The Twelve Books of Christmas, January 3

For the 10th Day of Christmas, I have chosen one of my favorite Christmas stories:  "Christmas Moccasins" written and illustrated by Ray Buckley.  It is a Christmas story in that the gift given is on Christmas Eve.  but it is also a story of being wronged and forgiving; it is a story of extravagance; it is a story of our baptismal vocation, and how difficult and necessary it is.

It is also a story told from a Native American perspective.  The grandmother in the story is both steeped in the Christian faith, and also in the traditions of her community.  The story speaks about the particular way the grandmother prays, and also the value of the beautiful beaded moccasins she makes.

The story begins one winter as the grandmother and the boy are beat up by two teenagers as they walk in the woods.  The youths steal their coats and grandmother's moccasins.  The grandmother lost two toes to frostbite, walking home.

What will be their response?  What will they do?

This book is a Christmas book, but it's about more than Christmas.  It is about how faith can inhabit our whole lives, from one degree of glory to another.

The illustrations are also as gorgeous as the story.