As Sandra walks over the pine needles, her footsteps become increasingly lighter until she can no longer hear them, as if she has begun to float. Even for her, it feels like a gift. 

– From Marita van der Vyver’s The Miracle. 

Just as with Sandra, things do not always unfold as one might hope. The festive season often turns out to be an anticlimax, a disappointment, a source of irritation, or even unbearable, with Christmas being an occasion that many dread. 

The characters in these stories also face their own challenges: Sandra spends Christmas alone in a foreign place; Retha hides behind her mask in a convoluted UIF queue; and in the opening story, Magdel’s plans to visit New York are thwarted by the pandemic. 

In the titular story, a traveling carnival visits the small town of Rondeberg, confronting Melinda with her past. Finally, in an autobiographical narrative by Corlia Fourie, she recalls a childhood Christmas. 

The onset of the loss of childhood innocence is conveyed in a charming manner. Despite the challenges, each character receives a valuable gift this Christmas.