It was only 4pm but it was already dark outside when Reverend Mark thought someone was
at his front door. He didn’t hear the doorbell or a knock, but something made him go to the
door. He wondered who would be calling at this time on Christmas Eve as most people
would be settled for the night.
Parents of young children would be getting ready for Santa starting with bath-time and
traditional stories of Santa and his Elves and the Reindeer and maybe watching the
Christmas movie on the TV.
The young and single would be in town or out and about getting some last-minute presents
or part-taking in jolly festivities in the pubs with their friends.
Other folk would be at home wrapping the last of the Christmas presents and making the
Christmas stuffing or boiling the ham and generally preparing as much as possible before
the big day so they would be able to join in and enjoy all the fun with everyone else on
Christmas day.
The old men would be in the local pub alongside other locals who did not have to be up at
five or six am with young children screaming in delight discovering what Santa had brought
them. They would be reminiscing about many Christmases past and the ‘good old days’ and
how nowadays ‘sure wasn’t it all about commercialisation and money-making rackets’
instead of the original true meaning of Christmas. Then they would clink their glasses and
salute the festivities nonetheless and despite complaining earlier they were secretly grateful
and very happy to be here for another Christmas.
Eerily there was no-one at the door when Mark answered but there was a large hamper on
the doorstep with a note simply saying ‘Happy Christmas Reverend. Please make sure this
goes to a good home or to someone who really needs it’. He looked around in case
someone was nearby but there was no-one. There was no sight nor sound of a recently
moving car either. It was a bit of a mystery albeit a pleasant one. This was the true
Christmas spirit. Mark picked up the hamper and closed the front door and brought it inside
and placed it on the large kitchen table.
After musing for a few minutes, he very carefully removed the cellophane wrap and large red
bow and examined the contents of the hamper. He smiled and nodded his head. He knew
exactly where the contents were going this evening.
First, he removed the large bottle of whiskey and the bottles of wine and sherry. Then he
walked over to the big old pantry and took out a load of contents and laid them out on the
large table. A strange but warm feeling came over him as he sorted through everything on
the table and re-arranged it.
He replaced the whiskey, wine and sherry with some bottles of lemonade and snacks and an
extra-large tin of biscuits and some selection boxes. I mean, what did he want with selection
boxes? His trousers were already straining at the waist and hurting him so it would be great
to get rid of all the ‘temptations’ he had recently received from generous parishioners but did
not need and instead make sure they were re-distributed to worthy and deserving people.
He then added some eggs, bacon and sausages. This was much more appropriate for who
he had in mind. The hamper now contained a turkey, a large ham, packs of stuffing, a large
bag of potatoes and an array of fresh vegetables, crackers and cheeses, along with a trifle
and all the other replacements he had just added. He smiled to himself. He’d better get a
move on. He had more work to do before he left the house.
He carefully wrapped the hamper again with the cellophane and the bow, and after rustling
around in the pantry and other places he found a few more festive bows and stuck them on
to the bottles he had previously removed from the hamper with a note on each one simply
saying, ‘Happy Christmas’.
Mark left the house and carried everything out to his car. He was now actually excited. It
was as if the simplest things which didn’t cost a penny made him so happy. This was the
true meaning of Christmas.
Tessa Rooney was worried. She had scrimped and saved to the best of her ability to make
sure Santa would be bringing something to the little ones. However, in order to do this, she
had to compromise in other areas. With an alcoholic husband it was difficult to make ends
meet, especially as she had very little control over the household income. Her husband
Jason was not a bad man. He just couldn’t control the disease which meant that alcohol
was prioritised above everything else.
He had said he would be home early to help with the children and to stay home on
Christmas Eve. When she heard a quiet knock on the door, she thought he had forgotten his
key, so she went to the door to let him in. Instead, there was no-one there but there was
what looked like a large hamper of food. She looked around but couldn’t see anyone. Tessa
had always been an old romantic and a firm believer in Santa herself and despite all the
hardships life had thrown at her she believed in Christmas miracles. Here was a big,
beautiful miracle on her doorstep!
She carefully lifted it into the house and put it down on the table. There was a note
addressed to her personally which congratulated her for winning the raffle for a Christmas
hamper. She was filled with joy as she looked at the contents of the big box of food. There
was enough food there for all the family to eat very comfortably for a few days and beyond.
The children would be delighted with the lemonade and chocolate selection boxes as well as
all the other treats in the box. Tessa knew full well neither she nor Jason had bought any
raffle tickets, but she didn’t care as this was turning out to be a wonderful Christmas already.
She went outside again and looked up at the night sky and said a heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to
baby Jesus and to whoever had delivered their Christmas miracle.
Millicent Doyle (or Millie to her friends) was very tired. She wondered for the umpteenth time
where parents of young children got their energy from! She had just finished wrapping up all
her nieces and nephews presents and was looking forward to seeing their happy, glowing
faces tomorrow when they opened them. Even though Santa was always the main attraction
they had usually calmed down considerably by the time they got to open auntie Millies
presents later on. Every year she would go to one of her niece or nephews houses for
Christmas dinner and later everyone would gather in another house for what was known as
‘the present opening ceremony’ which was always great fun. Tomorrow Christmas dinner
was in Breda’s house which was very close by and she was really looking forward to it.
Millie volunteered for various charities. She was what’s known as being very ‘hands on’.
She did everything from fund-raising for worthwhile causes (local and international) book-
keeping and accounts to washing the local club jerseys to making sandwiches and had been
known to do weeding and gardening for the elderly of the parish if and when her own knees
were up to it! She regularly shopped for those who had no transportation, and she was
always only too happy to help if she could. Sure, it was no wonder she was tired!
This evening, she had come home from a busy day running around and after looking after
everyone else and it was only after she had unpacked everything and finished wrapping
presents, she realised she had forgotten to get the wine for her lovely niece Breda. She was
annoyed with herself because she should have done it weeks ago and she could have
bought it any time up until now, but she had been particularly busy the past couple of weeks.
Breda in particular had always been very good to Millie, and they were quite close. How
could she have forgotten the wine for Breda? There was no way she could go to Breda’s
house without it. She sighed and wondered if it was too late to go out now and get it. Just
then she heard a quiet knock on the door and got up to open it.
Outside there was a small box with two bottles of wine in it along with a bottle of sherry. She
looked up and down the road but could see no-one and didn’t know where the box had come
from or if it was even meant for her or had been delivered to her house by mistake.
Furthermore, when she looked at the wine labels it just happened to be Breda’s favourite
wine! Alongside that was a bottle of her favourite sherry. Despite the cold outside, a warm
feeling came over her. Something inside her told her that this was the true spirit of Christmas
at work, and it was her turn to be on the receiving end and to accept it gracefully. Millie went
back into her warm house and poured herself a glass of her favourite sherry and silently
thanked the kind person with true Christmas spirit who delivered such a wonderful surprise
to her today of all days.
Barney recognised the large bottle of whiskey as soon as he saw it. There was an ever-so-
slight rip-tear on the lower right corner of the label, which had been there when he bought it
and when he had made up the ‘anonymous donor’ hamper for the Reverend Mark. He knew
Reverend Mark would know exactly what to do with the hamper and he was right.
Although he couldn’t have foreseen this outcome, he couldn’t help smiling with delight at the
way things turned out. As it happened, he had just given his last bottle of whiskey to old
Patsy down the road who was a bit of a loner by choice, as a Christmas present. Patsy
bumped into him outside midnight mass and was only delighted with the gift of the bottle of
whiskey and the offer of a chat and a cup of tea and a mince pie in Barney’s house after
mass where the two of them sat putting the world to rights. As he bade goodnight to Patsy,
Barney spotted something sitting beside his doorstep. Sure enough, wasn’t it the original
bottle of whiskey which he had put into the hamper to ‘donate’ to the Reverend Mark.
Mark sat down in his favourite armchair tired but very happy. He gazed up at the Angel on
the Christmas tree who smiled back at him. In the space of a few short hours, he felt he had
accomplished more than he had in the whole previous year. He also had his short sermon
ready for church tomorrow which would be based on the Christmas Spirit and the joy of
giving.
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