When Peter was a little boy, growing up in Spain’s Canary Island of Tenerife in the 1960s, Father Christmas, or Santa Claus, only had to climb down a dozen or so chimneys.
There were very few foreign children living on the island and local kids knew only of the magic of the three Wise Kings of Orient. Father Christmas was just a quaint old fellow they had begun to refer to as Papa Noel, and he was looked upon as very inferior indeed.
Little Peter, the foreign child from Great Britain, and his best Spanish friend, Manolito each worshipped their own provider of Christmas gifts. Both had been taught, from a very early age, that his own particular belief, or joyful tradition, was better by far than the other’s.
Anyway, way back in 1965, Santa Claus came down the chimney at Peter’s house, as usual on the night of 24th December, with stockings full of brilliant toys.
On the following morning, Peter was in a state of great excitement. He opened his presents and played and played and played.
His best Spanish friend, Manolito was green with envy, as Peter innocently showed off his new lorry, train and cowboy pistol. For days, Manolito refused to talk to Peter, his neighbour on the edge of the banana plantation.
A couple of weeks later, the Wise Kings of Orient trotted up on their camels to Manolito’s grand house in the middle of a banana plantation.
When Manolito opened his presents on 6th January it was his turn to leap about in a state of great excitement. His father was a very important man and seemed to get preferential treatment from the Wise Kings.
Pillowcases, not stockings, were packed with extravagant and superb toys. Manolito's gifts appeared far better than Peter’s and were spread over a Persian carpet for all to admire.
Yes,
Manolito had received many more and grander presents than Peter. He even got a
belt with two golden cowboy pistols. What’s more, by the time Manolito began to
play with his lorry and train, Peter’s were all very worn indeed. Wheels had fallen
off and they were now only fit for the poor
boy who lived in a hovel down the lane. The pistol no longer even made a bang. It
was Peter now who was green with envy, and it was his turn to refuse to talk to Manolito
for days and days.
News of this envious behaviour between two little boys reached King Melchior, the senior of the three Wise Kings. He summoned King Baltazar.
“Ah! Good morning, Baltazar. Listen, I’ve received some rather extraordinary reports. My falcon tells me you’ve been having furtive meetings with that old snowy fool they call Papa Noel and, in fact, that you appear to get on quite well with him. Is this so?”
“Well, I don’t really know the fellow very, very well, your Majesty, but the one the English call Father Christmas is quite a pleasant old chap. We meet every year and share a glass or two of port on the roof of All Saints, the British Anglican church in Puerto de la Cruz. But I do spy on him, of course! Um, if you do remember, you did send me to do some market research a few years ago. You were interested in discovering where on Earth he got his children’s toys from!”
“Did I, indeed? My goodness, gracious me! Very well then. I mean, good. Well done, indeed!” stuttered King Melchior, rather caught off guard.
“Well, I would now like you to negotiate a truce with him. All this competing for the finest toys and between our religions and beliefs is very confusing, and not good at all. It is stirring up trouble amongst ordinary people.
We cannot have little children, like Peter and Manolito, falling for adult tricks and jealousies, and being brainwashed about beliefs and religions being better than the other, don't you think?”
So, the very next year, when King Baltazar and Father Christmas had their annual meeting on the roof of All Saints Church in the town of Puerto de la Cruz, it went on for much longer than usual, a little like those European Council meetings in Brussels.
Negotiations were quite tough and each needed to consult advisors around the continents. But a treaty was eventually signed under which children should not be affected by adult interests, predilections or political and religious nonsense.
The process would take a few years, of course, to be implemented, and is still in its early days.
But King Melchior’s idea was for the Three Wise Kings and Father Christmas not only to use the same shopping centres and toy manufacturers, but also to share the duty and pleasures of bringing joy to children around the World.
And so, it began to happen.
In fact, Spain’s Canary Island of Tenerife had the great honour of becoming the headquarters of this new Association of Shared and Differing Beliefs and Religions.
Today, children on this and other islands under Spanish dominion are blessed. In fact they are very lucky indeed. That very sensible and uniting agreement signed by King Baltazar on behalf of the Wise Kings and Father Christmas on the English slate roof of All Saints Church in the Taoro Park, enables them to receive gifts from both Father Christmas and the Three Wise Kings.
In other words, children of all nationalities enjoy visits from Papa Noel on Christmas Eve, celebrating the birth of Jesus, but can also expect equally wonderful gifts on the 6th January after those three Wise Kings have arrived to present baby Jesus with gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Between you and I, the adults keep most of the gold and things, and Father Christmas has taken to climbing over balconies because of the lack of chimneys on the island. Well, homes don’t often require heating in the sunny Canaries.
But the whole point is that the idea works. As a result of that meeting on the roof of All Saints Church, both Peter’s and Manolito’s grandchildren have learnt to accept Father Christmas AND the Three Wise Kings of Orient.
Sharing
and being tolerant of each other’s beliefs and, let's say most customs, especially at Christmas, is a
wonderful thing, you know.
All the best to you all, wherever you may be, and do be kind and understanding.
By John Reid Young
Author of books. For more information, click on the images to the right of this page or on the following text:
Travel Stories in Tenerife and the Canary Islands
Owner of Tenerife Private Tours www.tenerifeprivatetours.com
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