The Orange on the Dresser

My grandparents thought Christmas was too commercial. Their parents did too. How did they say it? With the story of the Orange on the Dresser. A European trope. It goes something like this: “We used to get only one orange on the 25th, you know, and we were grateful for it”. 

There are different tones attached to this sentence, and you can add, imply, act everything from jealousy, envy, scorn or simple regret. Just mix and match the inflections, lay out your own drama within the very same set of words, and you have something usable in any cultural context, whatever you want to convey. 

This was my grandmother’s version – verbal emphasis indicated in italics. 

“We used to get only one orange on Christmas morning, you know. And we were grateful for it”. No real envy at the gifts laid out here, my grandmother just did not get any toys. But a hint of regret at the end of the tale though. Because, every single year, the Orange was such a gift that it would take pride of place on the living room dresser. And, for fear of spoiling the gift, the orange would just slowly decay there. Untouched.

And that’s why she never knew how an orange tasted like, until after the War. This would become the punchline. 

Her parents told her the same story it seems, some oral tradition transmitted generation to generation. Yes, oranges were pricey, exotic, even outlandish back then. They were made all the more mysterious by being individually wrapped in colourful paper, like Fuji apples today. But, a quick look through department stores catalogues of the day show that toys for Christmas were already pretty much on the agenda back then. 

So it was A Lesson. About? 

Temptation, Greed, Discipline? Yes, of course, but also, strangely, the utter futility of all of them: the orange just spoils and rots – untasted. A Memento Mori. My grandmother would conclude the tale chuckling, so I think she was in on the joke.  Not so much a confusing message as a family tradition. 

And so history is passed on. This wistful story to peak behind the mists of yesteryears.

What will Skynet say about Christmas tomorrow? Well, humans always got it wrong in ordering gifts, didn’t they. Now, the algorithm just decides what they actually wished. Even if they did not know about it. But only if the Ledger confirms they have been nice.  

---

Daily photos and videos 🌍 on Facebook  and Instagram.