“Papá Noel in Perú,” Liahona, Dec. 2001, 30–31
Papá Noel in Perú
From the other side of the room, I could see the Bolívar Ward Primary presidency discussing something rather intently and occasionally glancing at Elder Megran and me. Soon, Sister Rojas, the Primary president, approached us. I thought perhaps a nonmember child had attended Primary that day, and the presidency had a referral for us.
“Elder, we were wondering if you would be Papá Noel at the stake Primary Christmas program,” she said.
“Sure,” I responded, before I could fully comprehend what was being asked of me. It was the last question I had expected.
A few days later I was wearing a red suit and hat, black boots, a fake beard, and a backpack stuffed with clothing and worn backward to give Santa some weight. After some of the other wards performed, the curtain opened to reveal the Bolívar Ward Primary children.
A chorus of angels dressed in white gowns and halos, Wise Men, shepherds with their sheep, and of course José and María sang “Angels We Have Heard on High” (Hymns, number 203). Each child required at least three breaths to get through each “gloria.” Baby Jesus lying in the manger was the center of it all.
Then, with a little shove from Sister Rojas, I grabbed the reins and ushered my two little “reindeer” onto the stage. Amazingly, I managed to remember all the words I was supposed to say—“Feliz Navidad! Ho, Ho, Ho!” The audience cheered and applauded. What the audience didn’t see, after the curtain closed, was all 25 children tackling me and piling upon me, thanking me for being part of their Christmas.
Hearing these children sing praises to the Christ child, I thought of that wonderful scene almost 2,000 years before when the resurrected Christ gathered the children and took them “one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when he had done this he wept. … And they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; … and the angels did minister unto them” (3 Ne. 17:21–24).
These children helped me understand to a fuller extent why the Lord wept when He was with those little ones. They showed me what King Benjamin meant when he said we ought to become “submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit … even as a child” (Mosiah 3:19).
Santa Claus is well known in Perú because of North American movies and television specials. But it is the Savior who makes these children’s holiday a holy day. He is the reason for the season. Indeed, He is the reason for all seasons. He makes Himself available year round, offering us His gifts of faith, of love, of hope in the Resurrection and eternal life.