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Christmas is a time
of celebration
Please Remember
"The Reason For The Season"
is the birth of our Savior
Jesus Christ.
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TEACH THE CHILDREN
Late one Christmas Eve, I sank back, tired, but content,
into my easy chair.
The kids were in bed, the gifts were wrapped, the milk and
cookies waited by the fireplace for Santa. As I sat back
admiring the tree with its decorations,
I couldn't help feeling that something important was missing.
It wasn't long before the tiny twinkling tree lights lulled me
to sleep.
I don't know how long
I slept, but all of a sudden I knew that I wasn't alone. I
opened my eyes, and you can imagine my surprise when I saw
Santa Claus, himself, standing next to
my Christmas tree. He was dressed all in
fur from his head to his foot just as the poem described him,
but he was not the "jolly old elf" of Christmas
legend.
The man who stood
before me looked sad and disappointed. And there were tears in
his eyes.
"Santa, what's wrong?" I asked, "Why are you
crying?" "It's the children," Santa
replied sadly. "But Santa, the children love you," I
said. "Oh, I know they love me, and they love the gifts I
bring them," Santa said, "but the children
of today seem to have somehow missed out on the true spirit of
Christmas. It's not their fault. It's just that the adults,
many of them not having been taught
themselves, have forgotten to teach the children."
"Teach them what?" I asked. Santa's kind old face
became soft, more gentle. His eyes began to shine with
something more than tears.
He spoke softly. "Teach the
children the true meaning of Christmas. Teach them that the
part of Christmas we can see, hear, and touch is much more
than meets the eye. Teach them the symbolism behind the
customs and traditions of Christmas which we now observe.
Teach them what it is they truly represent." Santa
reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny Christmas tree and
set it on my mantle.
"Teach them about the Christmas tree. Green is the
second color of Christmas. The stately evergreen, with its
unchanging color, represents the hope of eternal life in
Jesus. Its needles point heavenward as a reminder that
mankind's thoughts should turn heavenward as well."
Santa reached into his bag again and pulled out a shiny
star and placed it at the top of the small tree. "The
star was the heavenly sign of promise. God promised a Savior
for the world and the star was the sign of the fulfillment of
that promise on the night that Jesus Christ was born. Teach
the children that God always fulfills His promises, and that
wise men still seek Him."
"Red," said Santa, "is the first color
of Christmas." He pulled forth a red ornament for the
tiny tree. "Red is deep, intense, vivid. It is the color
of the life-giving blood that flows through our veins. It is
the symbol of God's greatest gift. Teach the children that
Christ gave his life and shed his blood
for them that they might have eternal life. When they see the
color red, it should remind them of that most wonderful
gift."
Santa found a silver bell in his pack and placed it on the
tree. "Just as lost sheep are guided to safety by the
sound of the bell, it continues to ring
today for all to be guided to the fold. Teach the children to
follow the true Shepherd, who gave His life for the
sheep." Santa placed a candle on the mantle and lit it.
The soft glow from its one tiny flame
brightened the room. "The glow of the candle represents
how people can show their thanks for the gift of God's son
that Christmas Eve long ago. Teach the children to follow in
Christ's footsteps...to go about doing good.
Teach them to let their light shine before people that all
may see it and glorify God. This is what's symbolized when the
twinkle lights shine on the tree like
hundreds of bright shining lights, each of them representing
one of God's precious children's light shining for all to
see."
Again Santa reached into his bag and this time he brought
forth a tiny red and white striped cane. As he hung it on the
tree he spoke softly. "The candy cane is a stick of hard
white candy. White to symbolize the virgin birth and sinless
nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the
foundation of the church, and the firmness of God's promises.
The candy cane form's a "J" to
represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to earth. It
also represents the Good Shepherd's crook, which He uses to
reach down into all ditches of the world to lift out the
fallen lambs who, like all sheep, have gone
astray. The original candy cane had three small red stripes,
which are the stripes of the scourging Jesus received by which
we are healed, and a large red stripe that represents
the blood shed of Jesus, so that we can have the promise
of eternal life. Teach these things to the
children."
Santa brought out a beautiful wreath made of fresh,
fragrant greenery tied with a bright red bow. "The bow
reminds us of the bond of perfection, which is love. The
wreath embodies all the good things about Christmas for those
with eyes to see and hearts to understand. It
contains the colors of red and green and the heaven-turned
needles of the evergreen. The bow tells the story of good will
towards all and its color reminds us of Christ's sacrifice.
Even its very shape is symbolic, representing eternity and the
eternal nature of Christ's love. It is a circle, without
beginning and without end. These are the
things you must teach the children."
I asked, "But where does that leave you Santa?"
The tears gone now from his eyes, a smile broke over
Santa's face. "Why bless you, my dear," he laughed,
"I'm only a symbol myself. I represent the spirit of
family fun and the joy of giving and receiving. If the
children are taught these other things, there is no danger
that I'll ever be forgotten."
"I think I'm beginning to understand."
"That's why I came," said Santa. "You're an
adult. If you don't teach the children these things, then who
will?"
~Author Unknown~
 
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