Friday, December 16, 2005
First Visit to Santa
Lately, Karim has been telling me, albeit jokingly, that "there isn't a Santa." Of course, being a die-hard Santa fan, I have to disagree with him. I think, somewhere, in the back of his analytical Eg
yptian mind, in Arabic, of course, he's trying to figure out if there really IS or WAS a Santa. I explained the whole St. Niklaus thing, about the man who dropped coins in the window of the sisters who couldn't afford to marry (a long time ago), and he understood that. However, the whole bearded-guy-in-the-red-suit has him a tad perplexed, perhaps even a bit worried about the emotional stability of American children and their fascination with Santa.
Therefore, being the concerned American citizen bent on educating the yuletidinally challenged, I took Karim to the mall to see Santa. Luckily, it was evening time and the mall was nearly empty. We went in to the little "Santa Village" where Santa sat on his throne surrounded by beautifully painted sets of Christmas scenes. Around him on the floor were many wooden boxes painted like Christmas presents meant to be used as props for children to sit on for photo-taking purposes. Karim, a little shy, needed a little encouragement, but once he was face to face with the Jolly Old Elf, he shook hands with him warmly, refusing an offer to sit on his knee. (I was scared of breakage, picturing casts and lawsuits, and, so, refused, also). We stayed quite a while, conversing on various different levels, and I think Santa enjoyed it as much as we did. After all, how many adults does the mall-Santa get to talk with during the day, let alone an America-adapting Egyptian. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, Karim told him, "world peace." (I know it's cliche, but look at it from the Middle Eastern angle and it becomes more genuine.) Naturally, Santa, being a Christian, and quoting scripture, said, "it won't happen. I'm sorry, Son, but that's just the way it is. 'There will be wars and rumors of wars...' One thing that you can remember is that peace begins here," he pointed to his heart. Isn't Santa just the wisest man? He gives gifts that don't even have to be wrapped!
We got our photo taken with Santa as a memory to share with our grandkids someday about "Grampa's first visit with Baba Noel". Both of us were having too much fun and found it difficult to say "goodbye" to the Man in Red, but eventually, we found our way out of the mall and headed back home. I know that Karim enjoyed his visit with Santa completely, but if the truth were told, the whole visit was a plot so the I could see Santa. And I had the time of my life!
A word of note: Isn't it amazing how when you look at photos of yourself, you see how much larger you look in the photo than you do in the mirror. Such is the case with this one.
yptian mind, in Arabic, of course, he's trying to figure out if there really IS or WAS a Santa. I explained the whole St. Niklaus thing, about the man who dropped coins in the window of the sisters who couldn't afford to marry (a long time ago), and he understood that. However, the whole bearded-guy-in-the-red-suit has him a tad perplexed, perhaps even a bit worried about the emotional stability of American children and their fascination with Santa.Therefore, being the concerned American citizen bent on educating the yuletidinally challenged, I took Karim to the mall to see Santa. Luckily, it was evening time and the mall was nearly empty. We went in to the little "Santa Village" where Santa sat on his throne surrounded by beautifully painted sets of Christmas scenes. Around him on the floor were many wooden boxes painted like Christmas presents meant to be used as props for children to sit on for photo-taking purposes. Karim, a little shy, needed a little encouragement, but once he was face to face with the Jolly Old Elf, he shook hands with him warmly, refusing an offer to sit on his knee. (I was scared of breakage, picturing casts and lawsuits, and, so, refused, also). We stayed quite a while, conversing on various different levels, and I think Santa enjoyed it as much as we did. After all, how many adults does the mall-Santa get to talk with during the day, let alone an America-adapting Egyptian. When Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas, Karim told him, "world peace." (I know it's cliche, but look at it from the Middle Eastern angle and it becomes more genuine.) Naturally, Santa, being a Christian, and quoting scripture, said, "it won't happen. I'm sorry, Son, but that's just the way it is. 'There will be wars and rumors of wars...' One thing that you can remember is that peace begins here," he pointed to his heart. Isn't Santa just the wisest man? He gives gifts that don't even have to be wrapped!
We got our photo taken with Santa as a memory to share with our grandkids someday about "Grampa's first visit with Baba Noel". Both of us were having too much fun and found it difficult to say "goodbye" to the Man in Red, but eventually, we found our way out of the mall and headed back home. I know that Karim enjoyed his visit with Santa completely, but if the truth were told, the whole visit was a plot so the I could see Santa. And I had the time of my life!
A word of note: Isn't it amazing how when you look at photos of yourself, you see how much larger you look in the photo than you do in the mirror. Such is the case with this one.
