Response to First Christmas

In my initial reading of David Mason's "First Christmas in the Village", I was confused with the second and third stanzas inclusion within the poem. The meaning and purpose behind them was lost on me. I simply disregarded the lines as the author's attempt at creating atmosphere for his story. After reading how others in my class also found the octopus dinner to be out of place, I decided to re-read the poem. The new mindset was to assume that the octopus dinner is meant as a veil to mask the true purpose of the dinner. The sequence of dinner is as follows, the writer of the story is brought a octopus by the widow's father who also cooks it for him. This makes the father the provider of this meal. During the eating of the meal, the story teller is deliberate in stating that this was his first octopus, and at the end of dinner he receives a "Don't tell the priest" card . The writer compares his octopus to a salty steak. An octopus steak that is oozy and briny makes it hard to digest. Similarly new controversial ideas can also leave a salty taste in the mouth. Perhaps the dinner and serving of the octopus was a metaphor for learning of the messiah's birth. We don't know when the story takes place but we do know from the  title that it is the first Christmas of the village. Perhaps this gathering for a dinner and spreading the new of Jesus birth was their Christmas. After learning of this new idea the story teller is cautioned by the widow to not inform the priest through the widow's playing cards. It is important to note that this meal was cooked over coals which the writer later takes some of home. Showing that the experience had some lasting impact on him. If we take into consideration the title and the sequence of event it is possible to make the assumption that the octopus meal wasn't just a meal.