It's Merry Christmas to You!
The other night I was reading the Christmas section of our
local newspaper. Every year the newspaper prints letters from
school children in grades kindergarten to second grade to Santa
Claus. I do admire the editors of the paper because the letters
are printed exactly the way the children write them,
misspellings and all. It's heartwarming, and the sweet innocence
of a child can bring a chuckle to the reader.
I'm a dedicate reader of this section. I love reading each
little letter and I thoroughly enjoy reading letters from
children I know. This year troubled me a bit. I went through
several pages reading these little letters and all of them
contained "I want...I want...I want." There were requested for
horses, dogs, four-wheelers, Bratz dolls, money, X Boxes, and
just about everything else material. Turning the page I found
the same thing. I was beginning to feel a little depressed about
the true meaning of Christmas. Then I found a letter to Santa
that did ask for something material but it really touched me. A
child had written Santa and asked for a real house to live in. I
sat on the couch thinking about this little child. Of all the
toys and things he could have asked for he asked for a real
house. I glanced over at my child who was sitting on the floor
in front of the television playing video games. How lucky we
are, I thought.
After reading a few more I want letters I found another one that
made me stop and think. This child did not ask for anything for
herself, but was wishing for things for her parents and
siblings. Yes, the request was for material objects, but none
for herself. How sweet I thought.
I then read two entire newspaper pages before finding a letter
that made me belly laugh. The child asked Santa for a baby
brother so he would have someone to place with and he didn't
think a baby sister would quite do. How cute I thought. I'm sure
his expecting parents had a chuckle, too.
I read about half a page before I found a letter to Santa that
gripped my heart. The little author of this particular letter
asked Santa how he was doing and that she would have cookies and
milk for him when he came to her home. She then continued with
her request...to bring her mother home from the war for
Christmas because she missed her and loved her. That was her
only request. I couldn't help myself. I sat on the couch and
shed silent tears for this precious child. I began thinking of
all our soldiers overseas and their sacrifices. I had not
thought about them and their families until that very moment.
The thought of a Christmas dinner with an empty chair and
Christmas morning without a family member brought a feeling of
sadness. I looked at my child once again and counted my
blessings.
This morning while I was driving to work I was listening and
singing along to Christmas Carols on the radio. I was feeling
pretty festive while I belted out a few ear shattering notes.
The song ended and the radio announcers had a surprise for a
listener. The hype was intriguing and like every other listener
I waited patiently while the radio station called the lucky
listener. A man answered the phone and was asked permission to
read a letter his wife had written to the radio station
requesting a special present for him, her husband. The man
agreed sounding somewhat puzzled. The letter was read and I
found myself driving and crying. This woman had written a letter
detailing why her husband was such a wonderful man and requested
a special gift for him. She wrote telling how hard he worked and
how dedicate he was to his family. She wrote about having breast
cancer and how her husband unselfishly sold his prized
possessions to make ends meet. Her request was to replace one of
these items and several good-hearted people assisted in granted
her wish. Listening to the letter and her husband's reaction
once again touched my heart. How lucky I am, I thought.
I continued to drive while surfing radio stations. I wanted to
hear more Christmas tunes, but settled on listening to the news.
What I heard on the radio bothered me to no end. It seems that
there are several groups or individuals who want to call a
Christmas tree a Holiday tree because it's politically correct.
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Not only are these people
trying to take Christ out of Christmas, but they are trying to
take Christmas out of Christmas! How ridiculous, I thought. I'm
for saying, "Happy Holidays" to include New Years, but to say it
instead of Merry Christmas! You've got to be kidding. Christmas
is celebrating Christ's birth. If it weren't for Jesus' birthday
we wouldn't have a holiday at all!
I wonder how these people who want to take Christ out of
Christmas would feel if they did not get December 25th as a
holiday at all. They obvious enjoy and celebrate the holiday if
they want to change Merry Christmas to just Happy Holidays. What
in the world is going on?
I asked my child tonight what the true meaning of Christmas was
and he told me it the seasons for giving and not receiving. I
proudly smiled at him and asked him why we celebrate Christmas.
He gave me that nine-year old duh look and replied in a matter
of fact tone, "mom, Christmas is Jesus' birthday." I gave him a
hug and told him he was correct.
Of course, I know he is excited about opening his gifts under
the tree, as any child should be. But, this child knows why we
do celebrate Christmas. I can also count my blessing for that.
It's a shame when you walk into a store a day after Halloween
and see Christmas stuff all ready on the shelves. Christmas has
become so commercialized that I think a lot of people forget the
true meaning. Christmas means so much to me than receiving
gifts. It's a time to be thankful for the many blessings in my
life. It's a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus and all that
he has given us. It's a time to find that Christmas Spirit in
our hearts and find peace and good will to all. It's a time to
spend with families and celebrate.
I remember when I was a child. We did receive gifts, but the
gifts were little in numbers and were very inexpensive.
Christmas to us represented going to church and spending time
with our family. It was a joyous time and we look so forward
going to our grandparent's house where the blessing was always
said before we began our meal.
I don't know why Christmas is so hard for people to understand.
My nine-year old child gets it, and so does many others. I told
you about several special letters to Santa from children who
obviously feel Christmas is much more than receiving a material
objects but I purposely left one for last. Yes, there was a
child that wished Jesus a happy birthday. This little one also
asked for something, but he did not forget why we celebrate
Christmas.
I am very blessed for many things in life. I'm also blessed
because I'm here to wish you a very Merry Christmas!