It was a beautiful morning for a stroll. As my wife and I walked around a snow bank, we found Nippy, Polar Pete, and Heddy sitting and talking. “Well good morning, my friends,” I said.
“Hello Santa and Ms. Claus,” the three of them responded in unison.
“Would you like to join us?” Pete asked as he pointed to a place for us to sit.
“We’d love to,” Anya responded.
As I sat next to my wife, a light snow started to fall. I watched Heddy put his hand out to catch snowflakes.
After staring at the flakes in his hand, he shook them off and caught more. “Did you ever notice that no two snowflakes seem to look alike?”
Suddenly, everyone held out their hands or paws to catch the falling snow and stared at the flakes.
“Santa, I never noticed that,” Heddy, our abominable snowman friend, remarked. “Once they all fall on the ground you can’t tell them apart, so why would they be different?”
“Ho, Ho, Ho. I’m surprised none of you know this, especially you Nippy, since you are a snowman.”
No one responded for several minutes. Finally, Polar Pete grunted, “Well, are you going to tell us?”
I brushed off the light snow on my beard. “Of course,” I chuckled, “but first of all, I want you to think of snowflakes as similar to us. Though they are made from ice crystals and we are made of flesh and blood, except Nippy of course, we are all different.”
After everyone stopped giggling, I continued. “You see the shapes of snowflakes depend on how high up in the clouds they are formed. Every variation in the air or clouds they pass through affects their final shapes. So, since no two flakes follow the same path, no two snowflakes are exactly alike.”
“I think I understand,” Nippy broke in. “Not all of us snowmen are the same either because someone different put us together the way they thought we should look. My cousin has a top hat, and I have a red plaid hunter’s hat.”
“And he has a carrot for a nose while you have a yellow squash,” Pete added.
“Right! And he has small branches from trees for arms, while I was given broken hockey sticks.”
“But it’s not just about how you look,” Pete blurted out.
“What are you talking about?” Nippy asked.
“Well, everyone thinks polar bears look alike, and they do for the most part, but I can tell the difference and know who each one is.”
“How?” Heddy wanted to know. “I can’t tell one from the other!”
“Every bear is raised a little differently and the experiences we have growing up are not always the same.”
“So?” Heddy spoke up again.
“That changes our personalities, which makes us all unique.”
My wife gave me a pat on my knee. “Santa, I think they might be getting it.”
“Recognizing that someone looks different or was raised differently is important,” I responded. “How we were made, who our parents were, and the experiences we have had cause us to react in our own way to the world around us.”
Polar Pete sat back on his haunches and wondered aloud, “I was just thinking.” The big bear paused a moment to collect his thoughts. “If we are all different from one another, as snowflakes are, shouldn’t we all accept that and get along.”
“Hmm,” Heddy began rubbing his chin. “Pete has a point. Not all yetis react the same as I do in the same situation, but that doesn’t mean I’m right and they are wrong. Seems like we could both learn from each other and become better yetis.”
“Exactly!” Ms. Claus exclaimed. “Judging others for what they say, do, think, or feel because it is odd or doesn’t match up to what you expect shows your lack of understanding.”
“Well said my dear. You’d be surprised how many children tell me about others making fun of them for being different. Unfortunately, many boys and girls haven’t learned how to accept others who are not like them.”
“So, what do you tell the child who feels like they just don’t fit?” Heddy asked in a sad voice.
“I explain that all children are distinctive like snowflakes, and that they should not run from what they are. Instead, they should celebrate it. I let them know that their individuality adds value to the world and makes an impact on everyone they meet.”
The snow continued to fall as Anya and I linked arms with our friends. Together we walked toward Christmas Village and celebrated the splendor of being unique.
Notes From Santa
I hope you enjoyed today’s story. Stories are posted on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month, except December. Santa’s next story will be posted on Saturday July 20, 2024. If you have any comments or if there is something you would like me to tell you about, please feel free to leave me a comment. Until the next time . . .
To read more about Santa’s friends please check out:
Santa’s Newest Friends – July 8, 2019
Wiggle and Waddle Meet Polar Pete – July 15, 2019
A Visit From Jack Frost – January 20, 2020
The Lost Elves – February 3, 2020
Homesick Penguins – June 8, 2020
Nippy Falls Apart – March 8, 2021
Wiggle and Waddle Go Home – May 31, 2021
Missing Friends – July 1, 2022
Polar Pete’s New Friend – April 15, 2023
Polar Pete’s Tail – September 16, 2023
The Lost Bear – February 3, 2024
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Another wonderful story, Santa, with a Great message!! We are who we are because of the amazing people/family that we had all around us!! Thanks again – Love All your stories, but this one really hits home (in a very good way!)!