“Say, your children are spoiled”: when differences in standard of living fracture the family Christmas

Their features betray brotherhood. The same hollow eyes topped with thick brown hair, the same snub nose in the center of a round face like a child’s drawing. No doubt, if you look at them closely, Édouard and Jean were indeed born of the same mother and the same father somewhere in the 1970s. However, their relationship no longer has anything brotherly about it. Their resemblances are also hidden behind two dissimilar appearances. One, discreet, hesitant, dresses modestly and goes to church like every week on December 25 to celebrate the Nativity. The other, mocking, voluble, Rolex gleaming under the cuff, makes fun of God and religions, Christmas being above all for him the opportunity to share a moment of conviviality with his family.

On Christmas Eve, the whole family holds their breath. Last year, the two brothers had come to blows. The shy Edouard, bubbling, had ended up scolding his brother.“As…