Christmas time is here...happiness and cheer...

It's Christmas time. And I have a little story to share.

Several years ago , my mother and I were in Philadelphia on the afternoon of Christmas eve. It's become kind of a tradition for us to go to Philly and get last minute items at the Italian Market or Reading Terminal Market on Christmas eve.
It was a tough year...the first year we had Christmas since my parents split up and we had become estranged from my father.
We were in the Italian Market section of the city, and we had just bought several bottles of wine and various other items. We entered a store which sells all sorts of fun gift items, such as glassware, soaps, sun catchers and other tchotchkes.
I hung out near the front of the store guarding all the wine we were lugging around while my mother shopped. She stopped at a wire tree covered in crystal ornaments. She commented to me on one in particular, a chandelier. It was quite beautiful, and I said so.
A man had walked into the store, and I probably smiled at him and maybe said hello, I can't remember. He was an average looking guy probably in his late 30s, about 5'10, a little stocky, but one thing stuck out to me-he had these beautiful clear blue eyes. He went over to the ornament tree my mom was looking at and pulled out the chandelier ornament we had commented on. He looked at me as if for approval and I commented again on how beautiful it was. I figured he was a typical guy, out looking for that last minute gift for his significant other.
He hands me the ornament and asks me to hold it for him, seeing that I was obviously not going anywhere any time soon since I had all those wine bottles to guard. I agreed, and he walked up to the register and paid.
Then he walked out of the store.
At first I just stood there, still holding the ornament, perplexed. I finally managed to stammer "did he just buy this for me?" to which the sales clerk replied yes, and didn't I know him? I looked at my mom, who was also confused. Then it hits me. This man just bought me a gift for no reason, and walked out, not wanting any thanks or recognition.
I ran out of the store and looked up and down the street. At first I didn't see him, but then caught a glimpse of him walking away. I yelled down the street "THANK YOU!!" and ran to catch up. He turned around, and I could tell from the look on his face that he hadn't wanted me to catch up to him. I don't even know what I said...I think I managed to sputter out the words thank you, it was so kind, etc. He just looked at me with those clear blue eyes and said that thanks was not necessary, and to have a Merry Christmas.
I walked back to the store to meet my mother. I told her and the sales clerk that I had found him, and he just said to have a Merry Christmas. Then I started to cry.
All 3 of us were in tears...and my mother said that I had just met Santa Claus. The sales lady said it was Jesus.
I'm smiling through tears as I type this even now.
This is just a simple story about a very small act of kindness I was lucky enough to witness one Christmas eve. I don't know who that man was, or whether it was some form of Jesus or Santa Claus. All I know is that he helped me to feel joy at a time when I felt like everything was falling apart. He shined a little bit of hope in a hopeless situation. With a $20 ornament, he helped to remind me that it's not about what we lose, it's about what we have to be thankful for every day. And Christmas is the time to celebrate that.
I don't know if he realized the impact he would have on me, but I'll never forget this man and I have told this story in one way or another every year since it happened. I think I will always remember it as the day I met an angel.
And my beautiful crystal chandelier ornament hangs in its place of honor, just above my living room window, where I can look up at it every day and smile at the memory of a stranger extending a little kindness to a sad girl on Christmas eve.