Christmas Sparks Day 09 Let us become a Christmas Gift

When did I first receive a Christmas gift? I don’t remember. In the countryside back then, giving gifts during Christmastime was unheard of; not just for me but for most people.

After my schooling, I became part of the leadership of the Cherupushpam Mission League, of the Malipara parish. The Mission League was in charge of Christmas celebrations, and its children and youth took the lead in everything from Christmas carols to making cribs. It was during those days that after the Midnight Holy Mass on Christmas night, they started hanging star lights and putting up garlands on the mango tree of the church yard to decorate as the Christmas tree. The special feature of the tree was the gift packages that were hung on sackcloth from its branches. One could buy one of those packages for as little as ten paise, and get an interesting gift. The joy of the recipient and the onlookers was greater than the small gift that was inside.

When I became a teacher at Thevara School, I was able to prepare a Christmas tree decorated with gift boxes for the students along with the Christmas celebrations. Instead of the mango tree in the churchyard, the schoolyard had an umbrella tree. The moments of joy that the children experienced that day is immeasurable.

I cannot think of Christmas without giving gifts. Christmas is a unique gift that God has given to the world. The great gifts we exchange are only small symbols of it. It is good to have some visible signs of love. When you think about it that way, Christmas is not complete without gifting something. When I look back, I remember giving and receiving gifts during Christmas at different times, in different groups, and in different ways. It takes time, money, and creativity to find gifts that suit your loved ones. The wanderings for that are never wasted. Because love and friendship are exchanged through it.

For a Christian, it is always Christmas. If we assume that every birth is the Birth, and if the people we see are Christ, there hardly will be days that aren’t Christmas. Christmas is not without gifts. That is probably why we do not forget to carry gifts when we enter groups of children, teachers, or parent-teacher conferences. God has brought gifts to share in various ways; even adults receive them with childlike innocence. Even when we meet after years, we renew our acquaintance by telling the details of the little gift that was given long ago!

To be honest, it is not the gift that we give; it is ourselves. I should become a gift to others. The most important thing is whether I am able to become a gift in the places I go and the people I meet. I feel a lot of anxiety just thinking about what the answer will be. However, the desire to be a gift remains. Isn’t that desire itself a gift from heaven?

Shaji Malippaara