I believe in Father Christmas

As I loaded up the DVD into the computer today in order to show my students A Year Without A Santa Claus, I could hardly believe how little the students in my class truly knew of the Christmas holiday. In all honesty (because you know I try to be an honest person), I could have sat and cried.

I guess I truly took for granted the upbringing I had. We always looked forward to the Christmas specials that were on TV between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I remember thumbing through the TV Guide each week to scan each page and see when they were on! Usually Rudolph got the first viewing of the year, followed by all the wonderful Rankin and Bass specials. To this day, I mark them in my phone calendar so I know when they are on TV! I have my favorites and of course, my least favorites, but I watch them all the same! It's part of the fun of the season!

I probably should have known when we tried watching Emmet Otter on Saturday night with my nieces. Honestly, only ONE of my four nieces truly enjoyed the experience. The others kind of sneered at the simplicity of the special, laughing because of how primitive the puppets are. "You can see the strings" "How annoying" "This is awful" My heart broke. Sure, it is a very low budget kind of special, but heck, it is nearly 40 years old. And for a production done in 1977, it sure isn't all that bad to watch. At least they know who Emmet Otter is. They know Rudolph, too!

Today, as we watched A Year Without A Santa Claus, I was shocked that my students had never seen it. Watching Christmas specials is not something they do in their house. I promised them that as the week went on, we'd watch even more of the specials that make Christmas, well Christmas. Tomorrow, we will watch Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. After watching A Year Without A Santa Claus, one of my boys asked if we could watch another special that was on the disc, Rudolph's Shiny New Year. Of course I wouldn't turn down the request....I want my students to be exposed to all things Christmas this year. As we watched, we asked another of my students if he knew who the guy was with the shiny red nose.....his response, "I have no clue." My heart sank. He truly didn't know Rudolph. He was totally uninterested in any of the specials, most likely because Christmas isn't really a big deal in his family. Not that they don't celebrate it, just that they don't make a big deal of it. It's pretty much another day. Sadness took over.

What happened to celebrating as a family? What happened to being excited at the coming of Santa Claus? What happened to remembering the love that came down at Christmas? What happened that we don't create these memories, no matter how silly others think they are, with our children? I fear the future of a special holiday, when even our youngsters now don't appreciate the specials viewed. I fear the future of Christmas when children can't even sing along to Rudolph because they don't know the echo parts or even who he is. But I won't stop believing.......

I believe in Father Christmas. I believe in Santa Claus. And because I believe, I am hoping for a Christmas miracle. I am hoping that my students, somehow, someway, become moved by the season. I'm praying that they will see the beauty in Christmas and one day, ONE DAY, will look back at this school year and remember that I introduced them to the specials, that I took the time to make memories with them, that Christmas inspires them as it does me. I believe in Father Christmas.

I wish you a hopeful Christmas

I wish you a brave New Year

All anguish, pain, and sadness

Leave your heart and let your road be clear

They said there'll be snow at Christmas

They said there'll be peace on earth

Hallelujah! Noel! Be it heaven or hell:

The Christmas you get, you deserve

Until tomorrow, my friends.....may you bring the hope and peace of Christmas to someone's life.

Think Thankfully!!!