A different look at Christmas

When I was in high school and college I use to write very often. I wrote stories and poems mostly. For some reason I no longer write. It is something that I have tried to get back into in the last few years. I have not done a very good job of it recently. I go through phases. One thing that I always do is journal on trips, so that I will have those to go back and write from later.

I kept everything I ever wrote and I was recently looking through my folders. I found this poem that I wrote my senior year in high school. It is not something my family does and I am not sure where the ideas came from. As I reread it, it struck a chord. The Christmas season has lost its true meaning...

A Christmas Tradition (2002)

  Wake up! Wake up! Is a child's cry
A wondrous night has now passed by!
The hearts of every little girls and boy,
Is filled with songs of laughter and joy.

  What awaits two children down the stair,
They run by as mom sits in her easy chair.
As they turn the corner, the sight they would hold
Was unlike any they had ever been told.
Before the tree there was a manger,
They saw a child, and felt safe from danger.
A mother and father knelt near the baby's face.
What is this peaceful and quiet place?
        "My dear darlings, Nick and Jane,
         Why the silenced look of pain?"
They turned around and looked in awe.
The couldn't explain what it is they saw.
Nick being the eldest,
Answered with earnest:
        "Mommy, what is this that lay before me,
         Where are the toys and presents I usually see?"
Jane held on to her mother with might,
This was a pitiful sight.
All the mother wanted to do was try
And show her children the truth, not a lie.
        "This, sweetheart, is what Christmas was
         Not about toys and presents just because.
         This story is one of old
         And now it looks as if it must be told:

            Many, many years ago
        Prophets they did know
        Of the birth of a child
        That would save the world from going wild.
        At the time of Christmas morn
       This wondrous child was born.
        Soon after birth, to save his life,
       The family had to flee; child, husband, and wife.
            At the age of twelve he taught and learned
        For God, this young child's heart burned
        He was talented in his father's trade
        But a different choice he soon had made.
             His exact age cannot be told,
        But we do know this; he was not that old.
        He taught of following in the footsteps of the Lord.
        Of death by righteousness, not by the sword.
        Many miracles he would perform,
        To listen to his stories people did swarm."

   At this the mother paused her story
And looked into the child's eyes filled with glory.
When her tale she did resume,
It took on a more sorrowful tune:

             "There were those fill with hate
        They were men of a higher state.
        They offered a reward for this man,
        One of his friends to authorities ran.
        They gave Judas his pay,
        And sent him on his way.
        Judas took the money and left
        This by far was his greatest theft.
        Guilt soon overcame him,
        He had grown week in every limb.
             Meanwhile Christ was deep in thought
       He already knew Judas had been bought.
       He was in prayer at the Garden of Gesthemane
       While the disciples slept in peace and harmony.
       Armies of soldiers soon came
       And carried Christ to their domain.
       He soon faced the people's shouts:
             'Crucify him! Crucify him! We have no doubts
             This man is not who he says he is!'
        Christ these people would not miss,
             They sent him to the cross to die.
        But why, for this man never once told a lie.
        He promised to all those who would listen,
        On the third day he would rise again.
        Christ's promise held true
        He began life anew.
        Soon His time on Earth was done
        He ascended to Heaven, He was the Son!
        Now he sits at the right hand of the throne.
        This story is widely known.

   So you see my children, this is not new
But I hope with this story your hearts grew.
And now you may realize
Christ is a much better prize,
Than toy trucks and dolls
And red bouncing balls."

    Nick and Jane knew not what to do
But to the baby cradle they soon flew.
They offered him all their sorrow,
And began to think of a better tomorrow.
     This tradition in that family started
Even when Nick and Jane had wed in never parted.
They learned the true meaning of Christmas that day
And with them that lesson forever would stay.