Getting’ Ready for Christmas Day

Christmas gifts probably stem from the story of the magi who came to worship the newly-born Savior bearing gold, frankincense and myrrh. Yes, gift giving gets overblown at times, but it can be a good thing when the recipients are not expecting any really cool gifts.

Paul Simon is the bearer of such a gift this year. Though he is far removed from his Tom and Jerry days, the name he and Art Garfunkel first performed under, he has new music out, including a Christmas song, the title of which I have borrowed for this column.

This song,” Getting Ready for Christmas Day”, is taken from a sermon given by an African American preacher, J M Gates, recorded in the 30’s. The song also samples another sermon given by Preacher Gates, in which Preacher Gates suggests that the undertaker may be your Santa Claus. So, as this might suggest, this isn’t a happy Christmas tune.

The singer works two jobs so he can afford to buy Christmas gifts. His nephew is in Iraq for the third time and looks to be in the Afghan war by Christmas. Still, the singer accepts all with a stoicism that would do us all proud in a time of economic hardship and the continuing war on terror. All in all, another fine effort from Rhymin’ Simon.

Giving the unexpected gift is a wonderful thing, in and of itself. I got to do that way back when I was in the U. S. Army, serving in West Berlin. Every year, our company, Company C, hosted a Christmas party for a school that housed children with special needs. We spared no expense in raising money for this yearly tradition, and managed to give every child a new gift each year at a party they all looked forward to.

But there was another opportunity and that was for volunteers to just be there at the party to greet each child with a hug and to ensure they all had a good time. I was understandably, at least in my mind, reluctant to get involved in this part of the project.

I didn’t speak the children’s language very well. In fact, I hardly spoke it at all. I could barely manage to make myself misunderstood in German. But something made me go, anyway. I had one angle and a Polaroid camera, and I planned to take pictures of the children as they got their gifts. And I planned to do my best with my limited ability to communicate with them.

Turns out I had nothing to worry about. One of the children, a boy maybe 10 or so, became my beste freund, and accompanied me throughout the building for the duration of the party. I took a lot of pictures, and surrendered the photos to the children or to their care takers. Again, I was unsure of how this was going over, but I was having a ball, and that was unexpected.

At the end of the party, one of the school’s personnel came over to me and expressed thanks for the photos I’d taken. He assured me the children’s parents were all very happy and that this had made the party extra special.

And that was my special gift for that Christmas.