Sharing the Joy and Peace of Christmas
A column by Gov. Dennis Daugaard:
Sometimes I wonder if every kid who grew up on a South Dakota farm or ranch went out with their dad on Christmas Eve searching for Santa Claus.
We always did. Dad would load us kids in the car. Mom stayed behind, to finish a few jobs, she always said. We would drive in the hushed countryside, peering through the frosted windows at the night sky for a glimpse of a sleigh and reindeer. Young as I was, I found magic in the search.
On clear nights, the moon and stars twinkled from horizon to horizon. Fresh snow on the stubble fields and pastures sparkled as if someone had spilled a huge bag of sugar. Once or twice the moonlight on the snow played tricks on my young mind, making me believe I spotted the shadow of a flying object. When I looked up, though, all I saw was that magnificent blanket of stars in the South Dakota sky.
We never found Santa, but somehow when we returned to the warm farmhouse, he’d been there. Brightly wrapped presents lay under and around the tree. One year, he even left our presents on the low, snow-covered kitchen roof. I love the memories of those childhood Christmas Eves, even if we never caught the jolly man in the red suit. As a child, I knew he was out there.
I suppose I had my doubts once in a while, just as eight-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon did in 1897 when she wrote to the editor of the New York Sun to ask, “Please tell me the truth. Is there a Santa Claus?’’
Francis Church, editor of the newspaper, responded with a wonderful and timeless editorial that included the lines, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy.’’
No child, no adult, needs to actually spy Santa Claus to know that love, generosity and devotion exist. Those qualities surround us, if we only pause to recognize them. Any mom or dad will know how rewarding it is to watch a child open a gift. And it is truly fulfilling, a rich gift to our spirits, to share the joy of the season with others. We can do that with our own children home from college or on leave from military duty. We can do it with friends and neighbors. We can do it with strangers we meet on the street, with anyone in need in our communities.
Taking time at Christmas to appreciate the gifts we receive all year round and to share the gifts we have with others is a sure way to make the holiday a most fulfilling and blessed time of the year.
And it isn’t just at Christmas season that we could appreciate and share our gifts. Bob Hope, that gentle and witty comedian, once said, “My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: Loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?’’
Why, indeed? May each of us find joy and peace in the blessings of this Christmas season, and may we share that joy and peace all through the year.
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