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Note: This first appeared as a column in the West Chester, PA weekly newspaper Last Edition, the December 20, 1985 edition. I was a columnist for this small weekly.
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The movie “Miracle on 34th Street” is a holiday classic and was recently shown on television. In the movie Santa Claus was concerned that people were too busy and forgetting the real meaning of Christmas. The little girl, actress Natalie Wood, did not believe in miracles or Santa Claus. That was in 1947.
I was born in 1947. When I was young, for some years I grew up believing in Santa; and therefore, I guess in miracles also. In our house, even on Christmas Eve, there was no tree, decorations or packages. My father worked late and came home after my sister and I were sent up to bed, wondering if Santa would come again that year. Then mom and dad would stay up most of the night wrapping packages, trimming the tree and decorating the house. In the morning when we came down, it was as if a miracle had happened and Santa had come again!
At some point I learned that Santa was mom and dad.
Also, as I grew older and into adulthood, a common refrain continued to be people were busy and had forgotten the real meaning of Christmas. Sound familiar?
And somewhere along the way, I must have stopped believing in miracles.
Then during the Christmas of 1979 something unusual happened. I had no place to stay that year because I was a student at a nearby college. The dorms were to be closed for the holidays and the students either went home or had to find a place to stay. As are most college students, I was without money and could not afford a room in a motel, nor could I afford to travel to one of my sisters. One evening shortly before school closed for the semester, someone knocked on my door and asked if I would house-sit for them while they went home to visit family.
Would I?!
They had a little apartment over a storefront in Phoenixville, PA. There was only one problem. Because they were going to be away for the holidays, they had not decorated their home. No tree. No tinsel. No packages. Nothing. There was some snow that year and I would look down to the busy streets, brightly decorated for the holidays, brushed in white and then turn away from the window to an empty apartment. I received one package that year, but I think I opened it before Christmas morning.
Finally Christmas morning arrived. Rather than hurrying as I used to as a child, I took my time getting dressed to go and sit in the living room. TV did not appeal to me that morning. When a person is alone, even eating is not exciting. I cannot remember if I turned on the stereo. I did not have a car to go visit someone or get out for a drive. So I picked up a book and read a story, the Christmas story.
That story was also a holiday classic; although it did not take place on 34th Street. It was an old story of a baby born in a barn because his parents were not rich and all the inns were filled. Since this happened years ago, there were a lot of shepherds watching their flocks. They saw a great light and an angel talked to them. This miracle so excited the shepherds they searched and found the baby boy. Afterward they were still so excited they left the barn and told lots of people.
It was not a fancy story I read the morning of Christmas in 1979. If I had had packages, family to visit or a car I might not have taken the time to read the story. I learned about a miracle, and today I accept it by faith.
The television Santa Claus was concerned that people were getting too busy and forgetting the real meaning of Christmas. I hope this Christmas, you, the reader, have packages to open and family to visit, but that you also have time to read that other miracle. The angel told the shepherds, “For unto you is born this day...a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
The angel finished by saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Isn’t that the heart’s cry of most people today?
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John Adds Now
That Christmas started a tradition which has continued to this day. After my wife and I get up on Christmas morning and have a cup of coffee, I get out one of our Bibles and read the Christmas Story. It doesn’t grow old or out-of-date year after year (or within 45 minutes of being opened). It is as fresh today as when I read it back in 1979, or when it happened over 2000 years ago. While I still, sometimes, watch the movie “Miracle on 34th Street” and smile at the television Santa Claus and secretly hope that there are still kids today who believe in Santa; today I shout “Hallelujahs” that God so loved the world that He sent His only Son that whoever believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting lasting life. And I tell people that while there may not be a Santa Claus, miracles still happen and they come from God.
If you or you and your family want to start a lasting tradition, here are the Bible verses that we read each Christmas that tell that old, old story of the Savior who came from glory.
Isa 7:14; Isa 9:6-7; Isa 11:1; Micah 5:2; Zech 9:9; Matt 1:18-25;
Matt 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-55; Luke 2:1-20; John 1:14;
Gal 4:4-5
++++++++++++++++John Adds
I sent a copy to Dana to review, and he responded.
Dana Acker Thu, Dec 15, 2016 at 7:54 AM
I like it John. VFCC days. I moved there in June of 1979 to work as a carpenter in the maintenance department. So many memories. By the way, at whose house did you sit? I never heard that story until just reading it here. Good job! Don't forget to add the Scripture references at the end. Merry Christmas!
Speaking of which, I had to go to the drug store to pickup something on my way home the other day. When I checked out and turned to leave, the cashier said, "Merry Christmas!" I'll have to admit I was somewhat taken aback--not in a bad way, like having been offended, but just shocked to actually hear it spoken in a place of public commerce. It made my day, and I smiled like the Cheshire cat and responded in kind to her. There's a line in a Bruce Cockburn song that goes something like, "...kick at the darkness till it bleeds daylight." The drugstore cashier bled in a little light.
I try to say Merry Christmas to everybody these days, whether they are known Christians to me or not. The surprising thing is, no one has openly repudiated me for saying it. I do believe you were right; perhaps it is the heart's cry of most people. They may not be able to articulate it, and on the surface even oppose it so as to go along to get along, or perhaps they just forgot about it as they grew up and had to take their place in modern society.
There's something about the howl of a wolf that gets a dog's attention--puts a look in their eyes seldom seen by normal sights and sounds. There's something about Celtic music that awakens something in me on a deeper level, more so than most types of music. DNA memory? I don't know, except for the German blood I get from my Dad, all the rest of my ancestry hails from Scotland, Ireland and England. It's an interesting concept to ponder.
....So, that said, could it be that maybe the saying of "Merry Christmas" awakens in some people the deep down DNA level knowledge, long forgotten if ever known, that their origin is more from God than from biological processes? Maybe that "sense of wonder" so many experience around Christmas is actually a sign of fertile ground, and the saying of "Merry Christmas," is, in a way, invoking, the name of Christ, and hopefully planting a seed. OK, OK, I know, the old reformed guy is getting too mystical--time to switch to de-caf and go do something useful.
Keep saying "Merry Christmas!"
Dana
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