Jerry and Emmanuel went to school together in Oua-naminthe for years and graduated at the top of their class. Now, both of these young men are attending the community college here in Pres-tonsburg. Emmanuel lives with us, while Jerry lives with someone from Allen Baptist.
Each day holds interesting events as these young men learn more and more about American life, especially life here in eastern Ky.
Jerry comes over on a regular basis for supper and to just hang out. As soon as the guys are together, Haitian Creole flows freely.
Before classes started, we watched a few movies to help them with their English.
The other night, after a big meal, we all sat down to watch “Elf.” It’s my favorite movie of all time-Christmas or not. (If you haven’t seen it, rent it or borrow it!)
The first scene of the movie shows Santa Claus sliding down the chimney. My husband immediately hit the pause button causing Ole St. Nick to stop in his big black boots. “Guys,” he be-gan in his best teaching tone, “I need to tell you about Santa Claus.”
I don’t remember every single word but the gist of it was...Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. Elves work for Santa all year long making toys. On Christmas Eve, Santa and the elves pile all of the toys on his sleigh and he delivers them all over the world.
Emmanuel and Jerry were getting more and more excited the longer my beloved spoke. They were both smiling ear to ear. When he finished, Jerry raised two victorious fists in the air. “Is he coming this year?” he exclaimed.
My heart sank.
“Oh guys, I’m so sorry,” I moaned. “Santa Claus is a myth. It’s just an American legend. It’s something Amer-icans teach their kids but it’s not true.”
Jerry’s fists came down and his chest deflated.
In one sentence Emmanuel and Jerry found out everything about Santa Claus and then that he wasn’t real. Oh, the emotions of life in the US.
FYI: I did tell them that they would still get Christmas presents...just not from Santa.
You owe Emmanuel and Jerry an apology. My legal name is Santa Claus, and I'm a Christian Monk, as St. Nicholas was many centuries ago.
I'm a full-time volunteer advocate for the 2 million children in the U.S. annually who are abused, neglected, exploited, abandoned, homeless, and institutionalized through no fault of their own.
I believe that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ, not the crass, commercial, secular spectacle it has become in many places, and that the greatest gift one can give is love, not presents.
Perhaps, you should take a moment and visit TheSantaClausFoundation dot org and learn a bit about these vulnerable children in dire straits in our great nation.
God and Christ would have us express our loving and giving nature.
Blessings to all, Santa Claus