THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and
peaceful experience.

I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive
card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even
overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted,
unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and
of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year. It
was an exciting season for a six year old. For weeks,
he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter
Pageant."

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the
night of the production. Unwilling to miss his shining
moment, I spoke with his teacher. She assured me
there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the
presentation. All parents unable to attend that
evening were welcome to come then.

Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the
compromise. So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I
filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on the
cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw
several other parents quietly scampering to their
seats. As I waited, the students were led into the
room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat
cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by
one, rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped
referring to the holiday as "Christmas," I didn't
expect anything other than fun, commercial
entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus,
snowflakes and good cheer.

So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas
Love," I was slightly taken aback by its bold
title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his
classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters,
and bright snowcaps upon their heads. Those in the
front row- center stage - held up
large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of
the song.

As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child
would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy,"
and on and on, until each child holding up his portion
had presented the complete message, "Christmas Love."

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we
noticed her; a small, quiet, girl in the front row
holding the letter "M" upside down - totally unaware
her letter "M" appeared as a "W".

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at
this little one's mistake. But she had no idea they
were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly
holding her "W".

Although many teachers tried to shush the children,
the laughter continued until the last letter was
raised, and we all saw it together. A hush came over
the audience and eyes began to widen. In that instant,
we understood the reason we were there, why we
celebrated the holiday in the first
place, why even in chaos, there was a purpose for our
festivities.

For when the last letter was held high, the message
read loud and clear:

"CHRISTWAS LOVE"

And, I believe, He still is.

Maybe it wasn't a mistake after all.


May you and yours have a Happy Holiday season.....