Quote from Forum Archives on December 21, 2002, 12:45 am

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

*** The Christmas Envelope ***

 

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas
tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the
branches of our tree for the past 10 years or so.

 

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas.

 

Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it.
Overspending -- the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie
for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma -- the gifts given in
desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

 

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts,
sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike.
The inspiration came in an unusual way.

 

Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at
the school he attended, and shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league
match against a team sponsored by an intercut church. These youngsters,
dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing
holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their
spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.

 

As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling
without headgear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's
ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously could not afford.

 

Well, we ended up walloping them, taking every weight class. As each of
their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with
false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.

 

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, I wish just one of them could
have won; he said. They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could
take the heart right out of them. Mike loved kids-all kids-and he knew them,
having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse.

 

That's when the idea for his present came. That afternoon, I went to a local
sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and
shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner-city church.

 

On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling
Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me. His smile was the
brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years.

 

For each Christmas, I followed the tradition -- one year sending a group of
mentally handicapped youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a
pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before
Christmas, and on and on.

 

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last
thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys,
would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope
from the tree to reveal its contents. As the children grew, toys gave way to
more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure.

 

The story doesn't end there.

 

You see, we lost Mike last year due to dreaded cancer. When Christmas rolled
around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. But
Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning,
it was joined by three more.

 

Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on
the tree for their dad. The tradition has grown and someday will expand even
further with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed
anticipation watching as their fathers take down the envelope.
Mike's spirit, like the Christmas spirit, will always be with us.

 

May we all remember Christ, who is the reason for the season, and the true
Christmas spirit.

 

****************************************************************************

 

*** Oh, Christmas Tree ***

 

The Christmas tree was once used as a symbol of life. It is a tradition older than Christianity and not exclusive to any one religion. Here are some of the things greenery and trees were used for long before there ever was a Christmas.
Egyptians brought green palm branches into their homes on the shortest day of the year in December as a symbol of life's triumph over death.

 

Romans adorned their homes with evergreens during Saturnalia, a winter festival in honor of Saturnus, their god of agriculture. Druid priests decorated oak trees with golden apples for their winter solstice festivities.

 

In the middle ages, the Paradise tree, an evergreen hung with red apples, was the symbol of the feast of Adam and Eve held on December 24th.
The first recorded reference to the Christmas tree itself dates back to the 16th century. In Strasbourg, Germany (now part of France), families both rich and poor decorated fir trees with colored paper, fruits and sweets. The retail Christmas tree lot also dates back that far. In those times, older women would sell trees harvested from nearby forests.

 

The tradition spread through Europe and was brought to the United States by German settlers and by Hessian mercenaries paid to fight in the Revolutionary War. In 1804, American soldiers stationed at Fort Dearborn (now Chicago) hauled trees from surrounding woods to their barracks at Christmas to decorate with hand made ornaments and candy. The popularity of the Christmas tree then proliferated and spread throughout the U.S.A. and Canada.

 

In spite of, and because of, the myths and traditions, trees and other greenery have been a part of winter celebrations for a very long time. A symbol of hope and protection from the evil believed to lurk in the dark of the winter months even before there was any thought of Christmas. Holiday plants brighten up our homes when the outside is decidedly white and lifeless looking - but remember that for some twelve-year-old boys it's a time to duck and run quickly through doorways in panic at the sight of arriving relatives.

 

**************************************************************************************

 

*** A Donkey's Story ***
 
   I heard the door creak open
 And watched them slowly come inside
 There were just the two of them
 Standing side by side.
 
She was young and in distress
 I sensed it right away
 He made a place right next to me
In which for her to lay.
 
   We were quiet, all of us
Not a whinny nor a bray was heard
The stable filled with quiet moans
She didn't speak a word.
 
   I stood there watching quietly
As the stable filled with light
My eyes were drawn toward Heaven
And a special star that shown so bright.
 
The next thing I remember
There were cries of a newborn babe
He was wrapped in swaddling clothes
And next to me in the manger laid.
 
Angels appeared and sang their praises
Unto the newborn King
And our lowly stable was transformed
Into a Holy, Heavenly scene!
 
   Three kings came from the East
And offered gifts to Him,
And I remember a sweet aroma
From the frankincense of these men.
 
It's a moment engraved in time
It affects all who will ever live
The night that God chose to send
His most wondrous, precious gift.
 
This is the story I love to tell
It's from a donkey's point of view
Just ask any one of my friends
And they'll tell you that it is true!
 
This was the night that Christ was born
  God's gift to all who will believe
Mankind was blessed, but so was I
For He was placed right next to me!

 

Have a Blessed Day
Dave and Barbara

 

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