The "W" in Christmas "...and a child shall lead them"

Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience.
I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing,
endless baking, decorating, and even overspending.

Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious
family moments, and of course, the true meaning of Christmas.

My son was in kindergarten that year. It was an exciting season for a
six year old. For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's
"Winter Pageant."

I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night of the
production. Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his
teacher. She assured me there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the
presentation. All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to
come then.

Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise.

So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early,
found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat down. Around the room, I saw
several other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited,
the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their
teacher, sat cross-legged on the floor. Then, each group, one by one,
rose to perform their song.

Because the public school system had long stopped referring to the
holiday as "Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun,
commercial entertainment songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and
good cheer.

So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was slightly
taken aback by its bold title. Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his
classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps
upon their heads.

Those in the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by
one, to spell out the title of the song.

As the class would sing "C is for Christmas," a child would hold up the
letter C. Then, "H is for Happy," and on and on, until each child
holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas
Love."

The performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a
small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down -
totally unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W".

The audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's
mistake. But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood
tall, proudly holding her "W".

Although many teachers tried to shush the children, the laughter
continued until the last letter was raised, and we all saw it together.

A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen.

In that instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we
celebrated the holiday in the first place, why even in the chaos, there
was a purpose for our festivities.

For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud and clear:

"C H R I S T W A S L O V E"

And, I believe, He still is. Amazed in His presence...humbled by His
love.

HAVE A BLESSED CHRISTMAS!

Oh my goodness, how sweet is that!!!

That is so cool.

Great story etey.Now there would be the true meaning of Christmas hey?I
would imagine many parents went home that eve.and gave that message some
further thought.A startling reminder for everyone to ponder over,and
slightly less focus on the commercialism and hoopla that surrounds that
special day.Very Nice!Godspeed!Cybear

That was too kewl thanks for sharing that with us!

you're welcome... glad to.. are you in charge?? LOL

Awsome experience there....would love to see the video of that if
someone had thought of bringing a cam.

Hummmm who in charge of what? lmao

Oh, and did you know that XMAS is not an insult to Christianity. It is
the Latin symbol for PEACE. So Merry XMAS!

That is awesome

great story, makes you think a little more about christmas

that certainly was an inspiring story, wish there was a way that
everyone could read it. not just the people on this site.

there is.. it is called copy and paste. you can copy it and send it in
an email to your friends and family and they can pass it on, etc.

I like good stories like that. Thank you.

That was beautiful man!
Best christmas meaning Ive heard or read in 46 years!
Thank You!