di marco
06-01-2008, 09:59
(taken from the bt broadband homepage)
As others pull down their festive decorations Sunday to avoid dicing with superstition, one British man will carry on celebrating Christmas -- just as he has done every day for 15 years.
Andy Park, 43, dubbed "Mr Christmas", is not spooked by the Twelfth Night superstition surrounding January 6, which says it is bad luck to leave up Christmas decorations beyond this date.
The divorced electrician will enjoy Christmas all over again, putting up new tinsel before settling in to his daily routine of mince pies, turkey, sherry and opening the presents he bought for himself.
Sunday "will be a sad day for me, because that's when everyone else will have taken down their decorations and put them in the recycling bin," said the father-of-one.
"But I will be hanging up all the new ones I have bought at bargain prices in the sales and making everything as festive as possible. I will keep on fighting for Christmas."
Park's never-ending festivities began in July 1993, when he was feeling low and put up Christmas decorations to make him feel better.
"Suddenly I was happy. I thought, this is fun. So I did it again the next day, and the day after that," he said.
"Since then my routine every day has been to get up and have seven or eight mince pies and glass of sherry for breakfast.
"After that I open the presents I've wrapped for myself. I've given myself some nice ones over the years -- one year I got a Mercedes!"
He goes to work for about three hours, and then returns home to a full Christmas dinner, complete with a glass of champagne, before watching the Queen's traditional Christmas Day address to the nation.
"People do think I'm crackers, but I enjoy treating myself and I'm the only one in the world who does it. Others have tried to copy me, but they can't last. I'm the only one who can hold out," Park continued.
"When people come to my house it turns a sad face into a smiling one, and the happiness stays with them."
However, he admitted: "My daughter used to love celebrating it with me but she's 22 now and it is a bit of an embarrassment for her."
As others pull down their festive decorations Sunday to avoid dicing with superstition, one British man will carry on celebrating Christmas -- just as he has done every day for 15 years.
Andy Park, 43, dubbed "Mr Christmas", is not spooked by the Twelfth Night superstition surrounding January 6, which says it is bad luck to leave up Christmas decorations beyond this date.
The divorced electrician will enjoy Christmas all over again, putting up new tinsel before settling in to his daily routine of mince pies, turkey, sherry and opening the presents he bought for himself.
Sunday "will be a sad day for me, because that's when everyone else will have taken down their decorations and put them in the recycling bin," said the father-of-one.
"But I will be hanging up all the new ones I have bought at bargain prices in the sales and making everything as festive as possible. I will keep on fighting for Christmas."
Park's never-ending festivities began in July 1993, when he was feeling low and put up Christmas decorations to make him feel better.
"Suddenly I was happy. I thought, this is fun. So I did it again the next day, and the day after that," he said.
"Since then my routine every day has been to get up and have seven or eight mince pies and glass of sherry for breakfast.
"After that I open the presents I've wrapped for myself. I've given myself some nice ones over the years -- one year I got a Mercedes!"
He goes to work for about three hours, and then returns home to a full Christmas dinner, complete with a glass of champagne, before watching the Queen's traditional Christmas Day address to the nation.
"People do think I'm crackers, but I enjoy treating myself and I'm the only one in the world who does it. Others have tried to copy me, but they can't last. I'm the only one who can hold out," Park continued.
"When people come to my house it turns a sad face into a smiling one, and the happiness stays with them."
However, he admitted: "My daughter used to love celebrating it with me but she's 22 now and it is a bit of an embarrassment for her."