Article December 24, 2012 Issue

We need Christmas

Kay Olson

This piece was originally posted as a blog on JSH-Online.com

When our children were small, our Christmas morning tradition was to have breakfast, open the gifts, and then play with the toys for a while. It was a busy, happy, and noisy time with five children! Then we would all pile into the station wagon and drive to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, where we would have lunch and more gift opening.

On one particular Christmas Day, we were sitting around the lunch table when Grandma asked for a volunteer to “say grace.” Our five-year-old son Matthew, who was generally a quiet boy, offered to give the prayer. This is how it went:

“Thank you, God, for all the gifts we got, and for all the ones we’re going to get!”

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