TO ALL: Happy Holidays .... Ethel's Christmas Gift
It was now Christmas Eve in nineteen ninety three,
in the small Georgia township of Willacoochee.
About six miles outside of town, just to the west,
were tiny farms, really, little shanties, at best.
In each of the small shanties were at least five kids,
considered by the prominent, as local skids.
The families constructed their own food and needs;
love was cultivated by affectionate seeds.
Though poor in finances they were rich in passion,
and family love in a traditional fashion.
Christmas is a time for family unity,
and the bringing together of humanity.
Each small shanty was trimmed a holiday line,
with many handmade objects of cheerful design.
Reindeers, snow families, candles, and chorus singers,
old crafted figurines laced with holly stringers.
Though not one Christmas light with a radiant glow,
one house endeavored to put on a Christmas show.
It was the home of farmer papa John Otto,
a household of nine and among them Ethel Jo.
Ethel was ten and the middle child of seven,
who loved to be a part of this birth from heaven.
A rustic manger scene was displayed out in front;
with real handmade clothing, it was a merry stunt.
The manger was put up under a big oak tree,
supporting a stage landing that no one could see.
Housing a star made out of aluminum foil
and in the center a wick and bottle of oil.
Where holly branches were strung along all the eaves,
hung too were pine cone wreaths with mistletoe leaves.
All the characters, set up, were very life size,
and would move just a bit, you would soon realize.
All the actors were simply the kids on the block,
who would come practice every hour of the clock.
For their upcoming seven o'clock matinee,
that one performance given on Christmas Eve day.
Ethel would read the tale of Joseph and Mary,
but also play the part of the Christmas Fairy.
Which was really cool because in the twilight show,
she would be lowered from the tree very slow.
All dressed up with fairy wings she would then descend
holding a wand, a twig, with a fire on the end.
Then she would light all the candles around the scene,
being guided by small wires that could not be seen.
Then brought back up into the tree to start the lead,
so with her best angel voice she began to read.
"The birthday of Jesus was a special event;
this play is just our way of giving testament.
A long time ago, lived Joseph, a carpenter,
who was to wed Virgin Mary, the consenter."
From the rear then enter both Joseph and Mary,
as Ethel continues the itinerary.
"God's angel Gabriel appears unto Mary,
in the city of Nazareth in Galilee."
Joseph moves and stands within the shadows of hay,
as Mary moves forward to the front of the play.
On the tree stand Gabriel, now, comes into view,
holding a candle light of heavenly virtue,
saying, "Hail, Mary of grace, the Lord is with you!"
Ethel said, "Mary, troubled, knew not what to do."
Gabriel said, "Fear not, God's favor is on thee,
you are a woman among women all will see.
God's spirit will shine in thy face and behavior.
Behold, your virgin womb shall conceive a Savior.
It shall be a boy and Jesus shall be his name,
called the Son of the Most High, all shall acclaim.
The Lord God shall give him, his father David's throne,
forever the house of Jacob shall be his own.
And of his holy kingdom there shall be no end."
Mary asked, "How? For I've no husband to attend."
Gabriel's reply, "The Holy Spirit shall touch
your womb and ye shall conceive power inasmuch.
For the Son of God will then be born unto you."
Mary said, "Be the Lord's handmaiden shall be true,
and let it be to me according to your word."
Ethel said, "Gabriel left from the words he heard."
A sheet comes from behind to the front of Mary;
the Holy Spirit came in and did not tarry.
Leaving a circle of paper colored yellow,
then placing upon her head a silver halo.
Mary held the circle in front of her venter,
thus showing the Messiah entered her center.
For the halo was made of aluminum foil,
on wires that had been twisted into a round coil.
Ethel read, "And Joseph found Mary now with child;
though he wanted to protect her, he felt beguiled.
Joseph, Mary's husband to be, was a fair man,
wished not for her to become a public woman.
While he thought on releasing her from betrothment,
he fell asleep surmising on this wonderment.
An angel then appears to Joseph in a dream."
On the tree stand above there comes a candle's gleam.
As Joseph and Mary were lying on the hay,
slowly Joseph rises with a look of dismay.
As Gabriel steps out with a heavenly voice,
"Behold, Joseph, Mary is God's virgin of choice.
She shall be with child and so shall bring forth a son.
Name him Immanuel and God's work will be done.
For that which is begot is of the Holy Ghost
and for the Son of God, Mary's womb is the host.
Son of David fear not to take her as your wife,
for Jesus shall save people from their sins of life.
For God is with us, you have no further fears."
Then the angel steps back and the glow disappears.
Joseph again lies back down to comfort Mary,
in the eyes of God two are one when two marry.
The stage is being changed for the upcoming scene,
as Ethel again began to read, "And with her soul clean,
And being overshadowed by the Most High,
she possessed a godly twinkle in her eye.
Mary then sings a psalm of praise unto the Lord."
Mary steps up to sing in a heavenly chord.
"Within the Lord my soul is magnified
For a mere handmaiden of low estate
My rejoicing spirit has signified
The life in my womb God does consecrate.
Blessed is the Lord who lightens up my days
Blessed is the Lord who forgives all my shame
Blessed is the Lord and to him I give praise
Blessed is the Lord and holy is his name
For he hath mercy for those who will fear
For he hath scattered the proud in their hearts
For he hath praised always and a year
For he hath fed all the hungry with his tarts
Blessed is the Lord who lightens up my days
Blessed is the Lord who forgives all my shame
Blessed is the Lord and to him I give praise
Blessed is the Lord and holy is his name
For he hath done many wonderful feats
For he hath shown strength in his many deeds
For he hath downed the mighty from their seats
For he hath spoken to fathers and the seeds
Blessed is the Lord who lightens up my days
Blessed is the Lord who forgives all my shame
Blessed is the Lord and to him I give praise
Blessed is the Lord and holy is his name."
To the rear stage exit both Joseph and Mary,
as Ethel continues the itinerary.
"In time Mary shows all the miracles of birth;
it was close for Jesus to walk upon the earth."
Mary appears with a pillow draped with a sheet;
the scene was being transformed to one of a street.
The cast would now act out the script being read,
so without further hesitation Ethel said,
"Caesar ruled that all men return to where begot,
to register for taxes and be absent not.
So Joseph went home and put their goods in a pack,
then set goods and Mary upon a donkey's back.
Then headed across Palestine to Bethlehem,
where Joseph tried to find a way to comfort them."
The donkey was two boys draped with a fur,
bearing a mother led by a carpenter.
A broom was modified to look like the head,
arriving at the Inn scene Joseph then said,
"Kind sir, I need warmth and shelter for the night.
My wife is expecting a child this twilight."
The Innkeeper said, "Sir, I have not one room.
Joseph responded, "It's too cold for her womb,
Is there a small corner in which we may rest."
The Innkeeper said, "The stable is my best,
It should not be too bad, there's plenty of hay,
to keep you and your wife warm until the day."
Joseph said, "Thank you kind sir, that we will do."
Enters a cow, a horse, a goat and a ewe.
With no more lines the actors acted the birth,
reading Ethel told of Christ's coming to earth,
"But because of the orders all the Inns were full,
found only stable housing with hay and a bull.
And there, without water or blankets in the cold,
Mary gave birth to the King of Kings to behold.
Then wrapping him in torn off strips of linen,
Jesus Christ was born in the poverty of men.
The Savior, destined to save us all of our sins,
was placed in a manger for no rooms in the Inns.
God had chosen the weakness of an infant child,
so power of his love would be forever filed.
In the time of Jesus, shepherds were the type,
who lived in the rigorous outdoors without hype.
They were rugged in their appearance, speech and touch,
where most people did not always welcome too much."
In front of the stable shepherd actors came,
with crafted wood sheep that were lifeless and tame.
What was a little funny, one brought a goat.
Ethel then read on from the story she wrote,
"But it was to the shepherds that the angel announced."
"Fear ye not; for behold," the Lord's angel pronounced,
"For I bring you good tidings of wonderful joy,
which shall be for all of God's people to enjoy.
Unto you is born in the city of David
a Savior, Christ the Lord, in a stable is hid.
And this shall be an indication unto you,
dressed in swaddling clothes and manger too."
As the angel spoke there came a cardboard cloud,
whereas Ethel continued to read out loud,
"Forthwith, to the angel a great host did appear,
who then began praising and saying in good cheer."
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace,
good will toward men." all the children spoke a piece.
They all then bent their knees and heads to pray,
as Ethel began a special prayer, she did say,
"Christ came into the world today,
to teach us all his Godly way,
Silently as the waves of the wind,
so that our souls shall be disciplined.
For in his goodness there can be found,
the true foundations of decent ground.
His love is in his every act
so on our souls, love has an impact.
And throughout all the generations,
his love is reason for salvations.
His light battles the darkness of men,
to teach them to kneel and say amen.
Let us all take a moment in quiet prayer,
for the God's misfortunate everywhere."
A small precious moment was then held in silence,
as Ethel went on in a voice of innocence.
"Princes in their palaces and Kings on their thrones
Yet, the shepherds were to receive the angels' tones.
The shepherds hurried on their way to Bethlehem,
to the stable where Jesus was born among them."
One shepherd asked, "Is this the child born among us,
who is the Son of God who bears the name Jesus?"
Mary holding the child looked upon them and said,
"Yes, this is the Messiah wrapped in this spread."
The shepherds gathered and silently praising,
as Ethel again read, this was amazing.
"The shepherds were awed by his light and salvation,
though Christ the Lord was born in pure isolation.
The shepherds returned to their flocks to attend;
it was as the angels said - he was a godsend.
News of the birth of Jesus Christ spread wide and far,
For his coming was shown by the Bethlehem star.
The manger then transformed to King Herod's court,
with ladies and gentlemen for acting support.
Off to the side came the candles of three wise men,
as they enter the scene Ethel began to read again,
"The shepherds were not the only reverent guests,
Three wise men from the east began their comet quests.
Following a star they came to Jerusalem."
A wise man asked King Herod, "Have you seen him?
Where is the holy child born as King of the Jews?"
Ethel said,"To Herod this was distrubing news."
Herod, deeply troubled, called his lawyers and priest,
and found the site was Bethlehem to the southeast.
Herod had decided on the death of Jesus,
to put to the sword any rival and so thus.
Calling together the three wise men Herod said,
"Go to Bethlehem and find the child, but instead,
of going back home come and tell me, so that I
may go and worship him by the star in the sky."
The three wise men then bowed and went on their way.
As Ethel beginning reading again she did say,
"So the wise men followed the star of Bethlehem,
to the little town where it shone greatest on him,
and the star came to rest over where Jesus lay."
As Ethel moved the star in a heavenly way.
Then from the east the three wise men came in,
as Ethel started reading the act did begin.
"Entering the house they saw Mary holding Christ,
then offering her their gifts which they hoped enticed.
The gifts were of gold, frankincense and lastly myrrh,
each had a willful meaning they explained to her.
Gold to honor Jesus Christ as the King of Kings,
Frankincense to honor him as God of all things.
Myrrh was to show Jesus had a mortal eye,
That Jesus would breathe the air and some day die.
For that night, the wise men were warned in a dream
to take a different route back to their regime.
The wise men then traveled out in another way,
early in the morning of the following day.
After they left the Lord came to Joseph in a dream.
With a heavenly voice he warned of Herod's scheme."
A deep manly voice from the limb of the tree,
began to speak though his face you could not see.
"Joseph, beware Herod has a deadly plan,
All children less than two will meet the sword man.
Take Mary and the baby and to Egypt flee,
and remain there until I tell you, you are free."
All the young actors then departed out the back,
as Ethel came down and to sit on a haystack.
Then in her familiar tone she began to speak,
"It is said that the world will belong to the meek,
The world has a way of crucifying the poor,
but like Jesus taught, I will tell the truth and more.
What sin have we committed that we should pay,
for our weakness and proverty every day.
We do not wish pay for this is all we can give,
it is our manner of life and how we must live.
Jesus was born a king and truly a poor man,
but to the riches of life his cup overran.
We all bear a soulful strength no money can buy;
we hope you enjoyed our gift and say good bye."
The entire cast of young actors then did appear,
yelling, "Happy Birthday Jesus, We Love You Dear!"
This new production was quite something to behold,
even the camels, bearing the wise men of old,
were just two boys hid under all that camel fur,
conveying the many colors of lavender.
The entire production was quite clearly hand made
and the children having fun was how they were paid.
As their role lines were spoken you then understood
that money would have but spoiled something so good.
The last production was now being put away;
the children were all excited cleaning the hay.
For in a few hours Santa Claus would be here
leaving all the presents that they wanted all year.
With everything put away and the children gone,
Ethel was standing alone as she thought upon,
a gift she would get that could be shared by all,
nothing major for it could be something small.
Lowering her head she gave a silent prayer,
hoping God would listen to her unselfish care.
Entering into the shanty where she did live
the home was flowing with a loving positive
For along the fireplace and all over the tree
were laces of stringed popcorn for all to see.
The popcorn fill-ins had these gaps in between,
though broken and tied back the knot could be seen.
On the window panes was artificial snow,
water and flour which had turned into dough.
The fireplace had these burly hand - knitted socks,
weaved by hands that understood hard-knocks.
The tree was adorned with paper-made ornaments,
and the shredded colored paper as complements.
Though it looked a little rough and had a slant,
but when Dad cut it it was irrelevant.
In the woods, it was the perfect tree they found;
no one cared if it leaned a bit to the ground.
All the gifts were wrapped in foil and newspaper,
and piled even higher than a tall skyscraper.
The smell of Christmas dinner being prepared,
was proof that togetherness would soon be shared.
She envisioned her sisters and Mom serving,
While others waited for Dad to start carving.
This was Christmas the way it was meant to be,
before money infected this time of glee.
Each decoration she knew by whom it was made,
hoping these family memories would never fade.
Money, its comfort, was just not an election,
so all of the trimmings were made by selection.
When bedtime came it was now the time to retire,
it'd be hard to sleep wanting their gifts of desire.
But as the lights were blown out and the darkness fell,
there was a lot of love in that home you could tell.
Their sleepy eyes overcame anticipation,
dreams of riches filled their imagination.
The morning sun was putting to bed the night,
came the roar of laughter and paper taking flight.
Ethel had opened all her presents and found not
the one special present that she wish she had got.
For despite all the gifts and the other hand-made toys
not one present would bring together girls and boys.
When suddenly her sister began her yelling,
Ethel had a light gift but no way of telling,
what could be inside this special present so dear.
Opening it her face lit up with Christmas cheer.
It was the special gift that she prayed for last night,
a gift that could be shared with hours of delight,
and no one could be left out or omitted too,
for this would bring the kids together this she knew.
For it was quite large and envisioned the earth,
the perfect gift on the day of the Lord's birth.
The entire neighborhood she then wanted to call,
to come and play with her and her Christmas Ball.
Copywrite 1995 by Gary Swancey
From 'The Influential Years' & 'Reflections on a Swan Sea'
Happy Holidays
Ga Bard |
