Perhaps the Best Little Christmas Ever

When I was a boy of eight we had a very special Christmas at school. I attended a very small three room schoolhouse in rural South Carolina.  Like children everywhere we got excited about Christmas. Every year, on the last day of school before Christmas vacation, we would decorate a Christmas tree and sing carols to celebrate the Christmas season. Each of us would bring something to put on the Christmas tree.

One afternoon on the  day before we decorated the tree my sister and I got off the school bus near twilight at the farm where we lived. After doing our chores we had supper of salmon patties with grits and milk gravy.  It was one of my favorite meals. We, Sissy and I, asked Mama about some Christmas decorations for our tree at school. Mama said, “I don’t think we have anything you can use. But I will look.”

A few minutes later she returned and said, “I’m sorry children, but we don’t have anything for your Christmas tree at school. It has been a very bad year for the farm, and Christmas will be  small this year.”

“But, Mama, what are we going to do?” I lamented.

“Maybe Grandma can help you! Tony there’s a full moon tonight. You can take a flashlight and walk to her house if you want. And you take care of your sister, you hear?”

It was beginning to get very cold as we walked down the red dirt road to Grandma’s house. It was about a mile away. The moon was full and very bright. Wisps of feathery clouds hid some of the millions of stars in the sky.

Soon we were at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. Their dog, Black Boy, met us barking with his tail wagging.  I patted him on the head, and his tail wagged faster.  

Grandma hugged us as usual, and we went inside. Grandpa was sitting by the fire in his rocker dozing. I could smell a batch of fresh baked cookies. It made me  almost forget why we were there.

“Grandma,” I said, “Mama said maybe you could help us.”

“We need something to put on the Christmas tree at school,” Sissy said.

“Course I will help you, child! We’ll find something”.

Grandma left the room, and I could hear her looking for something in their bedroom. Soon she came back.

“I thought about what we could make.  I couldn’t find nothing. But, I think we can make something” Grandma said.

“I like to make things!” Sissy said.

Grandma sat in her chair, and Sissy and I gathered around. She pulled a piece of shiny Christmas wrapping paper from her apron.

“A long time ago an old gypsy woman showed me how to make a star out of paper. This paper will make a real pretty one if I can remember how to do it,” Grandma said as she began to fold the pretty paper. She folded the paper several times. When she was finally satisfied with the way it looked she reached into her apron and pulled out a pair of scissors. With a quick snip she cut the paper.

Slowly she unfolded the paper and like magic a beautiful five-pointed star appeared. It sparkled in the firelight.

“Oh, it’s so beautiful, Grandma, just like the star of Bethlehem!” Sissy said, “The star over the baby Jesus in the manger.”

“It is pretty, but we need to get back home before Mama starts to worry about us,”I said, “but could we get a cookie before we leave?”

We had milk and cookies before we left. They were very good, 0the way Grandma’s cookies always were. Sugar cookies, yum..

It was much colder on the walk home. Normally, I would have told Sissy a scary story to scare her, but I didn’t. Maybe I had the Christmas spirit. When we got to our house we saw the first snowflake of winter.  I could tell it was going to be a very good Christmas.

The next day was a special day at school. There would be no reading, writing or arithmetic that day. It was the day before Christmas vacation. Our teacher, Miss Kate Johnson, let the older boys use the school axe to chop down a beautiful cedar tree. They drug it inside the schoolhouse and stood it up for us to decorate. Mrs. Scott, the cook, popped lots of popcorn which we made into garlands to hang on the tree. Some of us boys ate some of the popcorn although we weren’t supposed to. The younger kids made colored chains to put on the tree, too. There were painted pine cones, which the older kids put on the tree, along with some colorful lights. The flashing lights were very pretty. We had almost finished decorating the tree when Miss Johnson asked, “Does anyone have anything for the top of the tree?”

“I do! I do!” screamed little Judy Wideman, jumping up and down. Judy always seemed to want attention.

“Look what I’ve got!” yelled Billy Walker. Billy thought he always had to be first.

“Okay, okay! We’ll vote to see whose ornament we will put on top of the tree. All for Judy’s raise your hand!” said Miss Johnson.

Judy’s ornament was selected. It was a beautiful angel she said her grandmother had bought on a trip to New York City. Judy climbed the ladder that the teacher put beside the tree to place the angel on top of the tree. As she was about to set the angel on the tree it slipped from her hands.   It made a big crash, and tiny pieces of angel went everywhere. Judy cried, but after Miss Johnson hugged her and spoke softly to her she seemwd to be alright. Then Billy got to climb the ladder to place his ornament on top of the tree.  “This is a special Christmas star my father bought in Chicago. It flashes on and off. Watch when I plug it in!” Billy said. But when he plugged it in there was a FLASH of bright light, a loud BANG, and a puff of SMOKE. The lights on the tree went out too. Some of the girls screamed.  The room was dark. There was no light except for what came through the windows from outside. Billy looked angry and said something must have been wrong with the tree’s lights!

Miss Johnson said, “What are we going to do now, children?”

I said, “My little sister has something.”

“What do you have, Sissy?” the teacher wanted to know.

Sissy, who was very shy, said haltingly in a low voice while looking at the floor “It’s just a paper star my grandma made…  It’s not fancy and expensive like Judy’s and Billy’s ornaments.”

“Let’s see it!” Miss Johnson said

Sissy slowly brought the little paper star from behind her back for everyone to see.  Miss Johnson said, “ I think that is exactly what we need. Tony can you place it on the top of our tree?”

“Yes ma’am,” I said as I grabbed the star and climbed quickly to the top of the tree. I used a short piece of thread to tie the star to the tree. As soon as I released the star a curious thing happened. All the lights on the tree came back on with a bright flash.

Miss Johnson and the children said, “O-o-o-o…”  Then, “Wow!” And then they clapped and cheered!  I  remembered what Sissy said the first time she saw it. It was like the star of Bethlehem!  The star over the baby Jesus! What a Christmas present it was! For all of us!

We sang and danced around that tree ‘til time to go home.  I think it was about the best Christmas ever!

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As many of you know I frequently do the children’s sermon at SPC. The following is one of those sermons which, as usual, is in the form of a story. This is a story of fiction but is very reminiscent of my childhood. I did attend a rural three-room school house and I lived on a farm in rural South Carolina.