Most every religion has the do unto others thing going on. You know the one, where we say that angles walk among us so be careful what you do or how you treat people. My husband calls it the wheel theory- put good things on the wheel and when the wheel comes back around good things will happen to you. For Hindu it is Ahims`a (non-injury) don't harm others by word deed or thought. In my religion, Christianity, there is a quote from Hebrews that gets me. "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angles without knowing it." I have always took this literally, and have done my best to be kind to others.
But this year the table has turned.
The Santa hat changed it all.
I have been wearing the Santa hat for about 3 years. It's warm, easy to find in the closet, (we have 'bout 10 of them) So I put one and walk out of the house. Usually, by the end of the day, I forget I am wearing a hat that is usually only seen at the mall or in a cartoon.
on a side note this year, with the whole holiday vs Christmas politically correct bs that the radio stations and newspapers and televisions keep spitting out- I actually debated on wearing the hat. I mean it has little Christian belief left to it. Really the Santa concept is a commercial thing and not a St. Nicholas thing these days. That was one thought. Then there was the whole job thing. With the business I am in I follow laws dealing with protected classes-- and religion is a protected class. Was I discriminating against others if I wore my Santa hat? Could I offend some one of another faith? Would it be a customer or worse yet,a potential costumer? Would I loose business because of a Santa hat?
I stood in the front hall, holding the hat with all these things going through my head. What should I do? That's when my daughter came up to me and said in her perfect winy pre teen voice-- "oh no mom! Your not going to ware that thing out of the house are you? Your not going to take me to school with that on, are you? Please mom, you'll embarrass me!"
That was enough- I would ware the hat.
As I drove down the street the folks in the other cars waved as they always did. My daughter sank further down in the back seat of the car. "their all looking at you" she grumbled. Everybody waves every day-- you've never seemed to mind before. Yah, but now their smiling.
So the day went. I stopped off at the grocery store to do some shopping. And it happened. I turned the from isle 4 to isle 5 with my cart and around the corner an unsuspecting shopper was there. Instead of looking away, they made eye contact and smiled.
It happened over and over, just like that. I went to pump gas in the below zero cold and the man across the way got out of his car and started a conversation. The lady in the car in back of me got out of her car an joined in. They we all were. Strangers in the freezing cold. Standing out side pumping gas and speaking pleasantly to each other. Smiling at each other.
At the dentist office, the drug store, in the car, it didn't matter where I was, people were
smiling at me, and I was smiling back at them.
When I went into the grammar school with the hat, there were two 1st greaders out side the principal's office. They stopped me and asked if I was an elf. I told them I was jus one of Santa's helpers. That's when one of the little boys whispered to me " Could you tell Santa I'll try to be better, and that I love him?" "I can do that" I replied.
My dad called me later that day. He said he had the holiday blues. I told him to get a Santa hat. I've been visited by more angles since I've put this thing on. Or maybe I have received the ultimate blessing. Maybe God is working through me this season. Maybe I've gone from a Deangleis to an angle. It sure feels that way.
Merry Christmas
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