By Mary Giuliano

Op-Ed Commentary

Thursday a lovely handmade card with two chocolate kisses was left at my door.  It was signed “Anna” – so I immediately knew it was the seven-year-old girl who delivers the paper to my home.

Anna designed and made individual Christmas cards for the 55 houses on her paper route and left them with two chocolate kisses on each doorstep.  Her action was noted by all; some wondered who she was.

This amazing child is the perfect example of real Christmas spirit and makes me think of the Scripture story of the birth of Christ. Why was Jesus was laid in a manger, a manger that is the feeding trough of animals? The symbolism is that Jesus came to be nourishment for his people.

Faith in what we believe but do not see is nourishment to our souls. Faith is believing that there is a power higher than us that is in control despite all the hardships happening in the world and that there is life beyond this one.

This year more than ever tell the people you love how important they are to your life, share time with friends, put humour and affection into your holidays.  December can be a most stressful and overwhelming time, make it better by giving the one thing appreciated the most, the one thing money can’t buy, yet the one thing that truly exemplifies the meaning of Christmas now and all year through and that is Love and that is exactly what Anna has done by her action.

For me Christmas stirs fragments of memory that weave in and out generating buried childhood memories of time spent in Italy evoking feelings of both sadness and joy.

Sadness for people and places no longer in my life; joy for the happy times spent with those loved ones.

In Fernie I will forever remember  the crunch of the first Canadian snow under my feet, the bright lights of the Hydro building downtown, the shiny toys at Trites-Woods department store and the giant candles decorating the Victoria Avenue  intersection on Fifth Street.

In Italy I recall the miniature furniture my maternal  uncles and grandfather built for me, the thousands of fireflies mimicking bright flickering lights in the velvety darkness of the Italian night or picking chestnuts and acorns with my mother, walking across fields covered with crickets, and enjoying sun drenched days sitting next to a stream  of clear water eating freshly picked tomatoes, crusty  bread and  goat cheese  and having my aunt Marietta breaking off a large green leaf  to form a cup to scoop water from the stream to drink.

Christmas in my birth town was a simple but huge celebration. On the Eve a traditional dinner of salt cod cooked in several ways, a variety of vegetables, pasta, fruits, nuts and of course the traditional “pitta,” a pastry filled with nuts and raisins dripping in honey, “scalille” delicious sweet dough deep fried and dipped in hot honey and other traditional pastries. The food was left out as friends would often drop in to have a drink.

Afterwards everyone met at the town square where a  huge bonfire was burning providing light in the darkness.  People could be seen holding hands towards the flames to keep warm as they carried on friendly conversation before attending midnight Mass.

No matter where one lives Christmas is a special time, here in Fernie, a seven-year-old child spent hours creating 55 cards to give to people she doesn’t really know.  This to me is a most touching, unselfish gesture that coming from the heart of a child is truly the Love of Jesus and what Christmas truly means.

Thank You Anna. Merry Christmas to you and your family.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Best Wishes for a Happy and Healthy New Year to all.

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