The Christmas Orange

THE CHRISTMAS ORANGE

When I was a little girl at Christmas time my father would always buy a huge bag of oranges and chocolate drops. Christmas just was not Christmas without them. One wintry Christmas eve I ask my father why did we always have to have oranges at Christmas time. His reply was a story.

When I was a little boy he began, my father had come to St. Louis from Czechoslovakia. He was a wonderful and gifted master cabinet maker. His life in the old country was hard and very poor and luxuries were few. When he came to America and settled in St. Louis, he started his family and was determined to have a better life for his children.

He did not see the depression coming on and soon any job in the city was hard to come by and it looked like Christmas would be like the ones he remembered in the old country. People would gather each cold evening in soup lines to feed their families.

On Christmas eve my father was fortunate to have found a days work on a loading dock. The work was hard lifting freight from the trains to the loading docks. He was thrilled with the few dollars he had earned for ten hours of heavy work that meant his family might have a Christmas after all.

He hurried to the St. Louis open market to find something extraordinary for this cold and wintry time of year. Entering into a small shop crowded with holiday shoppers, he was acutely aware of his appearance compared to the smart dressed men of means browsing the shop. His eyes took in all the wonders and glories the shop held! There was hams and turkeys, sweet potatoes and brightly colored lights. As his eyes eagerly searched for just the right gift for his children his gaze landed on a large wooden bin sitting in the corner, full of bright juicy oranges. Oranges in December! What a wonderful Christmas it would be! He spent his whole days pay on them and that night my dear mother filled all of our stockings with fresh oranges and chocolate drops. All my brothers, sisters and I were thrilled with our sock treasures. Momma had even knitted us all new scarves! How excited we were when we pulled out our wonderful, delicious gifts. As a small boy it was the best Christmas ever! That is why the Christmas orange means so much to me, my father ended.

So now you too know the Christmas Orange story and our family would like to share this tradition with yours. As you offer up gifts this year, include a bright juicy orange and pass on the Christmas Orange story to your little ones.

If you have a Family Christmas story you would like to share please send it to me. The best part of this season is sharing with others, things that mean so much to us. Happy Holidays!!!! Aunt Onie


Aunt Linda, Larry and Cannon Joe