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CHRISTMAS EVE AWE
The year was 1978 and it was Christmas Eve. My husband and I, along with our son, my brother and sisters and their families, had all gathered at my parent's home.
Earlier we had contacted a friend of the family and requested his appearance as Santa Claus that evening, which he agreed to fulfill. It was getting close to bedtime for all the kids and Santa had not arrived. Fearing that perhaps the gentleman wasn't going to make it, my husband slipped out, taking the Santa suit we had purchased for the occasion, and headed next door to my brother's house to change into the suit himself.
Just then, the "real" Santa, who was already wearing a Santa suit, arrived. Together they went to my brother's house in order to fill his bag with presents we had set aside for the kids.
Meanwhile, back at my parent's house the kids were filled with excitement and anticipation of the gifts and toys that would be underneath the tree the next morning. They had no idea they were about to meet the "real" Santa Claus.
A short time later my husband came back without the kids ever knowing he was gone. The doorbell rang and we heard, "HO, HO, HO! Merry Christmas!", as my dad answered the door.
There before our eyes stood the most believable Santa Claus any of us had ever seen. From the large bag filled with presents thrown over his shoulder and his rosy cheeks, to the twinkle in his eyes, along with the
jolly way he spoke, there wasn't any doubt we had found a perfect actor for Santa. The kids and adults alike were all in awe at this gentle giant of a man who proceeded to sit down, placing his bag of gifts at his side.
There was a moment of silence as we all remained in awe when my son felt the need to express to Santa how he was feeling. He began singing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He sang the whole song by himself with such feeling that by the time he had finished there were tears in everyone's eyes, including Santa's. Santa reached out and gently picked up our son and gave him a big hug telling him that was the best Christmas present anyone had ever given him.
Santa then proceeded to hand out one gift to each child telling them there would be more under the tree in the morning. He then got up and walked to the front door, cocked his head, and said, "Merry Christmas
everyone!"
"Merry Christmas, Santa," we said in unison. The door closed behind him and shortly after we heard, "HO, HO, HO! Merry Christmas!", along with what sounded like sleigh bells. The kids ran to the windows on either side
of the door to look out, but were unable to see anything. It was as though
"Santa" had merely vanished.
Unable to restrain the older kids, they opened the door and ran out in hopes that they would be able to get a better view of what was going on. But there wasn't any Santa in sight. Suddenly, one of the kids said he saw
what looked like hoof prints in the yard. We all ran out to look and found prints all over the front yard that looked incredibly like hoof prints. Perhaps our imagination had taken over, but you would never be able to convince my family that something very special and perhaps even magical hadn't taken place.
Years later, during a visit to my parent's house, we were fortunate enough to see the gentleman who had offered to become Santa for us on that memorable night. He never did explain how he "vanished" so quickly, or the sound of the sleigh bells, and only smiled when we told him about the hoof prints.
As his eyes glistened with tears, he simply told us that it was a night he would never forget as long as he lived.
Roberta Carmichael <dcarmic2 @ tampabay.rr.com
Christmas is the day that holds all time together.
- - - Alexander Smith
In Brazil, Christmas is celebrated with fireworks.
