🚙Mobile Sales Story💨41st Wheel: 'I Hate Christmas! A Story of an Orphan and Santa'

There was a time when I hated Christmas terribly. Even in the countryside, I would see

flashy illuminations and if I watched
TV, the commercials would show happy families celebrating Christmas, with delicious-looking limited-edition products filling the screen. Even at school, the topic of Christmas and Santa Claus would come up.

When did you realize Santa was your parents?

Until what age did Santa give you presents?

Does your family celebrate together?

I was hurt by these casual questions from classmates,
and then I felt pained again because those questions made the other person feel awkward.
I consciously tried not to talk to people,
and I hated seeing families having fun in town, so I wouldn't go out into town
and wouldn't watch TV, trying as much as possible not to see it... For an orphan, very ordinary
daily scenes can feel like painful and sad scenery

Ah, in recent years, in various media,
there have been cases where images or expressions of XX are criticized for 'lacking consideration' for XX people,
or for 'not understanding the feelings of XX people',
or 'receiving protests from XX organizations',
or 'promoting bullying', etc., leading to excessive reactions, 'apologies', or 'replacing footage'.
Recently, I feel that topics related to

LGBT (sexual minorities) are particularly common.Year by year, it has become easier for

minorities to express their opinions,and those 'voices' are becoming easier to reach.Regarding orphans as well, the Child Welfare Act has been significantly amended.

Even so, perhaps because there are so few people in the situation of having no parents,
there are still many things that need to be done and improved.
Regarding child care institutions, they were a hot topic for a while,
and I thought the speed of improvement would increase, but it didn't go well. Problems are piling up.
The voices of minorities are more about 'continuing to speak out' than the
'volume of the voice' at that time.
However, if those voices are extreme or if there is an excessive reaction, it has the opposite effect.
'Consideration' and 'thoughtfulness' can end up deepening wounds depending on the degree and how they are received. Besides, not everyone feels the same way.
I had a terribly painful time back then,

and I thought, 'I wish Christmas didn't exist,' but
I don't think that at all now. It's a delicate and difficult problem.
But back then, in many ways, I kept my
distance from Christmas.

For someone like me without parents, Christmas was very sad,
something I wanted to avoid if possible,
and even at this age, I still remember those unique emotions from that time.

'What is learned in the cradle lasts to the grave'

I wouldn't go that far, but experiences from childhood leave a lasting impression.

So... maybe that's why.

Rather than enjoying Christmas myself, I want to make someone else happy.
Focusing on something so I don't remember the unpleasant things from the past...

With that kind of feeling, for several years,
I decorated my motorcycle with various things, and at night, I made my own hundreds of lights shine all over the bike as an
illumination,
bought toys, stuffed animals, and a large amount of candy,
and distributed them at various facilities.

The first year, I was often stopped by the police,
but I explained that I was wearing a helmet inside the hat,
told them I wouldn't drive dangerously,
and from the following year on, I was never stopped again.

Every year the decorations and lights became flashier, and the number of friends and sweets to hand out increased,
taking about 2 months to prepare, the money spent increased by tens of thousands at a time, and I even ended up appearing on a local
radio station which had an unexpected impact. There were various other troubles too, so I decided to quit.

And, after I started working for myself, I held parties with children who, like me, didn't have parents,
held Christmas parties at my sales locations with customers who had absolutely no plans,
and even after my divorce, I held very flashy Christmas parties with my children,
and even dressed up as Santa to hand out presents.

If no one is going to celebrate you, why not celebrate yourself!

Truly, a reversal of thinking.

Oh, and running around in a Santa suit in December is actually quite tough.
Balancing motorcycle decorations with staying warm and driving was difficult, and I repeated trial and error year after year,
reaching a high level of perfection in the final year,
since I had been doing it for several years.

'I saw you last year too!'

'I'm glad I got to see you again this year!'

People would say things like that, and some even said

'I saw you last year and decided I would do it too this year'

, and I was approached by people who were riding motorcycles in Santa suits just like me, or people walking through town in cosplay.

At these times, there were so many incredible coincidental meetings and reunions,
and also, a number of surprising troubles.
I was chased by completely unexpected XX vehicles of XX,
and had many quite valuable experiences (I want to write about them someday).

But, precisely because I hated Christmas,
I wanted many people to be happy, and I wanted to do something that would remain as a good memory.
I think that's why I was able to think and act that way.
Oh, thanks to that, I don't think I hate Christmas anymore.

SNS and video recording on mobile phones didn't exist back then.
And it was something I could only do because it was a more relaxed era in many ways.
If it were today, I would have been immediately exposed online,

'It's a violation!' 'Report him!' 'Catch him!'

and I would have been subjected to intense criticism.

The many children I met back then. Everyone is a fine adult now.

I wonder... what kind of memory do they have of those Christmas events?