I have never been one to believe in bunkum but a recent viewing of Miracle on 34th Street has made me realise that miracles do happen. Putting aside the not-so-subtle misogynistic subtext that divorced Doris is cynical and doesn't believe in Santa Claus because she is too busy trying to juggle looking after her similarly cynical daughter, Susan, while also working as a high-flying department store executive, it is a truly heartwarming tale. Santa Claus, also known as Kris Kringle, is facing a life in a padded cell for insisting that he is, indeed, the big man in red. Fortunately, his lawyer, Fred, manages to prove that he is the real deal when 50,000 letters addressed to Santa Claus arrive at the court. Santa is then joyously released, all charges of insanity dropped, and gives Susan a house in the suburbs for Christmas so that her Mum can quit her city job and tend home for Fred.
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| Santa Claus quietly trying to undermine Doris' economic independence |
Tonight a miracle happened in my own living room. While settling down on the settee, I fluffed up my nest as normal, moving cushions around for maximum comfort. Yet one cushion stayed where it was in an impossible balancing position on the vertical settee cushion.
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| Christmas cushion: the new virgin birth |
There is no trick photography here, that cushion is really holding itself up. And it is surely not just a coincidence that it is the Christmas cushion which embodies the miracle. No, this is part of something big. I'm now keeping an eye on the reindeer ornament on the tree just in case it starts crying tears of blood.
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| No sticking devices were used to create this miracle |
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