::Naughty Girl::

Looking at Christmas lights in the Valley is more like a "who done it" mystery. When I drive past the houses of people who have money, there is very little or no Christmas spirit in their yard. If there is anything at all, it will be decorated with white or clear lights around the edge of their houses and maybe a few trees or there might be some reindeer in the yard, but usually, there are no lights and no decorations at all. If I drive past the houses of the middle class, the lights are colorful and their Christmas tree is proudly displayed in the window. If I drive past the houses of the poor, the lights are colorful and the lawns are full of lighted displays of the Holy Family and/or Santa Claus and snowmen, etc.

In the homes of the people who have money, the money is probably spent to buy expensive presents instead of spending money in the yard. In the homes of the middle class, they are probably overloading their credit cards trying to have it all: tree, food, decorations, and presents. In the homes of the poor, there are probably few or no presents, because they are trying to make it seem like Christmas with what they have.

I cannot say that I believed in Santa Claus in my childhood or not.  All this talk about Naughty or Nice never made any sense to me, because no matter how nice you were all year, Santa never came to our house. For us, Christmas was about going to Midnight mass and the birth of the baby Jesus. At CCD, we would get a Christmas stocking with an orange and an apple and a handful of old-fashioned Christmas candy... but presents, we never got. We never questioned it and we never asked for presents. Perhaps that is why I never think about what I want for Christmas, because Christmas has never been about me. 

In my adulthood, I do believe in Santa. He still does not come to my house to leave presents for me, but Santa is not about presents. Santa is about the spirit of giving.  When it comes to Christmas giving, my thoughts turn to the children, because even if children live being poor everyday, they do not understand the concept of being so poor that Santa doesn't come to their house. Every Christmas, the first present we get should be a gift for a child who might not get present. It's not so much about getting the most expensive gift you can find, it is the thought that someone thought about them enough to get them something. Poor children seem to appreciate things so much more than a child who always has everything they need. I am a great believer in that children should not get everything they want. I am a great believer in teaching children how to appreciate what they have and in teaching them to be grateful, but even if you do not have money, there are always ways to make the day special for the little children.

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