As a child growing up in Nebraska, Christmas was always a Winter Wonderland of cold and snow. This was further emphasized through the television Christmas specials such as Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer or Santa Clause is Coming to Town that continuously played throughout December. These specials were a “must-watch” tradition building up to the celebration of Christmas with a sense of magical awe. Of course, as a child, the culmination of the celebration of Christmas came with the receiving of presents. The more presents, the better.
In December 1995, I first arrived in Chile and was greeted with sunny warm weather. Chile was entering its summer. December is like May in the United States. Schools are finishing their academic year. Families are making plans for summer vacation trips.
Of course, as a child, the culmination of the celebration of Christmas came with the receiving of presents. The more presents, the better.
Although there is joy in the air, it isn’t the Christmas air that I was used to. Where was the snow? The cold? There were no lights and decorations in the streets or in front of houses. Also, there was no Christmas music in the stores or radio stations. It was all very subdued. I felt a little deflated to celebrate Christmas. At this point in my life, as an adult, the expectations of receiving presents had mostly gone away. I didn’t ask for nor expect any. However, an incident with a teenager and her Christmas present made me deepen the significance of celebrating Christmas.
A few days after Christmas, Carla, who was about 15 years old and was a catechist in the parish, came to me asking for help. She was in an anxious state. Carla told me that she lost the only present she received for Christmas from her mother. Carla believed she lost her present in my car when I took a group home after a meeting. We went to the car, and I asked her what we were looking for. Carla said a pen. I was taken aback. I thought of myself as a child and what type of reaction I would have had if my parents gave me a pen as a gift. I wouldn’t be so happy and if I lost it, I wouldn’t care. However, I looked at Carla and realized the importance of this simple present. For Carla, the pen was more than a simple pen. It symbolized her mother’s love for Carla and the sacrifices she made for her. They were a simple humble family that didn’t have much. I realized that as a child, I expected to receive numerous presents but did not value what they meant or who gave it to me. In short, I overlooked the relationship behind the act of giving. It made me think of how many times I didn’t appreciate all that I had received in life, even with the smallest of things such as the air we breathe.
Sometime ago, I rewatched How the Grinch Stole Christmas and realized how it embodied Carla’s spirit. As the animated feature stated about Grinch’s discovery: “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little more.” As for Carla’s search, she did not find the pen in my car but did later find it in her house.
Merry Christmas!