My mother takes great pride in her holiday decorations that she places around her home to reflect the seasonal celebrations.
She decorates for all of the major holidays, with Thanksgiving and Christmas being the most beautiful of all.
Each Thanksgiving, she proudly displays her porcelain Pilgrims, pumpkins and cornucopia atop the buffet in her dining room. But, this particular year, someone inadvertently bumped into the display causing Papa Pilgrim to fall, chipping his hat brim. My father, aka Mr. Fixit, placed the small chip in a bowl and vowed to glue it back in place when the Thanksgiving festivities were concluded.
Well, after all that turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie and football on television, the task of repairing the figurine was postponed in preference to a nap in his recliner.
Another week passed, and it was time for all of the Thanksgiving decorations to be packed away for another year, making room on the sideboard for the Nativity, the beautiful porcelain figures of the Virgin Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus, complete with shepherds and the three wise men, bearing their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
It was during the transition from Pilgrims to the Holy Family, that my dad decided to make his repairs to Papa Pilgrim. Working at the dining table, he replaced the chip, then casually turned and set the Pilgrim on the sideboard to dry. And promptly forgot about it.
A couple of weeks passed, and it was time for Christmas dinner. The family was all gathered around the table enjoying our holiday meal. My nephew was seated opposite the sideboard, and when he looked up between bites, he happened to notice the patched up Pilgrim holding his gun and a turkey, no less, standing there amidst the peaceful manger scene, admiring the baby Jesus, just like one of the three kings.
Luckily, he did not choke when he laughed so hard that his mouthful of cornbread dressing went flying across the table.
When he regained his composure, he breathlessly inquired between bouts of laughter, “Is that a Pilgrim? I don’t remember hearing stories about a wandering Pilgrim showing up for the birth of Baby Jesus!”
That was it! The witty remarks began flying:
“Speaking from a mother’s point of view, I think Mary would have appreciated a turkey to feed her family at that moment more than gold, frankincense and myrrh.”
“What exactly is myrrh, anyway?”
“And these were supposed to be wise men? Yeah, right. I mean what were they thinking?”
“And the Scriptures say that Mary pondered all of these things in her heart. I’ll bet she did! I’d be pondering what in the name of Christmas was going on, too! New babies need practical gifts!”
“Right! How about some more of those swaddling clothes? It’s not like they had disposable diapers back then. Get real, guys!”
So, thanks to a bit of oversight, a new Christmas tradition has been established at the grandparents’ household.
The Nativity scene is still lovingly placed in the dining room for all of the holiday guests to enjoy, but there, in the midst of the idyllic manger scene, with the Holy Family, the shepherds and the three wise men, now stands a practical Pilgrim, patched up, but nonetheless proudly bearing his humble gift of a Thanksgiving/Christmas turkey.
— Amond lives in Livingston
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