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The ESL Times / December, 2001
"My family's Secret"
By Oscar Pulgarin
When I was a child, Christmas time held a special secret in my family. My sister, my brother, and I were convinced that the Child Jesus brought our gifts. One or two months before each Christmas, our parents asked us. "What are you asking for from the Child Jesus this year?" And when we answered, they said, "In order to get those gifts, you have to be obedient and pray a lot." The night of December 24th was the most special night of the year for us. It was a night of happiness, delicious food, and great expectations. We sang Christmas carols and prayed with the hope that the Child Jesus would come down from the sky loaded with gifts. We thought that he would enter from the roof of the house. In the morning, on December 25th, we woke up early and looked for gifts under our pillows. Then, we immediately ran to the Nativity scene and kissed the image of the Child Jesus. At school, my classmates told me: "The Child Jesus doesn't bring gifts; they are bought by your parents, and they put these gifts under your pillow when you are asleep." I didn't believe them. How could that be true? I didn't know the truth until I was thirteen years old, when on December 25th one year, my parents said to my sister, my brother and me: "It is time that you know that the Child Jesus doesn't really bring your gifts. We buy and put the presents under your pillows at night."
Since that moment, in my small family, the celebration of Christmas has not been focused on presents and gift giving but rather on the true meaning of Christmas: the birth of the Child Jesus.
Priests of the Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart School of Theology
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Hales Corners, WI 53130-0429
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