’t celebrate it. Our culture is almost obsessive about Christmas nihilism, without really defining the terms more than either having the Christmas spirit or not and wanting ‘the true meaning of Christmas’.