Mr. Theodore's Christmas

Mr. Theodore's Christmas

Christmas Eve forty years ago. Everything in the village was pure white, because since the feast of Agios Spyridon it had been very cold and snowing.

Only middle-aged parishioners could roam the streets without danger. There were only a few who were able to attend the Service of the Great Hours and Christmas Eve with the Divine Liturgy in the Holy Church.

After the dismissal, on our way back home, we were rewarded with nothing but snowflakes and a strong North.

Not a parishioner on the street. No one dared to go out of his house to sing carols. Not even a fire in the neighborhoods according to local custom.

I saw my grandfather, Papa-Dimitris, not in a good mood and attributed his melancholy emotional state to the image of frozen nature. I dared not speak to him, for fear of adding sorrow to his melancholy.

Even before we entered the house, papa-Dimitris called together his older children and the other Levento children of the neighborhood. We sat by the fireplace and Papa-Dimitris broke his silence by saying:

"You may know that Mr. Theodoris has been stranded at the top of the mountain, in his stable, for two weeks. But you cannot imagine the pain of his soul, if he spends Christmas without Christ. That is why we must not abandon him.”

No one found the courage to tell papa-Dimitris about the difficulties of the project.

Mr. Thodoris had his livestock pen at the top of the mountain, about ten uphill kilometers from the village. Even though he was young, Mr. Thodoris could have gone down to the village by himself. But he had with him his wife, his three children and his elderly mother.

However, the whole effort was becoming more difficult as Vorias carried the snow and had covered the small holes that one had to cross to reach the stable.

Papa-Dimitris knew all this. But he deeply believed that God would bless this effort and said: "You go to the task and we will help from here."

I wondered about the help promised by papa-Dimitris and I only understood it when I saw him praying, after the young men had left for Mr. Theodoris' stable.

After six hours and shortly before sunset, the young men and the family of Mr. Theodoris arrived. Entering the village they all sang carols together.

They were the best carols ever heard in our parish! All the parishioners came out of their houses. Others offered fasting treats and some clapped.

In the evening Mr. Thodoris was hosted with his family in the parishioners' homes. From dawn, as soon as the first joyful bells were heard, everyone went to church and listened to the wonderful Christmas carols.

They celebrated Christmas with Christ! At noon, on Christmas day, Mr. Thodoris and his family had lunch at our house.

Visibly moved, he kept talking about the joy he felt when he saw the smiling young people enter his stable and explain to him the reason for their visit. His wife, Mrs. Margarita, told how it was the first time that the dogs, although they saw their masters leaving the corral, barked happily and did not follow them.

But also the mother of Mr. Thodoris, the elderly lady Zoitsa, feeling deeply obliged and wanting to reciprocate her joy, asked that they skewer the lamb on Easter together on the mountain, in the barn.

At some point, Mr. Theodore's eldest son, overwhelmed with joy, sang the Kontakion.

I believe that Christmas was unforgettable. Everyone had prepared with fear and joy to meet the Creator.