For an embarrassing portion of my life, and for probably too long, I was convinced the song Feliz Navidad was about someone very cheerfully announcing that they had fleas on their dog.
Not metaphorical fleas.
Not symbolic fleas.
Just…fleas. On a dog. At Christmas.
Which felt like a bold holiday choice, honestly. Like thank you for your vulnerability during the most emotionally curated season of the year. While the rest of us are hanging lights and pretending our families are fine, this guy is out here like, “Hi. My dog is itchy. Merry Christmas.”
I remember genuinely trying to understand what that had to do with baby Jesus, wise men, or literally anything festive. But the song was so upbeat and confident about it that I assumed this must be one of those Christmas traditions you don’t question. Like fruitcake. Or eggnog. Or peppermint.
And then...later...it happened.
I learned Spanish.
And suddenly there were no fleas.
The dog was fine.
The Christmas message was intact.
And I realized I had been wrong for a long time.
Feliz Navidad means “Merry Christmas.”
That’s it. That’s the whole thing.
Which was humbling. And also slightly alarming, because it meant my brain had been confidently rewriting a global Christmas classic into a veterinary PSA. I had been out here misunderstanding joy because I didn’t understand the language it was spoken in.
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