The Colors of True Christmas Spirit
To my brother, Jon, on the Occasion of Christmas 2007 and his 27th Birthday.
This is a WIP (work in progress) or UFO (unfinished object). Pictures will be posted upon completion of this quilt.
Once upon a time in a not so far away land, there lived a well-loved prince named Jonathan. He was the people’s prince. His older brother was in line for the crown, so Prince Jonathan had no need to attend court or worry about finding a wife suitable to one day be queen. He just lived life, and the people loved him for it.
Prince Jonathan loved children, and could often be found in town with a crowd of children around him while he read stories or led them in silly songs with motions. On weekends, he would get together with the townspeople and play football or frisbee. Everyone knew and loved Prince Jonathan. Everyone called him friend.
One year, though, as Christmas approached, Prince Jonathan retreated into his suite in the castle. Usually Christmas was his favorite time of year. He was a big, jolly fellow and often played St. Nicholas for the children. But this year, no one could coax him out of his sitting room. He would not even let anyone come in to decorate his suite. He said he was too busy and too old for such childish things. The Queen was concerned for her son but did not know what to do. She asked the King if he had any ideas, and he had none. She asked Prince Jonathan’s older brother if he had any ideas, and he had none. The Queen became quite worried that they might not be able to save this Christmas for Prince Jonathan.
On Christmas Eve the children of the kingdom gathered at the castle to see St. Nicholas and receive their presents. Prince Jonathan refused to be part of the celebration. The Queen asked Prince Jonathan’s older brother to play St. Nicholas (and really, he was way too skinny to play St. Nick). The children knew immediately that something was terribly wrong. They started shouting, “Prince Jonathan is the true St. Nicholas! Prince Jonathan is the true St. Nicholas!” But, even that did not coax the Prince out of his quarters. The Queen was devastated.
A small child in the crowd asked for a moment with the Queen. The little one had an idea. As the Queen listened, her smile grew. She gathered the townspeople to share the plan, and then sent them to get to work. It would take all night, but she was certain this plan would work.
After the townspeople left, the Queen gathered all of the servants, the King, and the older Prince. They would have to work all night as well, but they were all certain it would be worth it. The Queen and her ladies in waiting retreated to the sewing room, while everyone else began to prepare the castle.
Everyone worked all night through, and little elves snuck into Prince Jonathan’s room while he slept. Those little elves decorated all night through, and as dawn began to break, the Queen snuck into the room with one last final touch, covering Prince Jonathan in his new Christmas quilt. She kissed his forehead and went to the sitting room to wait and hear his excitement when he woke. She did not have to wait long. Prince Jonathan had felt the kiss on his forehead but did not open his eyes, as he knew it was Christmas. He knew he would be expected to be his jolly old self, and he just did not feel up to it. So, he kept his eyes closed in an attempt to go back to sleep.
He couldn’t go back to sleep, though. He actually felt a bit of excitement, though he didn’t know why. He forced his eyes open and was amazed at what he saw. There was blue garland draped along the ceiling with giant orange bows. Orange and white candy canes and blue snowflakes floated from the ceiling. Little stuffed snowmen in blue and orange knitted caps led a path to the door. As Prince Jonathan threw back the covers to get out of bed he noticed that he had a new quilt made up of blue and orange squares. He ran between the little snowmen to find his mother. He knew she was behind all of this.
Prince Jonathan swung open the door to his sitting room, and there stood his mother, arms open. “Merry Christmas, Jonathan!” Jonathan was amazed. There in his sitting room was a massive Christmas tree, decorated entirely in ornaments that were blue and orange. Everywhere he looked, there were decorations, and every last decoration was blue or orange or a combination of the two. Prince Jonathan smiled, grabbed the Queen’s hand, and ran out of the sitting room like a child on Christmas morning.
The castle had been transformed. Every decoration had been replaced. No longer was the castle filled with green and red; it was now filled with blue and orange. Prince Jonathan ran through every room, as each was different and brought new excitement. Every detail had been changed to his favorite colors–including his grandmother’s sledge, which was now painted orange. As he entered the main hall, the giant Christmas tree caught his eye. The children of the town were gathered in front of the tree singing all of the silly Christmas songs Prince Jonathan had taught them in the past–complete with motions. The Queen opened the main door, and the townspeople flooded in–each dressed in blue and orange. Prince Jonathan looked out the door and saw that the entire town had been transformed. Blue and orange confetti fell from the sky. It was the perfect Christmas.
When all of the townspeople had gathered in the main hall, the children finished their songs, and the town crier approached Prince Jonathan and unrolled his scroll. “Prince Jonathan, on this 25th Day of December, year 2007, we decree that the Christmas colors be officially changed to blue and orange.” The crier handed Prince Jonathan the scroll as everyone cheered. Prince Jonathan laughed, “You people are crazy! Come inside! Let’s eat! Merry Christmas!”
The End
