Tomorrow will be Christmas Day, and many of us it will be attending family gatherings, dinners, having gift exchanges, with little or no thought to the true meaning of the day.

Christians around the world will be celebrating the birth of Jesus.

Some of us might start with church, which could take place this afternoon, later tonight, at midnight or sometime tomorrow.

After attending church services, will any of us take time during the day on Friday, to reflect on the true meaning of what we are celebrating?

In the Hennessey household, we also celebrate another birthday, that of our youngest son Jonathan.

Jon was born on Christmas Day, thirty-seven years ago. Yet, it seems as though it was yesterday.

We had celebrated Christmas as normal, attending church and Pauline fixing dinner. Her mother was staying with us for the holidays, and her brother joined us prior to dinner being served.

After the meal, we had our gift exchange with them. Then it was time to clear the table.

About that moment, Pauline announced that she thought it was time to go the hospital.

Our fifth child was predicted to come into this world about Jan. 15.

I kept telling everyone the baby would be here before the end of the year, for an obvious reason, the tax deduction.

As with our other children, we never knew the sex of the child until the day he or she was born.

When this was a boy, we decided his name should be Jonathan, which means gift from God.

That was a memorable Christmas.

We have always made sure his birthday is celebrated separately from our Christmas gift giving, just as Jesus’s birthday should.

From the Hennessey household here in Dayton Ohio, we wish all the readers of thefrontpageonline.com a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season.

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net

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