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The Christmas Mistake
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 t heir
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 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, I believe, He still is.
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