He’s coming to town
Now, if we have just had a fresh snow fall, someone (usually me) must first shake the tree attempting to remove the snow so everyone can take a look. Saskatchewan bush spruce are nothing like B.C. or Ontario Christmas trees you are used to purchasing from the boy scouts, nevertheless we have always been more than satisfied with our selection. More times than not though, by the time we got the tree home and inside we still had to cut an additional three or four feet off to fit it into the living room. It is quite amazing how you perceive the size when the tree is standing in the woods amongst the forest background. Once the tree was erected and decorated, the feel of Christmas would be in the air. One year when the children were still small, my parents were spending Christmas with us and my father had a full grey beard – it was decided he would play Santa Claus – something we had never done before. In our house we always celebrate Christmas Eve with our family and usually several of the local bachelors who would normally be alone. Those fellows would luck out being from a small community, they were sure to be invited for Christmas Day which meant they got to celebrate twice. After supper we would head upstairs to open gifts, we had told the children to listen for the reindeer on the roof and since a fire was burning in the fire place Santa would have to come in through the balcony. No one knew Santa was coming except my wife and I. In order to get Santa in place, we dressed him in the basement then out the basement door and up an extension ladder to the balcony. Now, this Santa was not particularly fond of heights so there was a fair bit of commotion getting into position on the balcony. Inside all the noise got everyone’s attention and we continued to explain that Santa was having difficulty landing the reindeer as he didn’t normally come in the balcony. When Santa came through the balcony door, carrying a burlap bag, Karla, our oldest was so shocked at the sight of Santa she ran screaming into her bedroom, Natasha, the youngest burst into fearful tears and as for the old bachelors they thought they were witnessing the second coming of Santa. At this point everyone was overcome with laughter, as for the children it took a good while to coax them on to Santa’s knee to receive a gift. Santa had presents for everyone, the children watched in awe as Santa ate his cookies and milk before departing for his next stop. Thinking that having Santa in the neighbourhood was a great idea, I donned the Santa suit restocked the bag and headed out to several friends in the Island Lake community. Without warning Santa arrived at their door bearing gifts for all. Never expecting to be met by horrified children at the sight of Santa, I could only surmise it was most unusual for the children to see Santa somewhere other than the mall. In the end I can only say we were trying to spread some Christmas spirit. Today I still see those children as adults and occasionally reminisce the night Santa came to their door. May you all enjoy this holiday season as we celebrate the birth of our Saviour and Lord Jesus Christ. |
