Family of Believers...Behold the Spirit of Christmas

Christmas Eve, 1991.
Conversations around our house lately have been about the existence of Santa Clause.
When you think about it, Santa Clause is not a very plausible concept, especially the part about him crisscrossing the country with a team of flying reindeer and sliding down chimneys. That chimney part worried me as a child.
When I was growing up, we always had a fire in the fireplace on winter evenings. I would ask my Dad not to light a fire on Christmas Eve so Santa wouldn’t get scorched. Dad would tell me it was OK because Santa was like magic and a fire wouldn’t bother him. That made sense to me.
My little guys rationalize Santa’s inconsistencies with blind faith. After all, love is blind and Santa certainly is someone who inspires love.
My sons wonder why some of their friends don’t believe in Santa Clause. I think my sons have come to the conclusion that these nonbelievers are going to be sorry.
My children aren’t taking any chances. They are not doubting Santa’s existence. They want Santa to believe in them, too.
Mike asked if we could buy film for the camera. If it shows, he wants to take pictures of the tracks Santa’s reindeer leave on the roof.
Johnny suggested setting up the video camera to record everything that happened after he went to bed. Then he reconsidered. “There’s probably not a videotape long enough to last the whole night,” he said.
My children are believers. So is my husband. So am I.
I’ve always been a believer. Once I saw the real Santa Claus on Christmas Eve. Honest. I was 8 years old. I was in the bedroom I shared with my sisters. We were supposed to be asleep, but we were too excited.
Suddenly, my brother, John, who was the oldest, ran into our room and said, “You better get to sleep. Santa’s coming. He won’t stop at our house if you are still awake, and I just heard him. He’s over at the Sorensen’s house.”
We all ran to the window, and a couple of seconds later I saw Santa and his reindeer fly across our front lawn. And just as quickly, I jumped back into bed and went to sleep.
It was very exciting. It is something that happens only on a magical night such as this.
It’s Christmas Eve. Everything looks different, somehow. The stoplights and the gas stations on the corner, and the parks and the street in front of our house all look different. These places aren’t even decorated for Christmas, yet they have a special look.
The Christ Child envisioned a peaceful world filled with joy, kindness and unconditional love. Sometimes we depart from Jesus’ path for us. Believing in Santa Claus is like believing in ourselves. To believe, we have to forget skepticism and cynicism and have dreams of hope, love and sharing.
That’s the spirit of Christmas as Jesus intended.
December 24, 1991