The Invisible Santa

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The Invisible Santa

Fri, 12/18/2020 - 13:49
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It was Christmas, 1954.

One evening a gaggle of rowdy, Native American children had gathered at 704 S 2nd, Ponca City, Oklahoma for a Christmas party. I was amongst them, seven years old.

Christmas songs were sung, festive food and drink were provided. Presently brown paper bags of nuts, Christmas ribbon candy, and an apple or orange were given to each child.

Suddenly came a knock at the door! Santa Claus? An uncle answered the door, and making sure the door was barely open, began a short conversation with the person who came to the door. First pleasantries were exchanged between the two, and then the kids could hear snatches of conversation, something about Santa’s sleigh and reindeer. Oh so soon Santa Claus was on his way. I remember the voice outside strangely had a Native American accent. Buh.

Try as we might, every kid in the room was desperately trying to see “Santa Claus”, who had come to the front door. But it was not to be. Anyway, it was Santa Claus. Santa Claus had come to visit us!

Looking back, I realize now that one of the men folk had slipped out the back door, went to the front door, and knocked on it. Letting the kids see him in regular clothes would surely have been disconcerting.

We didn’t have ornate Santa costumes, or anything like that in those days; couldn’t afford them. But what we did have were loving, imaginative parents and uncles who presented a “Santa Claus” to the kids in the only way possible: through their imaginations.

O may we never lose the anticipation and joy of the Christmas season that we once had. Aho.