BLESS THE "LITTLE" ONES!

As I reflected on the true meaning of the Christmas season I found this little story from several years ago and I thought it would be so appropriate for this month’s article.  It was written by a young mother and it touched me.  I hope you enjoy it as well.  It is titled ‘W’ is for Christmas.

Each December I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.  I had cut back on nonessential obligations such as 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 had been memorizing songs for his school’s winter Pageant.  I didn’t have the heart to tell him I would be working the night of the pageant. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher.  She assured me there would be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation and all of the parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come to the rehearsal.  Fortunately for me, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.

The morning of the dress rehearsal I arrived 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 per- form 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 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/her 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 first through sixth 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 the 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 - and why even in the 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 you know what?  He still is!

Have a blessed and happy Christmas!

Fr. Al Backmann