Mince pies… Santa Claus… the birth of Jesus… songs like “We wish you a merry Christmas” and “The First Noel”…
These are all famous aspects of Christmas in the real world today. But what would Christmas be like in the world of the Tribe, how would it differ from the real world celebration of Christmas – and why?
This special Worldview article takes a look at Christmas and New Year in Tribeworld…
Time for Christmas?
Firstly in the world of the Tribe, some kids and teens in Tribes would not even know what day it is. In the world without adults there are no newspapers, magazines, no new diaries or calendars printed.
And there is no routine like we have in the real world – no school or college to go to during the week, no weekends to be off at, no work to do.
This would make it very hard to keep track of what day of the year it is so many Tribes would probably have no idea when exactly Christmas is.
But some people would know – because they (like Patsy) might have kept track of what day it is since the virus. Other people might have found calendars and used them to keep track of the days.
So for some people there would not be Christmas at all – but others would celebrate it. The next question…
How would Christmas be celebrated?
The celebration of Christmas today is the result of hundreds and hundreds of years of accumulated customs spanning things like music, food and drink, ritual, symbolism, history, social behaviour and interaction, even language.
There are no adults in Tribeworld so life has changed completely compared to the real world today – but surely Christmas (for those who would celebrate it) would be mostly celebrated as it is today because thousands of years of tradition and history don’t change or disappear completely overnight.
Yes some things would change – but not everything. Many aspects of Christmas would stay the same – but how would things change, and why…?
Small Change
Firstly there would be no shops like there are today. Without adults and local, national or global economies working like we have in the real world, shops would collapse.
In the world of the Tribe we feel there are no “shops” or shopping malls where you could go and buy things – and there is no money either, no banks, no cheques or credit cards. Shops as we know them would not exist and this would mean a big part of Christmas today (buying presents from shops) simply would not exist as it does in the real world.
Instead of shopping, Tribes would trade and barter goods with other Tribes – and individuals would similarly trade or make deals with other individuals or Tribes.
So you could still “buy” goodies for friends or families to give them at Christmas time but you would trade for these instead of get them at a shop – and your range of goods would surely be very small compared to today because the economy in the world of the Tribe is completely different to the 21st Century global economy we have.
“On the first day of Christmas my Demon Dog gave to me a Zoot hat sitting in a tree”
In the world of the Tribe we feel that many Christmas songs would still be remembered and sung by those celebrating Christmas.
But there is another point here – a lot of Christmas songs in Tribeworld would perhaps be sung completely differently. This is because without adults there are no CD shops, no radio, internet or television to influence people. So in our real world we hear famous songs all the time – but in Tribeworld, you wouldn’t hear these songs that often.
Instead to hear songs you would have to sing them yourself or hear others sing live (or hear a CD on a battery powered player) rather than hearing the songs on the radio or television.
We feel this means many Christmas songs would be sung differently – people would improvise and make changes to songs because without mass media and communications, there is no set “standard” or normal way of doing things any more. The standards we have in the real world would not exist in Tribeworld.
And don’t forget we don’t know who wrote most Christmas songs. Somebody did or else we wouldn’t have the songs in the first place – we know, for example, Felix Mendleson wrote “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” but we don’t know who wrote songs like “We wish you a merry Christmas”, “The 12 Days of Christmas” or “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”.
So it is likely that many people in Tribeworld would make up their own Christmas songs – brand new pieces or original music that would reflect the way of live (and Christmas) in the world of the Tribe. Maybe lyrics and words would dwell on Demon Dogs or Locos or the Chosen, because that is the world people in the Tribe would live in? Or maybe members of the Chosen would sing Christmas songs about Zoot?
So music would probably be very different at Chrismtas…
Religion
Christmas of course celebrates and commemorates the birth of baby Jesus – that’s why it is called Christmas (the word Christ).
Again, you can’t completely wipe out thousands of years of custom and tradition overnight so it is likely that many people who would celebrate Christmas in the Tribe would do so by thinking about Jesus.
But others might not – some survivors of the virus might feel disappointed or angry at God in the world of the Tribe so might not choose to celebrate Christmas in the traiditional way?
And other survivors of the virus are very confused individuals indeed – they worship Zoot in some of the post-virus new religions, Tribes like the Chosen. It is likely they would celebrate Christmas in a completely different way…
A reason for Christmas?
Christmas is a time of family… of hope… of being with the ones you love.
But in the Tribe these things have changed – there is no longer a normal family structure as we have in the real world today – instead, most people live in groups of Tribes. SO in one sense a traditional family Chrismtas would no longer exist – but in another sense, a new traditional Tribal Christmas would be the new custom!
And some people might not have the ethical belief to celebrate Christmas – they are spending each day surviving in the hostile post-adult world and Christmas might be the very last thing on their minds…
But in a tough hostile world where there isn’t hope or comfortable ways of live like we have today (nice houses, consumer goods, leisure) then that might make Christmas all the more important because the spirit of Christmas would be needed more than ever in a difficult way of life that would exist in Tribeworld…
Ho Ho Ho!
And what about Santa? The famous guy in the red suit and the reindeers? What about Rudolph and his famed flashing red nose?
Would Santa still be around in the world of the Tribe – or would Santa have been one of the famous victims of the virus that wiped out the adults? Would Santa disappear from Tribal Christmas time?
We don’t think so. Santa is a big part of Christmas, for young and old. We think the older teens and kids would do their best to keep Santa alive and around at Christmas time for the younger kids.
Santa would be live and kickin’ still – the virus wouldn’t touch him because he is an elf. Likewise Rudolph would be fine because he is a reindeer.
So Santa – and Christmas would continue in the world of the Tribe – different in many ways, but the same in others.
What do you think about Christmas in the world of the Tribe?
Whatever your thoughts about it, we would like to wish you all a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!