I’m sure every family has a collection of stories they share around Christmas. One of the favorites in my mom’s family is about the time, when my mom was in elementary school, her dad told her they weren’t having Christmas so that she would stop bugging them about her presents. He told her they couldn’t afford Christmas that year.
My mom told her teacher that they weren’t having Christmas because they didn’t have any money. So, my mom was allowed to drag the classroom tree home, and apparently it was a sad, pitiful thing. Grandma and Grandpa didn’t understand why the teacher gave the tree to my mom.
They didn’t understand later, either, when various church and charity groups from around Flint brought baskets of food and gifts to their house. And, despite my Grandma’s protestations that they didn’t need charity, everyone insisted they accept the goods because everyone deserves to have Christmas.
Eventually, they figured out what had happened.