The gift of love

Fairy lights twinkle across the city. Shop windows are decked with holly. Christmas carols gambol atop a carpet of cold air. The mood across the city is upbeat.
Somewhere, in the recesses of the mind, an old O’Henry story unspools.
Paraphrased. Rewritten. About a young couple in a cold apartment. No jobs, what with the recession. But it’s the eve of Christmas and they both want to place a gift below the Christmas tree and surprise each other.He’s got an expensive watch, but the strap’s broken.
All she has is her crown of glory - hair rich and luxuriant. He excuses himself, walks to a nearby pawn shop and hands over his watch. With the money he buys her an ornate hair brush. She steps out too. Hurries towards the corner wigmaker who is only to happy to chop her hair and pay for it.
She enters the watch shop, buys a strap and goes home. The clock strikes twelve. Far away, church bells peal the arrival of the messiah. Ther door bell buzzes. She opens the door.
He presents her the comb. She gives him the strap..... Love is a many splendoured thing. Christmas like all great festivals is about love. Love for God, love for fellow human-beings.
For many, God has no dimension, no form. For others, God is a question mark. Some question the very existence of God. Dust we are and unto dust we shall return. But love? It exists. And it works only when we give of ourselves.
Christmas doesn’t revolve around a particular day in the calendar. It is not owned by any community. Because for those who love, Christmas is for each day of the year. For the Man from Galilee taught just that.
Where there’s love, there’s peace, there’s understanding. And its gift is to wrap everybody in a cocoon of warmth.