Gifts from Father Christmas

It has been my custom to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to the children during Advent, and a few nights ago we began again.  One thing that I love is that this book is so rich that it continues to engage even those older listeners who know it very well.  (Not related to this post, but worth noting that my husband’s tradition is to read Dickens’ A Christmas Carol to the children, usually in the week following Christmas when he is home from work.  I would not have thought to read this to young kids, but they love it, even the scary ghost story parts, and they understand it.)

Back to Narnia — when the Pevensie children arrive through the wardrobe, Narnia it is under the control of the White Witch, who has made it always winter and never Christmas.  There is some underground belief in Aslan, but to many the stories of this powerful lion are dismissed as rumor or legend.  When the children, with help from the good talking animals, flee the white witch, they are visited by Father Christmas.

The arrival of Father Christmas signifies that the thaw has begun and that Aslan is on the move, and Father Christmas specifically says that the white witch has kept him away for many years.  This reminds us first of all that Santa, even in his secular form at the mall, points to Christ.

Second, he brings a particular gift for each child, “tools, not toys,” gifts which will serve them well when it is time for them to fight the battle between good and evil, and he tells them a very little bit about the role that they are to play in the battle and the virtue which will be required.

Lastly, after he goes, the children and the beavers share a celebratory meal together.

Christmas is a celebration of our faith in the Incarnation, God’s choosing to make Himself present and visible among us, and that hope is first and last the source of our joy at Christmas, but festive meals and well chosen gifts need not be just the secular trappings, rather, they can be an important aid on our Christian journey.  It is worth thinking and praying about how the tangible aspects of your celebration serve this purpose of bringing hope and tools for the journey.

Are our gatherings with family and friends a time to communicate hope and joy, offer comfort to the lonely and weary, bring light into the darkness?  Do we try to do that while we are together?  Are we busy with planning and making it perfect (or, on the other hand, so disorganized that we are at it until the last minute), so that we have no time for the people with whom the meal is shared?  Do we pray for them in advance, for the conversations that we will have, and do we try to remember to be ourselves a light in the celebration?

What about our gifts?  Do they serve a purely material purpose, or is it possible to give a gift which will help someone in their spiritual battle?  These gifts need not be religious (though a new Missal would be a great gift this year!), but especially with children and those who do not share the faith, they can be gifts which show caring and uplift the very best in human virtue.

A young girl might get modest but attractive clothing, encouraging her to be comfortable and pretty without aspiring to be Gaga.

A young boy I know, son of an electrical engineer, is getting a circuit set, because I think that father/son interaction is one of the best things for a boy in the formative years.

My children are getting a stack of board games, because I know that there has been too much TV in our lives over the past few months.

My daughter has made matching pajamas for all of the cousins, being careful to include those visiting from New Hampshire whom we only see twice a year.  Our hope is that the rituals of Christmas Eve together will build a family bond for these children which will make up for the distance, and so far it is working, they look forward to being together and greet each other as old friends.

Of course, one of the best ways to shine a light is to give a really good book, carefully chosen and appropriate for the age or reading level, and with a subtle but pervasive moral or important questions to consider.  This does double duty, because, I believe, that when books are gifts is highlights the importance of reading, so you have sent a strong message before the book is even opened.

Here are some wonderful books that you might not already own:

The Complete Set of The Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis, come on every one, read the rest of them, they are incredible, rich, deep and spiritually significant.

The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes, for an elementary school aged girl who might be tempted to get how girls get, a lesson about excluding and judging someone for being different.

Three Cups of Tea, the young readers edition, by Greg Mortenson (there is a great audio): The story of a K2 climber who kept a promise to build a school in a remote village in Pakistan, and how that promise turned into a major charitable foundation.  This story does many important things, including humanizing our Muslim brothers and sisters in a country we might view as “enemy,” shining a light on poverty and the lack of access to education, especially for girls, showing how one persons courage can truly make a difference in the world.

Gooney Bird Green by Lois Lowry: These funny, off beat stories make a great read aloud for children of mixed gender and ages

Little Britches: Father and I were Ranchers by Ralph Moody: What I am calling the “boys’ Little House,” though my girls loved these family oriented, character driven cowboy stories too.

Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton: Everyone knows about Mike Mulligan (and have I mentioned the amazing orchestral adaptation by the London Symphony, order it immediately), but here is another story of a hard working machine, she gets called to work in a crisis and she does not rest until the important work is done.  This is also a nice pick because it is a winter story.

Poetry Speaks to Children by Elise Paschun:  My earliest memory of loving poetry was a CD ROM on which Robert Frost read Fire and Ice over a scratchy recording.  Poetry is so much more accessible when it is read aloud, and even more so when read by the author, as it often is in this great anthology.  Some of the poems are for children, but some are just wonderful classic poems that everyone should hear, my favorite is Langston Hughes’ The Negro Speaks of Rivers.

Edited to add:

When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest:  I had forgotten the title of this wonderful immigrant story which includes courage, hard work and love.  It is a well illustrated picture book for older readers.  Thanks to Melissa Wiley’s readers for helping me find it!