The scent of Christmas
I recall it well - opening the sweet aromatic clementine on Christmas morning, the skin just falling off the ripe, juicy and often seedless piece of fruit. Many scents are associated with Christmas time but for me it is the clementine/tangerine, also giving a healthy start to the morning before overloading on the 'selection box'. The clementine would be in the stocking along with amusing little objects like a yo-yo, a leap frog and playing cards. Never questioning the presence of this sweet fruit I recently read that it represents the generosity of Saint Nicholas. "When we were kids, we were happy with an apple, an orange and a tuppence" my parents would claim. On Christmas morning my brother and I would be surrounded with gifts, stocking fillers and cards and even then there was a strong sense of appreciation and wonder. Years later trying to recapture that sense of wonder and surprise proves difficult, as times have changed, challenges have been presente...
