Evening star., 1944-12-24
| Just Between
Ourselves
Rv PhiliD III. Love,

sssNSE - = 49,
What I can't understand" little
girl said to me the other day, lis how
Santa Claus can be in SO many diff
ferent places at the same time.
Three girls in my class went shop
ping yesterday. All three told me
today that they had seen Santa, yet
they all went in different depart
ment stores. They must have seen
him at about the same time, too,
because they all went downtown
right after school"
And what you want to know Is
which one saw the real Santa" I
asked
YES" the girl answered. "That
and how he could be in all three
stores at the same time"
We'll, they all saw the real
Santa" said. "You see, he isn't an
ordinary man. In fact, he isn't a
man at all: he's spirit"
you mean-a ghost?"
mo, not a ghost. There are no
such things as ghosts. A spirit is
well, God is a spirit. You've never
seen God, have your"
mo. but I understand about Him
being a spirit. He's everywhere.
even though you can't see Him"
We'll, Santa Is everywhere, too.
OF course, he isn't anything like
God, but he's a spirit. just the same
"a happy, kindly spirit, who shows
himself everywhere during the
Christmas season. He can be right
here in this room, or down the street,
or even in another part of the world,
all at the same time. He can be
wherever he wants to be, and he
wants to be wherever people want
him to be-wherever people have
the real Christmas spirit"
Has to Be Wanted.
The girl thought the matter over
for few moments. Il can under
stand all that" she finally said. Its
just like when I sit down in my
room and make believe I'm some
body else-you know, just sort of
day-dreaming. Sometimes I pre-
tend I'm in or, or in Wonderland,
and if I think real hard, it's almost
the same as If I were really in one
of those places. Only with Santa, 1
guess he can be any place at all
without thinking very much about
it. Is that it?"
That's it, all right" I agreed
Except that Santa has to be want
ed. He never goes where he isn't
wanted. When people allow them
selves to become mean and selfish,
when they stop thinking about
Santa, stop loving him and wishing
for him to come-then he doesn't
come any more"
Its wonderful, isn't it?" she
laughed. Il mean that he can GO
everywhere at the same time, just
by thinking-just by knowing that
he's wanted. But"-the laugh was
replaced by a puzzled frown-"why
is 1t that he doesn't always look
exactly the same? I've seen him
twice this year, in two different
stores, and he looked a little differ
ent each time"
Happy Some Days.
DO you always look exactly the
same? For that matter. do you al
ways even feel the same?"
We'll. no, I don't" she admitted
slowly. Some days I feel happy and
full of pep, and guess I look the
same way, and other days I feel
and look altogether different"
Everybody does-Santa, perhaps
more than anybody else. because
you know, he's a spirit. He's some
thing like the air we breathe. It's
the same air all over the world, but
In some places it's cold and in others
hot, in some places dry, in others
wet, in some places calm, in others
gusty. A spirit can appear in thou
sands, even millions. of places at the
same time and be little different in
each place. AS a matter of fact,
Santa Claus always looks the same,
because he is the same; it's the peo-
pie to whom he appears that are
different-because as a spirit he
naturally reflects some of their
spirit, too"
"Gee!" the girl exclaimed, clap
ping her hands. Wait till I tell my
girl friends"
(From The Junior Star Of December IT
1889. Reprinted by reauest)