Will you hear the whisper in the wind on Christmas morning? Will you see the glow shining from the star atop the Christmas tree? Will you hear the Alleluias that will be sung in church on Christmas Day?

You will if you have the ears to hear and the eyes to see. You will if you are ready and have heard the message from the desert and the yearning in the hearts of men and women during this Advent season.

Not everyone will hear and see it. If you haven't been paying attention, you will not. If all you've done to prepare for Christmas is shop and decorate, you may not hear or see it.

 Stefanie Gutierrez Photo

N. Floral Park Students Catch the Christmas Spirit

But as sure as the babe was born in Bethlehem, the sights and sounds of Christmas will be present this Christmas Day if only we are prepared for them. As sure as a child's eyes will gleam when he opens the first gift of Christmas, they will be there for all to see and hear. The carols will be sung. The presents will be wrapped. The lights will be lit. The Glory to God in the Highest will be sung. And we will rejoice because God entered human history once and for all on that first Christmas Day.

The Spirit of Christmas is a gift - which is why we give gifts to friends and relatives on this special holy day. We didn't ask for the gift. We did nothing to deserve it. It simply is given to us by a Creator who wishes to share the joy and wonder of life.

It's also a mystery. Not everyone understands it. Not everyone will experience it in the same way we do. But it's there if we make ourselves available to it.

Surely the kids at Our Lady of the Snows, North Floral Park, understand it. They've been touched by it and they've responded in the best possible way.

The Student Council adopted The Tablet's Bright Christmas Campaign as a charity this year and thanks to a tree ornament program, the children in the parish school raised $600 to purchase gifts for kids in need.

"We thought it was just going to be a small effort. We thought if we made $100, that would be good. But it grew and grew and blossomed into a major project," said Manuella Ficuciello, co-moderator of the Student Council.

"The whole school got involved. We had children tracing and cutting paper ornaments for the tree and other kids stringing the ornaments."

"Christmas is a time of giving and I think we set a really good example of that. Hopefully next year even more people give," commented eighth-grader Meghan Gratzer.

The priceless adornments were put on the school's tree and sold for $.50 each. The competition to earn the most was won by the eighth grade.

"It feels really good to have raised this money so that they (the recipients) can do something to give someone a happy Christmas," said sixth-grader Alexandra Michael.

"I think this has been really good. We are helping people who really need it," added sixth-grader Khyri Ford.

"Now, the kids can have gifts and really enjoy them," said sixth-grader Puja Thomas.

The school got involved when principal Sister Roberta Oberle, CSJ, showed the students a solicitation letter from The Tablet's Bright Christmas drive.

"We help out Ronald McDonald House and other local charities," explained Mrs. Ficuciello. "We don't like to turn anyone down. So, we went with it."

Also playing a prominent role in the effort was the other co-moderator of Student Council, Maria Finn, the eighth- grade teacher.

Now that's a bunch of students and teachers who have been touched by the Christmas Spirit.