Christmas Curfew

It was just before Christmas when a financial crisis presented itself on the stock exchange and investors were hit hard .
Day by day the situation got worse .
A global melt down began to occur .

While most people all over the planet look forward to Christmas and wait all year for it to come around, some large corporations had nothing at all to look forward to at all .
With the expectancy of a Christmas bonus from their employer many workers were disappointed when nothing was brought home in a pay packet .

Goodwill used to be a force that propelled kind thoughts and wishes right across the planet . But this year gloom and doom presented itself with many bosses putting off staff in the hope of cutting back costs .
How sad it was that for some people Christmas time holds no special significance at all. For the selfish and the greedy people , it's just another day like any other. Minds that are set on the almighty dollar cannot see the real joy of Christmas because everything is all profit and God knows it's their loss.

Maybe they will one day discover the magic of Christmas ;

Let me tell you the story as it is still clear in my mind of the town that lost the Christmas message .

As it was drawing near to Christmas all the factory workers had to work double shifts in order to get ahead and clear up all the orders before the factory closed for the holiday .
the people blamed the daily grind for their stress level,

The workers were all stressed and they blamed their stress level on their employers who were angry at having to pay holiday wages .
The employers had no respect for those people who were entitled to holiday pay .

Anyway greed was a good excuse to push away the concern for others
and most corporation bosses were very greedy.

Their money had become their only security in life . Nothing else mattered .
They all wanted to have more than the next person .

The factories they built over the years had put a great many people in their proper place .

The rich industrialists thought that they were entitled to walk over others and talk down to them about how well they were have a job .

Anyway it was just before Christmas and the biggest factory in Goldton was blasting away, hammering out , and belting and smelting and pushing on in a tormented state . Anxiety and friction was beginning to wear the people thin

Foremen pushed workers for more production . Workers pushed their employers for more wages. Day by day the situation got worse until it came to a head .

The final straw was when the employer asked the workers for twice the work load and so with that the workers ceased production .

The employer immediately cut all the workers benefits and suspended their holiday pay . All bonus awards and merit points were removed .
No mercy was shown and many faced the unemployment lines just before Christmas .

It wasn't long until hatred and anger spilt onto the streets. Cars were burned and shops gutted. With only days to go until Christmas all the street decorations where torn down and all the Christmas lights were smashed.

The mood with the people was vicious and unfriendly.
Tension was at its highest level for decades. Homes of some employees were set alight and just to make things worse a financial downturn hit the big end of town .
The crisis went from a small crash to a global recession .

At Christmas on the crammed sidewalk's people pushed and shoved along .
Angry mobs smashed shop windows and helped themselves to goods on display . Young kids threw rocks at the passing traffic on the road.
The entire city was burning down.

Something had to happen to mankind .
Some say it was Gods chastisement for all the greed in the world .

It was a more of a nightmare than a season of goodwill .
Just as if the fighting on the street wasn't enough , guns came out .
Almost immediately everyone in the town where told to stay indoors .
A Christmas curfew was put in place .

People were told to remain indoors until they heard the sound of bells ringing around town.
So in every home, or in any doorway out of the cold people remained .

What a Christmas surprise it was this year .

Just as the people started to complain about hot unfair it was .
Suddenly an earthquake hit the town .
In shock and horror everyone rushed for shelter .
There was a weird green gas that rose up from the ground that was cracked wide open .

Helplessly people watched as buildings and homes crumbled into the ground .

The gas from the large cracks in the ground began pour our sending many people into as deep sleep .
Those who were not affected by the gas could not believe their eyes when strange green scaled creatures emerged from the depths of the earth to the surface .
These green it things began to enveloped the entire town.
Wirth many houses completely demolished there were not many spots where people could escape this invasion .

One by one all the men were placed into cages by these green things.

Christmas has come with a real surprise .

After the initial shock of the invasion eased , something special took place .

For the very first time all the people, rich and poor , employers and employees all looked at each other with compassion .
Somehow then in their common despair they had connected with one another and saw the message of Christmas.

Snow began to fall and a bright light appeared in the sky.
As the light got brighter , it soon became clear that the bright light was a spacecraft and one by one other spaceships landed all over the town .

The spacecraft shone an intense bright light and all the people were blinded .
Suddenly the sound bells echoed through the town .
The noise of the bells rand loudly until a strange voice told everyone that their memories were about to be erased . broadcast from all around the city a hypnotic voice informed all human life that their memory loss would only be temporary .

People soon had lost all their senses for a brief moment only then shortly in a matter of seconds their hearing and sight returned .
When it did they discovered that their town was completely rebuilt .

There were even Christmas decorations hanging from the rooftops of houses.

Christmas trees lined the streets through the town and all the people began to sing in one voice about their new found joy of Christmas.

It was almost as if -what was had been taken away and replaced.

From that day on things bosses changed their opinion about how they treated their workers . Corporations and the big end of town began to give back some of the money from profits they made .
All the donated money was given to the people to do with as they pleased .
People began to care for each other again .
The new year came and nobody had any memory of the strange green it things visit .
Life was good and happiness and goodwill was a gift everyone shared together.

The End

By Paul McCann