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(A condensation of the story by Roark Bradford which has become
a classic of American folklore. This Christmas tale is told in the
simple and loving words of a Negro minister of the old days.
(One word may puzzle some readers. We believe that “clawin’ ”
means “rewarding.” There is an Anglo-Saxon word “claw” which
meant “to flatter” or “support”.)
HOW COME CHRISTMAS
The scene is in a rural Negro church in bygone days. Six children
are sitting around the old stove where there is a cheerful fire glow
ing. The Reverend stands by, and there are Christmas decorations of
holly and red paper and strihgs of popcorn on the walls.
The Reverend speaks:
“WeU, hyar we is, chillun, and hyar hit is Christmas. Now we all
knows we’s hyar ’cause hit’s Christmas, don’t we? . But what I want
to know is, who gonter tell me how come hit’s Christmas?”
Willie
“ ’Cause old Sandy Claus come around about dis time er de year,
clawin’ all de good chillun with presents.”
Christine
“Dat ain’t right, is hit, Revrund? Hit’s Christmas ’cause de Poor
Little Jesus was bawned on Christmas, ain’t hit, Revrund?”
Reverend
“Well, bofe er dem is mighty good answers. Old Sandy Claus do
happen around about dis time er de year with presents, and de Poor
Little Jesus sho was bawned on Christmas Day. Now, de question is:
did old Sandy Claus start clawin’ de chillun with presents before de
Poor Little Jesus got bawned, or did Little Jesus git bawned before
old Sandy Claus started gittin’ around?”
WiiHe
“I bet old Sandy Claus was clawin’ chilluns before de Poor Little
Jesus started studdin’ about gittin’ bawned.”
Christine
“Naw suh. De Little Jesus earned first, didn’t he, Revrund?”
iraiie
“Old Sandy Claus is de oldest. I seed his pitchers and I seed Little
Jesus pitchers and old Sandy Claus is a heap de oldest. His whiskers
mighty nigh tech de ground.”
(And then Delia came into the argument to tell them Methuselah
was older than either one, and Willie stuck up for old Sandy Claus,
and someone else brought up Moses, and they had it back and forth
till the Reverend intervened. “De point is,” he says . ..)
Reverend
“Ain’t nobody got no idea how come hit start bein’ Christmas?”
Willie
“You can’t fool old Sandy Claus about Christmas. He know,
don’t he, Revrund? He just lay around and watch and see how de
chilluns mind dey maw, and den fust thing you know he got his
mind made up about who been good and who been bad, and den he
just hauls off and has hisself a Christmas.”
Christine
“Yeah, but how come he know hit time to haul off and have his-
se’f a Christmas?”
Willie
“ ’Cause any time old Sandy Claus make up his mind to have
Christmas, who gonter stop him?”
Christine
“Den how come he don’t never make up his mind ontwell de mid
dle er winter? How come he don’t make up his niind on the Fou’th
er July? Ev’ybody git good around de fou’th er July so’s dey kin go
to der picnic. But Sandy Claus ain’t payin’ no mind to dat ’cause
hit ain’t time for Christmas, is hit, Revrund?”
Waiie
“ ’Course he don’t have Christmas on the Fou’th er July! Sandy
Claus believe in scatterin’ de good stuff out, don’t he, Revrund? He
say: T better wait till winter when hit’s too cold for de picnic.’ Ain’t
hit right, Revrund?”
(So then, just to move things along, the Reverend switches the
subject and asks what the point of the Fourth of July is and the
children burst into song: . . .)
Chorus
“Old George Wash’n’ton whupped de Kaing,
And de eagle squalled. Let Freedom raing.”
(Unfortunately, the time of the Fourth of July created another ar
gument, Christine claiming that it came before and Willie that it
always came after Christmas. But the Reverend set them right.)
Reverend
“I b’lieve Christine got you dat time, WiUie. Christmas do come
before deh Fou’th er July. ’Cause hit was at Christmas when old
Gawge Wash’n’ton got mad at de kaing ’cause de kaing was gonter
kill de Poor Little Jesus. And him and de kaing fit f’m Christmas to
de Fou’th er July before old Gawge Wash’n’ton finally done dat
kaing up.”
(And so, by degrees, the Reverend led them on to Christmas and
here is the story he told about how the Poor Little Jesus and Sandy
Claus made Christmas come.)
HOW COME CHRISTMAS
How come de Poor Little Jesus and old Sandy Claus got mixed
up with gettin’ Christmas goin’? Hit was dis way:
You see, one time hit was a little baby bawned named de Poor
Little Jesus, but didn’t nobody know dat was him name yit. Dey
knew he was a powerful smart and powerful purty little baby, but
dey didn’t know his name was de Little Jesus. So, ’cause he was so
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VOGUE BEAUTY SHOP
Pauline Crosland
Edith Gotch Tel. 2-8711 Margaret Nance
smart an’ so purty, ev’ybody thought he was goin’ ter grow up and
be de kaing. So quick as dat news got spread around, ev’body just
, about bust to git on de good side er de baby, ’cause dey figure efn
dey do dat he’d grow up likin’ ’em and not chop dey head off when
he was de kaing.
So old Moses went over and give him a hund’ed dollars in gold,
and old Methuselah went over and give him a diamond ring. And
old Peter give him a fine white robe. And ev’ybody was runnin’ in
with fine presents so Poor,Little Jesus wouldn’t grow up and chop
dey heads off.
Ev’ybody, but old Sandy Claus. Old Sandy Claus was kinder old
and didn’t git aroxmd much and didn’t hyar de news. So him and
de old lady was settin’ back by de fire one night, toastin’ dey shins
and tawkin’ about dis and dat, when old Miz Sandy Claus up and
remark, she say: “Sandy, I hyar Miss Mary got a brand new baby
over at her house.”
“Is dat a fack?” say Sandy Claus. “Well, well, hit’s a mighty
cold night to do anything like dat, ain’t it? But on de yuther hand,
he’ll be a heap er pleasure and fun for her next summer, I reckon.”
So de talk went on and finally old Sandy Claus remark hit was
powerful lonesome around de house since aU de chiUuns growed up
and married off. ,
“Dey all married well,” say Miz Sandy Claus, “and so I say: ‘Good
riddance.’ You ain’t never had to git up and cyore dey coMc and
mend de clothes, so you gettin’ lonesome. Me, I love ’em all, but
I’m glad dey’s married and doin’ well.”
So de talk run on and den old Sandy Claus got up and got his hat.
“You ain’t goin’ out on a night like dis, is you?” say. Miz Sandy
Claus.
“Sho I’m goin’ out,” say Sandy Claus,
some chilluns.”
“But hit’s snowin’ and goin’ on,” say Miz Sandy Claus. “You
know yo’ phthisic been dev’lin’ you, anyhow, and yo’ll git de chaw-
ley mawbuses sloppin’ ’round in dis weather.”
“No mind de tawk,” say Sandy Claus. “Git me my umbrella and
my overshoes. And you better git me a little somethin’ to take along
for a cradle gift, too, I reckon.”
“You know hit ain’t nothin’ in de house for no cradle gift,” say
Miz Sandy Claus.
“Git somethin’, say Sandy Claus. “You got to give a new baby
somethin’ or else you got bad luck. Git me one er dem big red
apples outer de kitchen.”
“What kinder cradle gift is dat?” say Miz Sandy Claus. “Don’t
you reckon dat baby got all de apples he want?”
But ^dy Claus got de red apple and he lit out. Well, when he
got to Miss Mary’s house, ev’ybody was standin’ round givin’ de Poor
Little Jesus presents. Fine presents. Silver and gold and diamonds.
Dey had presents stacked around dat baby so high you couldn’t hard
ly see over dem.
“I’m pyore cravin’ to see
So when ev’ybody seed old Sandy Claua come in, dey looked to
see what he brang. And when dey seed he didn’t brang nothin’ but
a red apple, dey all laughed. “Quick asj dat boy grows up and gits
to be de kaing,” dey told him, “he’s gwiner chop yo’ haid off.”
“No mind dat,” say old Sandy Claus. “Y’all jest stand back.” And
so he went over to de crib and he pushed away a handful er gold and
sUver and diamonds and stuff and handed de Poor Little Jesus dat
red apple. “Hyar, son,” he say, “take dis old apple. See how she
shine?”
And de Poor Little Jesus reached up and grabbed dat apple in
bofe hands, and laughed jest as brash as you please!
Den Sandy Claus tuck and tickled him under de chin with his
before finger and say, “Goodly-goodly-goodly.” And de Poor Little
Jesus laugh some more and reach up and grab a fistful er old Sandy
Claus whiskers, and him and old Sandy Claus went round and roundl
So about dat time up stepped de Lawd. “I swear, old Sandy
Cteus,” say de Lawd, “Betwixt dat apple and dem whiskers de Poor
Little Jesus ain t had so much fun since he been bawn.”
So Sandy Claus stepped back and bowed low and give de Lawd
hy-dy, and say: I didn’t know ev’ybody was chivareein’ or else I’d
a’ stayed at home. I didn’t had nothin’ much to bring dis time,
’cause you see how it been dis year. De dry weather and de bull
weevils got mighty nigh aU de cotton, an’ de old lady been kinda
puny—”
Dat s all right, Sandy,” say de Lawd. “Gold and silver have I
a heap of. But verily you sho do know how to handle youse’f around
chilluns.”
“Hit’s easy to do what you likes to do,” say Sandy Claus.
“WeU,” say de Lawd, “Hit might be somethin’ in dat, too. But de
trouble wid my world is, hit ain’t enough people which likes to do
de right thing. But you likes to do wid chilluns and dat’s what I
needs. So stand still and shet yo’ eyes whilst I passes a miracle
on you.’’
So Sandy Claus stood stiU and ghet his eyes and de Lawd r’ared
back and passed a miracle on him and say: “Old Sandy Claus, live
forever and make my chiUuns happy.”
So Sandy Claus opened his eyes and say, “Thank you kindly,
Lawd. But do I got to keep ’em happy aU de time? Dat’s a purty
big job. Hit’d be a heap er fun but stiU, and at de same time—”
“Yeah, I knows about chUluns, too,” says de Lawd. “ChiUuns got
to fret and git in devilment ev’y now and den and git a whuppin,’
f’m dey maw er else skin won’t git loose so dey kin grow. But you
jest keep yo’ eyes on ’em and keep ’em happy about once a year
How’s dat?”
“Dat’s fine,” say Sandy Claus. “Hit’U be a heap er fun, too. What
time er de year you speck I better make ’em happy, Lawd?”
“Christmas suits me,” say de Lawd, “efn hits aU O.K. wid you.”
“Hit’s just about right for me,” say Sandy Claus.
So ever since dat day and time old Sandy Claus been clawin’ de
chiUuns on Christmas; and dat’s on de same day dat de Poor Little
Jesus got bawned. ’Cause dat’s de way de Lawd runs things.
57 FORD CHRISTMAS
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THE COUNTRY SQUIRE
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