Teach The Children

Just a week before Christmas I had a visitor.
This is how it happened.
I had just finished the household chores
for the night and was preparing to go to bed
when I heard a noise in the front of the house.
I opened the door of the front room,
and to my surprise,
Santa Claus himself stepped out from behind
the Christmas tree.
He placed his finger over his mouth so I would not cry out.

What are you doing...
I started to ask,
but the words choked up in my throat
as I saw He had tears in his eyes.
His usual jolly manner was gone...
gone was the eager, happy soul we all know.

He then answered me with a simple statement
Teach the Children
I was puzzled. What did he mean?
He anticipated my question and with one quick movement
brought forth a miniature toy bag from behind the tree.
As I stood there bewildered, Santa again said
Teach the Children.
Teach them the true meaning of Christmas...
The meaning that nowadays has been forgotten.

I started to say
How can I...
When Santa reached into the small toy bag
and pulled out a brilliant shiny star.

Teach the Children the star
was the heavenly sign of promise long ago.
God promised a Savior for the world and the star
was a sign of the fulfillment of that promise.
The countless shining stars at night...
one for each man...
Santa gently laid the star upon the fireplace mantle
and drew forth from the bag a glittering red Christmas tree ornament.

Teach the Children
Red is for the first color of Christmas.
It was first used by the faithful people
to remind them of the blood which was shed
for all the people by the Savior.
Christ gave his life.
Red is deep, intense, vivid...
It is the greatest color of all.
It is the symbol of the gift of God.

Teach the Children
He said as he dislodged a small Christmas tree
from the depths of his toy bag.
He placed it before the mantle
and gently hung the red ornament on it.
The deep green of the fir tree
was a perfect background for the ornament.
Here was the second color of Christmas.

The pure green color of the stately fir tree that remains
green all year round, He said.
This depicts the everlasting hope of mankind.
Green is the youthful, abundant color of nature.
All the needles point of man’s returning thoughts toward heaven.
The great green tree has been man’s best friend.
It has sheltered him, and made beauty for him.
I heard a soft tinkling sound.

It should ring for a man to return to the fold...
It means guidance and return...
It further signifies that all are precious in the eyes of the Lord.
As the soft sound of the bell faded into the night,

Santa drew forth a candle,
He placed it upon the mantle and the soft glow from it’s tiny flame
cast a glow about in the darkened room.
Odd shapes and shadows slowly danced and weaved upon the walls.

Teach the Children

whispered Santa,
That the candle shows man’s thanks for the star long ago.
It’s small light is the mirror of starlight.
At first, candles were placed on the trees-
They were like many glowing stars shinning against the dark green.
The colored lights have now taken over in remembrance.

Santa turned the small Christmas tree lights on and picked up a gift,
From under the tree He pointed to the large bow and said
A Bow is placed on a present to remind us of the spirit
of the brotherhood of man.
We should remember that the bow is tied as men should be tied,
all of us together, with the bonds of goodwill towards each other.
Good will forever is the message of the bow.

Santa slung his bag over his shoulder and began to reach for the candy cane.
Placed it high on the tree.
He unfastened it and reached out towards me with it.

Teach the Children
That the candy cane represents the shepherd’s crook.
The crook on the staff helps bring back the strayed sheep to the flock.
The candy cane represents the helping hand we should show at Christmas time.
The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brothers keepers.

As Santa looked about the room,
a feeling of satisfaction shone in his face.
He read wonderment in my eyes,
and I am sure he sensed admiration for this night.

He reached into his bag and brought forth a large Holly wreath....
He placed it on the door and said
Please Teach the Children
the wreath symbolizes the eternal nature of love,it never ceases, stops, or ends.
It is one continuous round of affection.
The wreath does double duty, It is made of many things and in many colors. It should remind us all of the things of Christmas.