A legendary figure has stood out in our society for countless decades. His generosity is so overwhelming that each year he visits every home on earth scattering gifts around a glowing tree and stuffing stockings with all sorts of treasures. Even after we outgrow our childhood, he and his fleet of antlered reindeer live on if only in our hearts.
As a child did you ever wait drowsily for the great man to appear, but remember, you always drifted off to sleep before his arrival? You may have suffered the anxiety when central heating replaced the chimney and you apprehensively wondered if a chimney was a prerequisite for a visit from this ethereal old man.
Then the great day came and miraculously Santa did enter without the means of a chimney, and he left in his wake a cluster of mysterious packages around the flamboyant tree.
The worldly and sophisticated may scoff at these sentimental memories. They may be a little ashamed that they were taken in guilelessly by a myth. But is it really a myth? A curious little girl inquired of a newspaper several years ago as to the existence of a Santa Claus. That letter and the firm affirmation that followed have been added to the archives of Christmas. Even though Santa is intangible, the abstract qualities of love, generosity, happiness, etc., which he represents, do exist and are omnipresent just as Santa is said to be.
Reminiscing a cool clear eve of Christmas in your childhood, if you look up toward the sky and listen very intently perhaps you can still see the silhouette of a tiny sleigh pulled by eight reindeer and hear the rider urging his team on into the night.