Just last Monday night I had a strange visitor. This is how it happened. I had just finished the household chores for the night and was preparing to go to bed when I heard a noise in the front of the house. I opened the door of the front room, and to my surprise, a special visitor stepped out from behind the Christmas tree.
He placed his fingers over his lips so I would not cry out. "What are you doing?" I started to ask, but the words choked up in my throat as I saw that he had tears in his eyes.
He then answered me with the simple statement of "Teach the children." I was puzzled. What did he mean? He anticipated my question and with one quick movement, brought a miniature toy bag from behind the tree. As I stood there in my night shirt bewildered, the visitor said again, "Teach the children." My perplexed expression still showed in the near darkness.
"Teach them the old meaning of Christmas the meaning that Christmas now-days has forgotten." I started to say, "How can I?" when the visitor reached into the toy bag and pulled out a brilliant shiny star. "Teach the children the star was the heavenly sign of promise long ago. God promised a Savior for the world and a sign of the fulfillment of his promise. The countless shining stars at night one for each man now show the burning hope of all mankind."
As the visitor was twisting and pulling another object out of his bag, I heard the kitchen clock begin to strike twelve. I wanted to say something but he went right on. "Teach the children," he said, as the twisting and pulling suddenly dislodged a small Christmas tree from the depths of the toy bag. He placed it before the mantel and gently hung the red ornament. Here was the second color of Christmas. "The pure color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round," he said. "This depicts the everlasting hope of mankind. Green is the youthful, hopeful, abundant color of nature. All the needles point heavenward symbolic of man's returning thoughts toward heaven. The great, green tree has been man's best friend. It has sheltered him, warmed him, made beauty for him, formed his furniture.
As the soft sharp sound of the bell faded into the night, the visitor drew forth a candle. He placed it on the mantle and the soft glow from its tiny flame cast an erie glow about the darkened room. Odd shapes in the room slowly danced and weaved upon the walls. "Teach the children," whispered the visitor, "that the candle shows man's thanks for the star of long ago; it's small light is the mirror of the star light. At first candles were placed on the Christmas tree they were like many glowing stars shining against the dark green. Safety now has removed the candles from the tree and the colored lights have taken over in that remembrance."
Now my mind began to wonder what else the visitor might have in his bag. Instead of reaching in his bag, he slung it over his shoulder and began to reach up on the Christmas tree. I thought he was hungry as he reached for a candy cane purposely placed high on the tree. He unfastened it and reached out toward me with it. "Teach the children that the candy cane represents the shepherd's crook. The crook on the staff helps bring back the strayed sheep of the fold. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keepers."
I pondered and wondered and thrilled with delight as I sat and viewed
all those symbols that night. I dozed as I sat in the soft candle light,
and my thoughts were of the visitor and all he made right. To give and
to help, to love and to serve, are the best things of life, all men can
deserve. Jesus the Christ Child as small as an elf, is the very best symbol
of Christmas itself. He's the sign of the gift of love and of life, the
ending of evil, the ceasing of strife. The message to me on this pre-Christmas
night has opened a treasure of deepest insight. The one thing on earth
we all ought to do, is the teaching of children the right and the true.