Getting ready for Christmas

Ho, ho, ho, and Merry Christmas, everybody! It’s Christmas Eve, and it’s time for another edition of Cecil’s World in Print.
I sure hope you are feeling good on this special day. In less than 24 hours, old St. Nick will be coming down the chimney or through the door delivering special gifts for those good little boys and girls.
I know many people, including myself, will be doing some last-minute shopping today before the stores close.
To me, this is the most wonderful time of the year. It appears people forget all their troubles and enjoy the sounds and sights of the season.
For many families, tonight is a big family night. Everybody piles in the car and rides around town looking at all the Christmas decorations. You have to do this early so you can get the children home and put them to bed before Santa arrives.
I don’t know about you, but I still believe in Santa. I was always told by my grandparents who raised me that if you believe, you will receive. This is what I have passed on to my son. Something that really bothers me about some of today’s modern families is, they are not teaching their children to believe in Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy or the Easter Bunny. They teach them the real meaning of Christmas, leaving out Santa Claus. I don’t know if this is wrong or right, but believing in Santa as a child always made that time of the season more exciting for me. I love tradition, and it has always worked for me.
Now, how many of you as a child tried to catch Santa in the act of delivering your toys? I have told you this before, but I wanted to share it with you again. One Christmas, when I was about 8, I was determined I was going to catch Santa when he came to my house. I went to bed like I was supposed to, but when the lights were turned off, I sat up in the bed to wait for Santa. It seemed like two or three hours and then I heard something in the back yard. I jumped out of bed, ran through the kitchen and my grandmother said, “Where are you going?” Before I could answer her, I opened the back door and ran outside with a flashlight. But no Santa.
But then I saw a long box, about 12 feet long, lying on the ground. It was the swing set I had asked Santa to bring me. I ran back inside and told everyone, and my grandfather just smiled and said, “Did you see Santa?” I replied, “No sir, but I’ll catch him next year.” My grandfather, still smiling, looked at me and said, “Santa is too fast, and you will never catch him.” I tried several more years, but I never caught Santa.
Back in 1957, when I was 9, my grandmother left some cookies and milk out for Santa, and I wrote him a letter. I left the letter on the table with the milk. I got up early the next morning and there it was: the gun and holster set I had asked for. I couldn’t understand how Santa always knew what I wanted. Santa had spilled some milk on the table and he wrote me note saying he was sorry, he didn’t have time to clean it up. So he left me a new quarter to clean it up for him.
The next week, when school started back, I took the letter and the quarter Santa had left me and showed it to all my friends at school. I was the only kid in Darlington that year who got a letter and two bits from Santa.
Here is something for you to think about at Christmas time: My grandfather always told me if you believe, you will receive. And guess what? I do believe. Please, do not forget the real meaning of Christmas. God bless everyone and happy holidays. See you next week right here in the Morning News and on the tube.

— Cecil Chandler is a veteran reporter at WBTW News13. His column appears Mondays in the Morning News.