His daughter was standing, looking at the decorated Christmas tree, a puzzled look on her face. With a few years yet to go before becoming a teenager, she was a child who was proud of wisdom accumulated from having survived her toddler and early school eras.
He feared what might be on her mind. The time was about right. It could only be the dreaded question that parents of young children realize is inevitable. It's too bad that this has to happen now, he thought.
"What's going on, Sweetheart?"
"Oh, nothin' much. I'm just wondering about something," she answered, obviously preoccupied with her thoughts.
Should I prompt her? he wondered to himself. Yeah, maybe just a little. Where's her mother, anyway?
"You want to tell me what you're wondering about? Maybe I can help."
"Well, okay. We saw that show this afternoon, and it got me thinking about something. I can't figure it out. Daddy, how old is Santa Claus?"
Not what I expected, he thought to himself. This should be easier than talking about whether or not Santa Claus is real. Maybe I can do this without her mother after all.
"That's a really good question! I think we can figure it out, but you've got me wondering about something, too -- what makes you ask?"
"Well," as she considered her reply carefully, "it's just that he seems pretty old right now. All the pictures show him looking old, with the long white beard and everything. And besides, you told me that he looked like that when you were a kid, too, so he must be really, really old!"
That's the sort of statement that makes an adult smile, and this time was no different. A thought crossed his mind: Did I say things like this to my parents when I was her age? Maybe so. I'll have to check with Mom and Dad. . .wonder how I can make it up to them? Anyway, I'd better get back to business here.
"Yes, that's a good point. Santa does look really old. That's because his is very, very old! But what's this got to do with the Christmas show?"
She looked up and exclaimed "That second Christmas Ghost -- he was Santa, wasn't he? Sort of, anyway, I mean. But he looked different from the way Santa Claus usually looks, and he talked about having hundreds of older brothers. That just doesn't make any sense!"
Gee whiz, her father thought to himself. This is getting complicated. I gotta get this sorted out before I make a mess of it.
"You're right. It seems like it doesn't make any sense, doesn't it? But the fellow in the show wasn't Santa Claus. He was the Spirit of Christmas Present. They're two different people. . .er, I mean, two different ghosts. . .no, wait, that's not right. You see, here's the thing: Santa Claus is a sort of magical elf, and the Spirit of Christmas you saw in the show was a type of ghost who was there to make Scrooge think about important things that he wasn't thinking about. So, you see, they're two different. . .uh, two different. . .well, let's see, how should we say this? Ah, yes, they're two different special ideas about Christmas!"
Makes sense to me, he thought to himself.
"I still don't get it," his daughter said with the look in her eyes that meant "that sure doesn't make any sense at all!"
Geez, where's her mother? I thought she'd be back by now.
"Looks like I didn't explain it very well," he said. Rubbing the back of his neck, he went on with "See now, here's what it's all about. That fellow in the show who we call the Ghost or the Spirit of Christmas Present -- well, he was there to tell us about the meaning of Christmas. He didn't bring wrapped-up gifts for anybody, he was helping Scrooge to understand all of the important inner meanings of Christmas, things like being with family and friends, and its religious meanings, and how we should use it to remember to treat all other people--especially those who are less fortunate than we are--with kindness, and charity, and respect. Do you remember those things in the story that we saw in the show?"
Slowly, "Yes, I remember. So, he wasn't Santa Claus, was he?"
"Good! You're right! He wasn't Santa Claus. Santa is different."
"I see! Santa just brings us our toys and presents. He doesn't care about all the 'inner meaning' stuff!"
"Um, that's not quite right, either," her father said. "Santa Claus cares about the meaning of Christmas, too. He wants people to be with family and friends at Christmastime, and he hopes that we always treat others with kindness, respect and charity. Remember the thing about 'good little boys and girls?'"
"Oh, that's right," she said. "So, how's he different from the Ghost?"
He thought about this for a moment. "I guess a big difference is that Santa Claus doesn't bring the religious story of Christmas, but the Ghost that we saw brought that message."
For a few moments her apparent puzzlement was bookended by tugging at her lower lip and then running her fingers through her hair a few times. Eventually, the frenzy passed, her eyes brightened and she said, "So Christmas is religious for some people, and not religious for others?"
"That's right!" he exclaimed. "It has religious beginnings, and has a lot of religious meaning for many, many people, but it's become bigger over all the years that we've had Christmas. That way even more people can enjoy it, and can use the time to be with family and friends, and to make plans for helping other people who need something. These are all things that are done by people of different faiths, and also by people who don't follow any particular organized religion at all."
"I like that," the girl said. "But you still didn't tell me how old Santa Claus is!"
"Okay," he said with a look at his daughter that he hoped would show her that he thought this was just as important to him as it apparently was to her. "I guess I don't really know how old he is. Let's go do some looking-up on the computer or in our books and find out. It'll be fun."
And that's what they did. And that's how it was.
No comments:
Post a Comment