Christmas Love
A True Story By Candy Chand

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, Nicholas, 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
She Was 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

Christ Was Love And I Believe, He Still Is

"Christmas Love"
A True Story By Candy Chand
Used With Authors Permission
The CopyRight On "Christmas Love"
Is Good For 100 Years
CopyRight © 1999-
Candy Chand





We Were Sent The Above Story In An E-Mail
It Was Titled "Christmas Story And Author Unknown
We Did A Google Search And Found The Author Of This True Story
Because We Wanted To Use It On Our Web Site
We E-Mailed Candy Chand And Obtained Permission To Use It

But As Candy Stated In The E-Mail
Few People Ever Bother To Search For The Real Author
Many Folks Have Changed The Words And Title And Author Byline

As We Found There Are Web Sites That Have "Christmas Love"
Posted As The "W" In Christmas Or "Christmas Story"

It Is Such A Wonderful Story That We Wanted To Thank Candy Chand
For Writing It And Allowing Us To Share It With You
And To Show Her As The True Author Of "Christmas Love"






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