Year 3 Number 62 December 24th 2001
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Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being SHARED
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Dear SHARERS,
Today is a special day. For our family, the most
special day of the year.
Tonight Christ, our Lord is born and there is no room
for sorrow.
We thank God that we can celebrate this Christmas with
peace re- established in our country and we pray for the families of all those
who lost their lives in these most atrocious circumstances we have just left
behind.
To all of you,
dear friends and SHARERS who have sent us countless e-cards, personal messages,
stories, pictures and all your love in your
Christmas mails :
a huge THANK YOU.
THANK YOU for this and thank you for being there
always.
Love
Omar and Marina
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In SHARE 62
1..- A Christmas Story : Christmas Love.
2..- Three Wise Men or Three Wise Women?
3.- A
Tale of Two Christmases.
4.- Spanglish Santa.
5.- Some Silly Christmas Humour.
Plus : Our Personal Christmas Message
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1.- A CHRISTMAS STORY : CHRISTMAS LOVE
Our
dear SHARER Bethina Viale sends us this beautiful story with this “enormous”
message : “Los quiero re-mucho” . We too.
CHRISTMAS
LOVE
Each December, I vowed to make Christmas
a calm and peaceful experience. I had cut back on nonessential obligations --
extensive card writing, endless baking, decorating, and even overspending. Yet still, I found myself exhausted, unable
to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the true meaning of
Christmas.
My son, Nicholas, was in kindergarten
that year. It was an exciting season
for a six year old. For weeks, he'd
been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter Pageant." I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be
working the night of the production.
Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I
spoke with his teacher. She assured me
there'd be a dress rehearsal the morning of the presentation. All parents
unable to attend that evening were welcome to come then. Fortunately, Nicholas
seemed happy with the compromise.
So, the morning of the dress rehearsal, I
filed in 10 minutes early, found a spot on the cafeteria floor and sat
down. Around the room, I saw several
other parents quietly scampering to their seats. As I waited, the students were led into the room. Each class, accompanied by their teacher,
sat cross-legged on the floor. Then,
each group, one by one, rose to perform their song. Because the public school system had long stopped referring to
the holiday as "Christmas", I didn't expect anything other
than
fun, commercial entertainment -- songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and
good cheer. So, when my son's class
rose to sing, "Christmas Love", I was slightly taken aback by its
bold title.
Nicholas was aglow, as were all of his
classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps upon
their heads. Those in the front row
-- center stage -- held up large letters, one by one, to spell out the title of
the song.
As the class would sing "C is for
Christmas", a child would hold up the letter C. Then, "H is for Happy", and on and on, until each child
holding up his portion had presented the complete message, "Christmas
Love".
The performance was going smoothly, until
suddenly, we noticed her -- a small, quiet, girl in the front row holding the
letter "M" upside down -- totally unaware her letter "M"
appeared as a "W".
The audience of 1st through 6th graders
snickered at this little one's mistake.
But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall,
proudly holding her "W".
Although many teachers tried to shush the
children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all
saw it together. A hush came over the
audience and eyes began to widen. In that
instant, we understood -- the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday
in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our
festivities.
For when the last letter was held high,
the message did not read CHRIST- MAS- LOVE , instead it read loud and clear
: CHRIST- WAS -LOVE.
And,
I believe, He still is.
Candy
Chand
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2.- THREE WISE MEN OR
THREE WISE WOMEN?
Our
dear SHARER from Adrogué, Cecilia Vazquez Domeq, sends us this message that she calls “ A Thought for Christmas”.
Let us
use this as our tribute to all those wonderful women SHARERS, mothers, wives,
friends, aunts, grannies, colleagues, that make our life sweeter and easier.
Do
you know what would have happened
If
it had been Three Wise Women
Instead
of Three Wise Men?
They
would have asked directions,
Arrived
on time,
Helped
deliver the baby,
Cleaned
the stable,
Made
a casserole,
Brought
practical gifts and
There
would be Peace On Earth.
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3.- A TALE OF TWO
CHRISTMASES
Our
dear friend and SHARER , Alberto Acuña sends us these two poems by Jim Smith.
We are sure our SHARERS will always be able to choose the right.
It
is the worst of times. It is the best of times.
The
Christmas you have depends upon you.
May
you be blessed to follow the Light and choose the right.
A
”Fake” Christmas Poem
C
is for Credit Cards that make buying a breeze.
H
is for your Headache when your cards are seized.
R
is for Remembering everyone on your list.
I
is for feeling Insulted when your gifts are missed.
S
is for feeling Stressed when you're on the fly.
T
is for the Truckloads of presents that you buy.
M
is for your Massive debt that soars into the sky.
A
is for the Awful feeling that you've gone astray.
S
is for your Sorrow and the tears you'll shed today.
The
True Christmas Poem
C
is for the Christ child lying in a manger.
H
is for the Holy One who saved us all from danger.
R
is to Remember Him who died that we may live.
I
is to Inspire us that we may always give.
S
is for joyful Songs and sacred hymns that praise.
T
is to Thank the Lord for showing us the way.
M
is for the Miracles that bless us each day.
A
is for the Almighty who always puts us first.
S
is for the Shepherd who guides us on earth.
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4.- SPANGLISH
SANTA
Our dear SHARER from Bahía Blanca, Sandra Elisabet Guber sends us this very original
poem. A typical example of “wearing two hats” both linguistically and
socio-culturally. Forget about the two hats. Today concentrate only on Santa´s
hat.
It
was the night before Christmas
and
all through the casa,
Not
a creature was stirring
Caramba! Que pasa?
Los
niños were tucked
away
in their camas,
Some
in long underwear,
some
in pijamas,
While
hanging the stockings
with mucho cuidado
In
hopes that old Santa
would
feel obligado.
To
bring all children,
both
buenos and malos,
A
nice batch of dulces
and
other regalos.
Outside
in the yard
there
arose such a grito
That
I jumped to my feet
like
a fightened cabrito.
I
ran to the window
and
looked out afuera,
And
who in the world
do
you think that it era?
Saint
Nick in a sleigh
and
a big red sombrero
Came
dashing along
like
a crazy bombero.
And
standing erect
with
his hands on his pecho
He
flew to the top
of
our very own techo.
With
his round little belly
like
a bowl of jalea,
He
struggled to squeeze
down
our old chimenea,
Then
huffing and puffing
at
last in our sala,
With
soot smeared
all
over his red suit de gala,
He
filled all the stockings
with
lovely regalos --
For
none of the niños
had
been very malos.
Then
chuckling aloud,
seeming
very contento,
He
turned like a flash
and
was gone like the viento.
And
I heard him exclaim,
and
this is verdad,
"Merry
Christmas to
all,
and Feliz Navidad!"
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5.- SOME SILLY CHRISTMAS
HUMOUR
Our
dear SHARER, Damián Ardiles from
Uruguay sends us this collection of “wisecracks”( he calls them “silly bits”).
You can use next year in your classes with the little ones ( and in the
meantime enjoy them yourselves!)
What
did Adam say on the day before Christmas?
It's
Christmas, Eve!
What
do you have in December that you don't have in any other month?
The
letter "D!"
What
does Father Christmas suffer from if he gets stuck in a chimney?
Santa
Claustrophobia!
What
disasters could happen if you dropped the Christmas turkey?
The
downfall of Turkey, the breakup of China, and the overthrow of Greece!
Who
delivers presents to baby sharks at Christmas?
Santa
Jaws!
Where
do snowmen go to dance?
Snow
balls!
What
did the guest sing at the Eskimo's Christmas party?
Freeze
a jolly fellow!
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OUR PERSONAL CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
NOCHEBUENA (Un cuento breve de
Eduardo Galeano)
“ Fernando Silva dirige el hospital de niños en Managua.
En vísperas de Navidad, se quedó
trabajando hasta muy tarde. Ya estaban sonando los cohetes, y empezaban
los fuegos artificiales a iluminar el cielo, cuando Fernando decidió marcharse.
En su casa lo esperaban para festejar.
Hizo una última recorrida por las
salas, viendo si todo quedaba en orden, y en eso estaba cuando sintió que unos
pasos lo seguían. Unos pasos de algodón; se volvió y descubrió que uno de los enfermitos le andaba atrás. En la
penumbra lo reconoció. Era un niño que estaba solo. Fernando reconoció su cara
ya marcada por la muerte y esos ojos que pedían disculpas o quizá pedían
permiso.
Fernando se acercó y el niño lo rozó con la mano: -Decile a...
-susurró el niño- Decile a alguien, que
yo estoy aquí.”
En estos días de profunda crisis es muy fácil caer en la tristeza, la
angustia, el desaliento y la bronca..
Que este cuento (que por otra parte tiene tanto de real) nos ayude en estas
Fiestas a pensar en todo lo mucho que tenemos y mirar con misericordia a todos
aquellos que tan poco tienen. Cada uno sabrá como ayudar a su hermano, desde lo
material, desde la palabra o desde la oración sincera.
A todos Ustedes, queridos amigos, y a sus familias les deseamos que Dios
los bendiga mucho y que tengan una Santa Navidad.
Los abrazan con el corazón
Omar y Marina.
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