Christmas Traditions

        In every community there is always a person who makes the decision or mission of taking the children to take a Bible class or catechism so that they learn about the word of GOD.

        Many parents who no longer attend mass or religious services but believe in GOD allow this person to take their child to classes and try to teach them about GOD and moral values. The responsibility is the parents', but we live in such an advanced pace of life that many times the teachings of this are not a priority in the lives of the parents of these children or young people. 

        We are close to Christmas and the announcements in Bible classes about the different Christmas dates and activities begin. There is talk of the usual drama where Joseph and Mary have to flee so that she ends up giving birth to baby Jesus in a barn among sheep and cows.

        Now came the difficult task of choosing who would play the role of Joseph, Mary, the Three Wise Men, the sheep and the cows and the rest of the children would be the shepherds and shepherdesses. 

        Rebecca was a girl born and raised in the United States. She was about eleven years old and her parents made the decision to return to Puerto Rico to buy a house and stay living on the island.

        Despite her young age, she had learned to live in a country where after New Year's Eve the Christmas tree was taken down and the festivities were over. It was not like on the island where after New Year's Eve the Three Wise Men came and even the octave songs. All this was new to her.

        As always, all the girls wanted to be Jesus' mother. They assigned the different biblical characters and Rebecca was chosen to be a shepherdess. In her mind she had seen on television what a shepherdess looked like. She had a long, old skirt and a worn, slightly faded blouse. The best thing about her outfit was a scarf to cover her head from the sun while she shepherded the sheep through the mountains. She wore old, dirty shoes. Her staff to guide the sheep along the path had to be long and made of rustic wood. Her perfume was "Ovejet." For Rebecca, that meant bad odor. She had already been to a zoo and the stench that came out of this little sheep was not from flowers.

        Rebecca was always an independent girl and felt that the situation of the shepherdess costume was going to be a given. So much so that she didn't even bother to consult her mother and little by little she put together her costume according to her version. She asked her older brother to please make her a stick and he found a stick somewhere in the yard. He cleaned it and put it away so that a splinter wouldn't hurt his sister's hands. Perfect! She had everything now. She just had to wait for the big day to impress all those parents and visitors who came to see this play. 

        The big day arrived. A beautiful, sunny Sunday, full of enthusiasm. Rebecca got up early. She ironed her clothes, put them in a bag and dressed in regular clothes with the idea of ​​changing in the bathroom and putting on her shepherdess outfit. Her brother who made the staff did the honor of carrying the staff to the church and on the way he would occasionally spank Rebecca and tell her that she was a gentle sheep. Rebecca, who was on edge, ran after him to see if she could give him a slap to make him leave her alone.

        They arrived at the church. Rebecca went into the bathroom and changed. Her brother handed her his staff. Rebecca felt that her role as pastor was going to make her famous and that between visits she was going to see someone famous and from there to Hollywood. Her imagination was always on fire.  

        What would be their surprise? All the characters were inside the room and they looked beautiful. Mary had perfect curls that were sticking out of her veil that was made of a fabric that looked like silk. Joseph was gorgeous. The Three Wise Men weren't even worth mentioning. Their costumes were made of fine materials and their beards looked real. Who finds a stuffed animal ugly? Especially if they were sheep and cows

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        Now came the worst part: the shepherdesses of Puerto Rico were rich. Nothing like what Rebecca had imagined them to be. Poor, suffering, sweating and smelling of sheep and wearing colorless clothes. 

        All the shepherdesses had beautiful curls, and no one had a faded scarf over their hair. Their outfits were made of a silky, shiny material. A red skirt, a white blouse made of fine material, and they wore a vest of the same color as the skirt. All kinds of details to decorate the vest. Ribbons, bells, and all kinds of things that looked good in the costume. 

        Their staffs, but what staffs! They were bought. They were polished and decorated with ribbons and bells. Staffs with little bell sounds. The shepherdesses of Puerto Rico were rich, they were not like the shepherdesses of Europe. Poor!

        When Rebecca entered the room she wanted to run away. Everyone looked around trying to figure out who her character was. There were discreet smiles, others didn't even dare to look and I imagine that many mothers would ask where Rebecca's mother was. Rebecca's independent personality left her mother out of this activity. Big mistake. 

        The person in charge of taking the children out noticed Rebecca's surprise and embarrassment. Rebecca made a mistake by not consulting her mother. The person did not take her out of the play but gently placed her in the back of the closet where she was not as visible. Thank God.

                Rebecca learned many things that day. Her courage. Her desire was to run and leave but she didn't. She learned to consult. The most beautiful thing she learned was that even though she often wanted to kill her older brother for how annoying he was when Rebecca went out, he was there. Waiting for her.

         I even saw tears of sorrow in his eyes. At that moment, his hug was worth a million dollars. I learned that despite everything, he loved her.

        They went home and all the way he was hitting Rebecca with the stick he had made for her. As if Rebecca were a sheep. She was running behind him trying to reach him to hit him. What love is...

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