Favorite Ficitonal Character --- Tangerine Bear

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Christmas.  I'm pretty sure I have, but just in case, I'll say it again.  Christmas is my favorite part of the year for so many reasons that I will fill up a few blog posts just naming them.  One of my favorite aspects though are all of the great characters that have been created to tell the story of Christmas.  That's why every December I highlight some of my favorite Christmas characters, characters that make the holiday season that much better.

From the get go, Tangerine Bear has a life that isn't what it was supposed to be.  The poor guys smile got sewed upside down, so when he was placed on the department stores shelves during the Christmas season, nobody bought him to take him home.  He was left all alone of the shelf, even after Christmas had come and gone.  To add insult to injury, he was thrown in a bin and taken to secondhand store, to languish away. 

Once there Tangerine makes a few friends with other toys that are waiting for homes as well.  They are friends that he quickly grows to love.  He even grows to care about the store's owner, Mr. Winkle, who really cares about the treasures in his store and would like nothing more to find them a good home.  Because of that Mr. Winkle puts Tangerine in the window  That's actually how Tangerine got his color and his name, the sun faded him to a peculiar color of tangerine, once his friends noticed that, the name kinda stuck.

As the new Christmas season comes to pass, one customer decides he wants to buy Tangerine.  He seems like a good man, so Tangerine gets really excited that he may actually get a home for Christmas.  Mr. Winkle though refuses to sell the guy the bear.  The customer just wanted Tangerine as a collectors item, it seems teddy bears with upside down smiles, may be worth some money.  Mr. Winkle decides that Tangerine deserves a real home, not to sit in a display case all by himself.

At first Tangerine doesn't know what to think, he just lost his chance for a home.  But events quickly come to pass that makes Tangerine rethink the whole concept of home.  Maybe he has been home this whole time.  He is surrounded by friends who love and support him.  What more do you need to be home.

What I love about this story is the whole idea of creating your own home.  Surrounding yourself with friends and starting your own family.  That home is the place you feel comfortable, loved, and protected.  It's not about the building, it's about those that you surround yourself with.