In a couple days Santa will be bringing gifts to those amongst us who are believers. Everybody else will probably get something from someone else. Of course the true meaning of Christmas for us Christians is the birth of Jesus Christ…but it’s nice to get a little something under the tree too.
When I was young, my aunt and uncle would host a huge Christmas Eve gathering for the family. It was a really big deal. I remember one time someone said there was over 20 kids under the age of 6 there. They would have a dinner and everybody would dress up in their Christmas finery. They always had a big white flocked Christmas tree with lots of lights, balls and tinsel on it.
At the appointed hour, one of the adults would sneak outside and jingle sleigh bells. All of us little ones would get ushered into a bedroom to await Santa’s entrance. There were lots of shrieks of excitement and the adult chaperons stood guard by the windows to keep curious deviants like myself and my cousins from peaking out the windows.
One of the male adults, preferably one who was a bit on the portly side, would dress up in a Santa suit and do his “HO HO HO” thing with more bell jingling. Another adult would climb up on the roof and clomp around driving us kids nuts.
After what would seem like a couple of hours of torture, the door of the bedroom would open and we would rush out. Somehow they always timed it so we would catch Santa in the doorway just as he was leaving (they didn’t have a chimney). He’d turn to face us and belt out “Merry Christmas” and before anyone got too close to him he’d duck out and the door would slam shut. Our attention was quickly diverted to all the gifts piled high under that magnificent tree.
Years later when I was older I remember a star struck little guy who walked up to my Dad, tugged on his pant leg and shouted, “Uncle Glenn! Santa has shoes just like yours!” Gasp, gasp! A hush fell on the room. My Dad just winked and patted him on the head and said that Santa must shop at the same shoe store that he did. That was good enough for the little guy and he turned and joined the other kids ripping into their presents still a believer.
Yah, those are some good memories. I don’t remember when it was that I learned any different nor do I remember exactly when I realized that just maybe there really is a Santa Claus. How about you? Merry Christmas folks! Thanks for stopping by.