Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold,
everything is softer and more beautiful. - Norman Vincent Peale
Everybody came... to see what the Herdmans would do.
It may be the first Christmas pageant in history where Joseph and the Wise Men get in a fight, and Mary runs away with the baby.
But nothing seemed very different at first.
Imogene's veil was cockeyed as usual, and Ralph's hair stuck out all around his ears. Imogene had the baby doll but she wasn't carrying it the way he was supposed to, cradled in her arms. She had it slung up over her shoulder, and before she put it in the manger she thumped it twice on the back.
There were more shepherds than there were anything else, and they made so much noise, banging their crooks around like a lot of hocky sticks.
It took long to get the angels in because they were all primary kids and they got nervous and cried and forgot where they were supposed to go and bent their wings in the door and things like that.
Gladys was the only one who had anything to say and she made the most of it. "Hey! Unto you a child is born," she hollered.
We sang all the verses of 'Silent Night,' and when we got to 'Son of God, Love's pure light,' I happened to look at Imogene and I almost dropped my hymn book on a baby angel.
Imogene Herdman was crying.
In the candlelight her face was all shiny with tears and she didn't even bother to wipe them away. She just sat there - awful old Imogene - in her crooked veil, crying and crying and crying.
It was quite a pageant.
It has suddenly occurred to me that Christmas must have been just like this.
(To be continued)
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