Sing a Christmas Carol at this link: Once Within a Lowly Stable
The Christmas Orange
Whenever we get too caught up in the receiving and purchasing of "presents" during this Christmas season, it is always good to retell this old Danish tale of the Christmas Orange.
Once there was a little girl who came to live in an orphanage. Each Christmas morning, a beautiful Christmas tree would appear in the huge downstairs hall. Also, on Christmas morning, in addition to their usual plain breakfast, each child would be given their one and only Christmas gift - a single small orange.
Now the headmaster of the orphanage was a very stern man and he thought Christmas to be a bother, so on Christmas Even when he caught the little girl creeping down the stairs to get a peek at the Christmas tree, he sharply declared that she would not receive her Christmas orange because she had disobeyed the rules. The little girl ran back to her room broken-hearted and crying at her terrible fate.
The next morning as the children were going down to their breakfast, the little girl stayed in bed. She couldn't bear the thought of watching as the other children received their gift when there would be none for her.
Later, as the children came back upstairs, the little girl was surprised to be handed a napkin. As she carefully opened it, there to her amazement was an orange all peeled and sectioned. "How could this be?" she asked.
It was then she learned that each child had taken one section from his or her orange and had given it to her so that she, too, could have a Christmas orange.
What an example of the true meaning of Christmas was displayed by those orphans on that Christmas morning. Each time we eat a sweet, juicy orange, think of this story. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the world as a whole could display that same kind of Christ-like love, not only at Christmas, but all year through?
I've never heard that story. Will stash it away amongst all the other good Christmas tales.
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