She walked along at a brisk pace with her signature side to side bounce, a gait that comes from some difficulty with balance, motor planning, and sensory feedback. It was a beautiful cool crisp afternoon and the sky was full of puffy rain clouds, none heavy enough to forecast rain for the moment, but all just dark enough to create a picturesque back drop for the pictures her dad was taking. The walking path stretched out for miles winding in and out of newer neighborhoods and then beside charming countryside scenes of old farmhouses, horses grazing in pastures, and a wooden bridge hung across a creek. It was lined with wooden rail fencing and strewn with gravel which made for a delightful rhythmic soundtrack beneath their feet. As the two of them walked along the path she became more and more content. He could see this in the way she had tucked her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, and it was confirmed by the constant stream of chatter coming from her busy and energetic mind.
These moments with Abbey are precious to Eric as a dad, and I often get to see them captured in pictures and video clips sent to my phone before the pair of them ever even arrive back home again. On this particular day, knowing that Abbey had settled into a certain contentment, he proceeded to ask a series of questions to which she gave adorable answer upon answer.
He began with, “Hey Abbey why do we smile?”
She answered, “Cuz, I have a good time.” And added, “Cuz it makes me happy.”
He probed for more, “What makes you happy?”
She replied sweetly, “You.” Then she shared her own thoughts on the matter, “I make you smile.”
Eric replied, “You do make me smile.” And added, “Do you make me giggle?” Something she often talks about in moments of fun.
She replied sweetly and succinctly, “Ya”
Eric expanded upon the subject, “Why do you make me giggle?”
Abbey concluded, “Cuz I’m a tease.”
Then seemingly random yet not so random with Christmas fast approaching, she began a fun new line of questioning with a new subject matter, “Is Santa Claus a Christian?”
When Eric came home and told me about her cute curious question, it reminded me of the old story about the newspaper man who once answered another small girl’s inquisitive question about Santa with, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” But Abbey wasn’t just asking simply if Santa was real. She was actually wondering if Santa knew Jesus, the one who’s birth we celebrate, like she did. It was so sweet!
The Christmas season is filled with images of Santa Claus. This jolly old character with the long white beard, clad in a fur trimmed red suit, and sitting on top of a sleigh pulled by eight magical reindeer is a cheerful reminder of so many things that are good about the Christmas season. The mere sight of Santa Claus brings on thoughts of love, of joy, of generosity, and of peace. And while he may be a fictional character created in every culture around the world to help celebrate Christmas cheer, his legend actually comes from the story of a real man named St Nicholas.
St Nicholas was a man born in the third century AD in what is now present-day Turkey. He was a devout Christian who later became a bishop. When he was a young man he lost both of his parents and went on to use his inheritance to help the poor. There are stories of him leaving bags of money at night for those who he knew were in need. Many centuries later the story would be told by children in Holland who celebrated St Nicholas day on Dec 6th with wooden shoes left out at night meant to receive St Nicholas’s gifts. This tradition was then brought to America in the 1700’s as a celebration of Sint Nikolaas or Sinterklaas. From this we eventually adopted the story of Santa Claus and St Nicholas became forever a part of the Christmas celebration on December 25th. And it all started with the story of a real man, named Saint Nicholas, who was indeed a Christian and who because of His love for God loved others with the generous giving of gifts. A tradition that continues to this day at Christmas time.
Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas!
