Hello my dear readers!
Well, Christmas is around the corner! Less than over twenty days to be exact and here I am with a TMNT Christmas Special!
In this fic, the sanctuary under Chicago puts on a Talent Showcase! I hope you enjoy the many talents and surprises along the way as our heroes put on a Christmas Showcase!
Big thanks and credit to Tyroth Darkstorm, my dear friend and co-writer on FF!
Mutopia's Yuletide Entertainment
Chapter One
It was a week before Christmas, and the residents of Mutopia were bustling about as they got ready for the upcoming holiday.
The whole sanctuary had been decorated with Christmas Trees and many other decorations including fake snow, making the whole place look like a Winter Wonderland.
Louie had been busy making sure he had everything prepared for the feasts and Tyroth had helped him with his own Swedish dishes as well as the traditional turkey as well as the vegetarian and Vegan options.
Also, the Hamato Clan, April and Casey had been invited to join in the celebrations and they accepted without hesitation and arrived via the Ninjet two days ago.
Even though Christmas was close, it didn't stop the children's education and in a makeshift classroom in the sanctuary, Donatello was educating the children about the History of Christmas as well as how it was celebrated in different parts of the world.
So far, he had covered England, America, and certain parts of Europe, but now he was talking about Scandinavia.
Freya and Loki had been keen to learn about how Christmas was celebrated in Scandinavia as their father, Aunt Amber and their grandparents' roots were there.
"And what can you tell us about how they celebrate Christmas in Sweden?" Donatello asked the Geckolings.
"The Swede's celebrate St Lucia day on the 13th of December!" Freya said.
"And the big holiday is on Christmas Eve, the 24th of December!" Loki added.
"Correct!" Donatello praised.
"The story of St Lucia was brought to Sweden by Monks who introduced Christianity to them!" Freya spoke "It's about a young Christian girl who was martyred, killed for her faith in 304, she would often bring food and gifts to persecuted Christians in Rome who were hiding in the catacombs, and she would wear candles on her head, so she had her hands free to carry more items!"
Donatello nodded.
"Well done!" he said as he wrote some notes on the blackboard.
"And also, Sweden isn't the only country that celebrates St Lucia day, where else celebrates it?"
"Denmark, Norway, Finland, Bosnia and Croatia!" Loki answered.
"And Merry Christmas is Swedish is God Jul!" Freya added.
Donatello wrote that on the board and smiled at the Geckolings, knowing Tyroth would be delighted at the fact his children were doing well at learning their Swedish roots.
Donatello then turned to Pandora and Kemeko.
"Now, let's see how much you two can remember about Christmas in Japan." He spoke.
Kemeko grinned.
"Well, it's a holiday that's normally about spreading happiness than a religious holiday." She said.
"Yeah!" Pandora agreed "As there's not many Christians in Japan, mostly Buddhists!"
"Exactly!" Donatello replied.
"Christmas Eve is thought of as a romantic day, very much like our Valentine's Day." Pandora continued "So much so it's difficult to get a table booked at many restaurants!"
"Correct!" Donatello answered and Freya and Loki blinked.
"Christmas Eve is a Japanese version of Valentine's Day?" Freya asked.
"Yeah!" Kemeko said "And another thing is, that Fried Chicken is eaten a lot on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!"
"You serious?" Loki asked.
"Yeah!" Pandora replied, "In fact, it was after an advertising campaign by KFC in 1974, known as 'Kentucky for Christmas'!"
"Or Kurisumasu ni we kentakkii! In Japanese." Kemeko informed.
"And Merry Christmas is Meri Kurisumasu!" Pandora added.
"Proud of you girls!" Donatello praised clapping his hands "And can you both name the gift bringer similar to Santa Claus or Santa San in Japan?" he asked.
Kemeko and Pandora nodded.
"Uh huh!" said Kemeko.
"It's Hoteiosho!" Pandora said.
"And he's a Japanese God of Good Fortune from Buddhism!" both girls said together.
Donatello cheered.
"Well done!" he said, "You really have been doing your homework!"
Just then, there was a knock at the door and Donatello looked up to see Sephie peeking from behind the door.
"Heya! Not interrupting, am I?"
"Oh no! Not at all! We're almost through." Donatello answered.
"Mum!" the Geckolings smiled.
"Hi Aunt Sephie!" Pandora and Kemeko said together.
"Heya kids!" Sephie replied as she walked into the room, her hair was loose from her usual ponytail, and she was wearing jeans and a knitted Christmas Sweater rather than her usual outfit.
"I just came to let you know Donnie that we're having a meeting in the mess hall in half an hour." The Gecko informed.
"What about Aunt Sephie?" Pandora piped up.
"A trip topside for trouble?" Freya asked.
"Oh no, nothing like that." Sephie replied "And anyway, you're all too young for the field right now."
"Awwww!" the youngsters groaned, and Pandora pouted as usual.
"I hate being young!" she grumbled crossing her arms and scowling.
The other kids laughed at Pandora's face.
"Pouty Pandora!" Freya teased.
Sephie and Donatello shook their heads and laughed.
"Alright! Alright!" Donatello said, "Class is over now, but I got a little quiz for you to complete by tomorrow."
He turned to a table next to the blackboard and handed the kids a sheet of paper each.
"A little Christmas themed quiz and may I remind you your textbooks don't have all the answers, so I hope you paid attention!"
He eyed the four children as they took the quiz papers, especially Pandora who grinned sheepishly.
"You're dismissed!" he said and Pandora, Kemeko, Freya and Loki thanked the purple masked turtle before leaving the room.
"Who's up for a video game tournament after we're done with these quizzes?" Freya asked.
"Me!" the others cheered as they ran off.
Sephie watched them go and chuckled.
"Bless them!" she said then turned to Donatello.
"You sure love to teach them, don't you?" she asked.
Donatello nodded.
"That I do." He said "Well, even though they don't attend real school like the humans above, they still need an education."
"Oh, for sure!" Sephie agreed "They need to be aware of the basic things like maths and history and the like, but also to learn of their background, like Sweden when it comes to the twins and Japan when it comes to Pandora and Kemeko."
Donatello nodded in agreement as he remembered a conference, he had years back between Tyroth, Sephie and his family.
Flashback
Donatello sipped his drink of soda as he sat with his brothers, adopted sister, sensei, old George, Sephie and Tyroth in Mutopia's mess hall.
At this time, Pandora and the Geckolings were at an age where they were ready to learn basics such as reading and counting and Tyroth had decided like he had done with Sonia that they should start getting an education.
So far, the children had been learning via DVDs of the tv show 'Sesame Street' Donatello had put together for them as it death with basic education and the kids loved it.
"So, I've called you all here to speak about the education for the kids, as they are at that age now." Tyroth said.
"Well, some of them anyways." Sephie agreed.
"About giving them an education." Leonardo spoke.
"Indeed yes." Tyroth said "Even though we may not follow the same laws above like the humans, I feel that the children should be given a proper education to make them aware of the world."
"I quite agree Big T!" Raphael said.
"As do I!' Splinter spoke "It is a mandatory thing, to have knowledge."
"Couldn't agree more my friend!" George said "After all, you have been teaching Sonia a lot since she joined us those years back."
Tyroth smiled.
"So, if everyone is in agreement, we should begin the task of teaching the kids what we know." The dragon announced "Reading, writing, history, geography, you name it!"
"You think we can do that?" Monalisa asked running her fingers thorough her hair as she thought hard.
"I think we can!" Sephie said "Okay, we might not be trained professionals, but every little helps, right?"
"I suppose yes." Monalisa agreed looking at the ceiling.
"I think it's a great idea!" Donatello piped up "There's all sorts of things we could teach them!"
"Absolutely!" Leonardo agreed "You're the most intelligent Don! You could do it all yourself!"
"Awww, you're too kind big bro!" Donatello gushed scratching the back of his head.
"Don't be so modest!" Michelangelo said punching Donatello's shoulder "You've already done your bit with giving them the show of Sesame Street to enjoy as well as learn from!"
'Although!" Sephie spoke up as she looked at Monalisa "Correct me if I'm wrong Mona, but didn't you want to be a teacher when you were human?"
The Lizard Lady was quiet for a moment, it was true, she had had dreams of being a teacher when she graduated University, but because of what happened in New York, that never came to pass.
"You're right there Sephie." Monalisa replied "I always wanted to teach, and I guess, even though the situation is different, I could active that dream!"
A smile formed on her face.
"Oh, for sure! I can do it! For Pandora, Kemeko, and the twins!"
"Atta girl Mona!" Sephie praised.
"I am so proud of you, my daughter!" Splinter spoke "And I too will help in their education, especially with languages and history!"
Tyroth grinned.
"Then it's settled guys!" he said, "We'll assign topics and subjects to everyone, and I'll ask the other Mutopians for their assistance."
"Except Rattletrap!" Sephie reminded her lover to which Tyroth nodded in agreement.
"And April and Casey can help too!" Donatello added.
"Indeed yes!" Tyroth agreed "And we'll make sure the kids are educated enough!"
"Perfect plan son!" Gramps said, "We'll set to work right away!"
"We all got our strongest points in what we know." Tyroth said "Whether it be History, Languages, Science, Geography…"
"If we all work together, we can do this!" Leonardo agreed "I know we can!"
End Flashback
"I'm glad we took the chance to teach the kids!" Donatello said as he started to clear everything up.
"Me too!" Sephie replied "Though I have to say, out of all of us, apart from Monalisa, you're the best teacher for them!"
"Awww, you're too kind Sephie!" Donatello blushed.
"Soak it up Don! You deserve it!" Sephie said.
Donatello smiled.
"Thanks Gecko Gal!" he said, "I'll just clear us here and I'll join you in the mess hall!"
"Okay!" Sephie replied as she left the room.
And that's the first chapter!
I hope you learnt something here especially when it comes to the differents ways Christmas is celebrated in other parts of the world.
Tyroth did educate me on Swedish History, Language and traditions at Christmas and I am ever so grateful to him!
I hope you enjoyed it my dear friend!
Keep checking back for more coming soon!