Children’s Christmas wishes are usually pretty light and fluffy in nature. Toys and candy tend to top their lists, and understandably so. The whole holiday, despite its religious roots, has become quite a commercial affair. “Getting ready for Christmas” usually tends to be dominated by the whole business of gift buying, gift making, gift wrapping, and gift exchanging. 

And so it was a bit startling, to say the least, to read through the Christmas wishes sent to us by M. Auger’s Grade 4 French immersion class at Jasper Elementary School. These kids had obviously been instructed to go beyond mere material desires, but what they came up with was quite astonishing, perhaps even a little off-putting, at first.

You can read their wishes for yourself on pages 24 and 25 of this edition. For maximum effect, first read the Letters to Santa from some younger local students on pages 14 and 15. It’ll make the contrast even more striking.

Some of the stuff the Grade 4 kids came up with is truly remarkable. From broad wishes for things like an end to war so “soldiers can be reunited with their families” to more specific desires like “for my Grampie to get better from his Parkinson’s disease,” these kids’ words offer a window into their minds, which should remind us that children are much deeper and more sophisticated than we often give them credit for.

That’s perhaps what made these Christmas wishes a little difficult to read, for us at least, as we passed them throughout the office here at the Fitzhugh. Our collective, initial reaction was one of surprise and sadness.

“Man, these are so depressing, it’s out of control,” a staff member remarked at one point.

Indeed, reading about one child’s wish for her grandmother’s cancer treatment to go well or another’s desire to spend Christmas with a deceased great-grandfather while simultaneously acknowledging that “I will never see him again” isn’t exactly the type of thing you expect to come from the mouths (or pens) of babes.

But, the more we thought about it, the less depressing this actually seemed. While it might be more “normal,” it wouldn’t necessarily be better to hear these kids wishing for the latest toy or video game. To know that their desires run deeper than that and extend to people beyond themselves should actually be a source of great hope and happiness.

These children are expressing a sincere empathy towards friends, family members or, in some cases, complete strangers who find themselves in difficult situations. They are demonstrating a mature understanding that Christmas is a time of year to be thankful for one’s own good fortune while also considering those less fortunate than oneself.

It’s perhaps difficult to integrate for adults like us, who like to think of kids as innocent little beings unburdened by such concerns, yet it doesn’t seem to be a problem for these kids. Just take a look, on page 3 for example, at the beaming faces of Jasper Elementary students as they put on their annual Christmas concert. Joy emanates from their bright eyes, despite the presence behind those eyes of any “depressing” thoughts about sick relatives or war-torn regions of the world.

Our initial sense of unease with the letters from M. Auger’s class was based in the concern that their sad content would somehow taint the joy that is supposed to abound at this time of year, in particular among children. In a shallow way, we would have preferred not to think about such unhappy things.

But, upon deeper reflection, these kids have shown us quite the opposite. The sadness doesn’t threaten the joy. The joy, when shared, overpowers the sadness.

What a fitting reminder at this time of year.