An Unexpected Gift 

Have you ever received an unexpected gift? Were you surprised and overjoyed to receive it? Or perhaps a little stressed out because you had nothing to give in return. Today’s episode is titled “The Unexpected Gift”, about the gift of story, understanding, and giving during the holiday season. *Warning* this story has some pretty detailed information about Santa’s plans this holiday season, so it’s not for our young listeners. 

Sources for today’s story: self-recollection, the website catholic.org, and FeedingAmerica.org’s website for statistics

The One Takeaway I hope you get from this story: Not everyone has the same opportunities that you do

Let’s get cracklin’, shall we?

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It is early December and I am only 8 years old. You will not believe the most interesting theory I heard on the school bus today!

SANTA CLAUS…DOESN’T EXIST?

THE PARENTS BUY ALL THE TOYS AND STAGE THEM TO LOOK LIKE SANTA CLAUS DELIVERED THEM?

The parents eat the cookies left out for “Santa”? They drink all the milk left out for “Santa”? They even eat all the carrots left out for the reindeer!

I just don’t buy it, it’s ludicrous!

I decided to ask my Mother anyway. 

“Mom, I heard that Santa doesn’t exist and you and Dad just buy everything. Is that true?”

My mom’s expression became frozen into an unusual grin, ”My Mom said that if you truly believe, there will always be something for you under the tree!” 

And she backed off awkwardly out of the kitchen. And If you know my mother, she NEVER leaves her kitchen.

Something was up.

I’ll go ask my Dad.

Dad, “You know, I heard a rumor today on the bus and I really don’t think it’s true but thought I’d ask you anyway. Is Santa Real?”

“No, he isn’t. Your Mom and I buy everything and place it under the tree,” he casually relayed.

What? What do you mean? How? My world of Rudolph and Frosty, elves and Vixen and Blitzen came Dashing and Dancing down like a Comet.

“Ughhhh…,” my father sputtered, “it’s probably best if you don’t tell your Mom I told you. And on that note, don’t tell your little brother either. And don’t tell your cousins…in fact, don’t tell anyone!”

My brain just couldn’t process this, but it all makes sense! I’m crushed, but intrigued. 

“Dad, why did you tell me?” I inquired. 

“Well, I’m not sure that Santa Claus, reindeer, and elves are something that we should teach children in our society to believe in,” he retorted. 

“Huh? Why not? I love Rudolph! Who doesn’t love Rudolph?” I questioned.

“First, did you know that Santa Claus is based on “St. Nicholas”, a 3rd century bishop who dedicated his life to help the needy?” My father inquired.

“No.”

“Well,” he instructed, “a story about St. Nicholas tells of a poor man with three daughters who all needed money for dowries to marry. In those times, a woman without a dowry was unlikely to marry and would be sold into slavery or…worse! Mysteriously, a bag of gold was thrown in through the window of the home on three different occasions–most unexpected gifts, indeed! Upon the last instance the father caught Nicholas in his charitable act and sang his praises. This gave rise to the tradition of children hanging socks from the chimney, or placing shoes near the door or fireplace to receive a gift from “St. Nicholas“.

Wow, this was interesting. My father continued, his voice suddenly becoming more forlorn. 

 “Well, I’m not sure how much you know about me. I was the oldest boy of 6 siblings. When I was your age right now, my father deserted us.  My mother had to work two shifts at the cotton mill and took odd sewing and cleaning jobs. We ate only three types of soup: cabbage, ketchup, and potato if we were lucky to eat at all. We went hungry. We had nothing. 

“Every Christmas we thought that if we were good all year and asked “St. Nick,” he would fill our shoes and stockings with unexpected gifts – the bicycles, baseball bats, and dolls that we wanted, and also the shoes, food, and warm clothes that we absolutely needed. St. Nick would help us, he had to!

“On our best Christmas, we received  a small box of oranges and walnuts to share. Most Christmases we received nothing at all.

“Santa Claus brought our friends and everyone at school their bikes, toys, shoes, clothes, and dolls. Why did he bring us nothing? What did we do wrong?”

My father seemed to have aged dramatically since the beginning of this recollection. 

I was hearthbroken at my father’s story which turned out to be one of the greatest unexpected gifts I’d ever been given. I suddenly realized how inequality affects children, especially around the holidays. It robs them of the hope and security that I had always taken for granted. Just five minutes ago I was greatly upset about the truth about Santa Claus, while many of my classmates and friends had been living this reality through poverty. 

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FeedingAmerica.org reports that in 2017 the United States Department of Agriculture published that 12.3 percent of all U.S.. households remain food insecure – meaning that 1 in 8 had difficulty knowing where their next meal would come from.

Feeding America’s website has a feature where you can look up statistics for your location. 

When I researched information about hunger in South Carolina, I found that it was unfortunately more prevalent than the national average. 14 percent, or 1 in 7 South Carolinians, were food insecure, compared to the 12.3, and 1 in 8 of the nation.

I found that children are much more adversely affected than the national numbers. I dug into the data for Greenville County, where I live, and found that the rate for hunger in children is much higher at 21%, or just under one in five. One in five children go hungry. 

This number dramatically increases for those without warm clothing or holiday toys. As a comparison, both the Salvation Army Angel Tree and Toys for Tots organizations report that they cannot fill even close to every request they received over the holiday season. 

While I don’t agree with my father that we should stop teaching our children to believe in something fun like Santa Claus, my vision and wish for you is to encourage your family, friends, and children to recognize how inequality affects our youngest and most vulnerable in society, especially during the holiday season.

If you or others are able to give to various toy, food, and clothing drives, please do. But most of all, please share the story of mine and my father’s unexpected gifts, to create awareness around how very fortunate most of us really are.