The Christmas Hats
A short story by
Charles Keenan
This is a story of two men who went to their city’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, each man going for different reasons.
The first man, Tim, had a lovely wife and three small children. Every year Tim and his family would gather blankets, warm clothes and their stroller before going to sleep early the night before the parade. In the morning they would rise early and have a big, hot breakfast that filled their home with smells of bacon, eggs and toast. Then they would clear the table and stack the dishes before filling a bag with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. A delicious sweet smell now floated through the kitchen as their thermos was filled with hot chocolate. Then, each year, they would drive to the nearby station and wait for the train that would take them downtown close to the parade route. This year they found a nice open spot on the south side of the boulevard segment of the parade where they awaited the arrival of Santa Claus at the parade’s end. Tim really loved the holiday season, and he especially loved going downtown to see all the streets and stores trimmed with lights and plastic decorations. The department stores were closed on Thanksgiving Day, but he knew he would be returning during the next few weeks to buy the biggest gifts for his family to open on Christmas morning. Tim always bought the newest toys, hottest games and nicest clothes as gifts. He remembered the inexpensive presents he opened while growing up, and was determined that his children would remember opening the best of everything.
The second man, Tom, had a new girlfriend from out-of-town. She had moved to the city eight months ago to begin a new job and had met Tom at a Happy Hour close to both of their employers. Her colorful clothes reminded him of warmer months, and she smelled of summer flowers. They talked, and Tom soon understood that she was looking for someone to show her all the attractions of her new city. They exchanged phone numbers and in the weeks that followed visited a museum, cheered at a basketball game and enjoyed a nice dinner at a downtown restaurant. When Tom discovered that his new girlfriend had never been to the city’s Thanksgiving Day Parade her enthusiasm prompted him to suggest they could go together. Tom had not been to the parade in many years because, you see, Tom didn’t celebrate Christmas much. Oh, he would watch one or two Christmas specials on TV when nothing else was on and listen to carols on the radio while searching for a commercial-free station, but overall Tom felt that the holiday season was a very expensive distraction. He worked very hard at his job and saved as much as he could. Tom still received a few cards and small gifts from his family and friends around Christmas, but always felt those gifts were too insignificant to make a difference in his life and never even bothered to say ‘Thank you’. Tom worked so hard that he never found the time to neither buy any gifts nor send any cards. Tom was determined that when he finally married and began to raise a family his resources would be so considerable that no gift would be insignificant.
Thanksgiving morning Tom knew his girlfriend was looking forward to an exciting day filled with new experiences at the parade, so he left home early to drive to her apartment. Together they took the expressway to a parking lot near the parade route, parked, then walked a few blocks to a nice spot on the boulevard’s north side.
The weather forecast for a blustery autumn day was proving accurate and everyone was glad they remembered to bring their hats and gloves. Tim’s children sat together on the curb huddling under a thick blanket, while Tim often put his arm around his lovely wife to help ward off the cold. Even the smallest sip of hot chocolate from home reminded them of their earlier breakfast and of the turkey waiting to be prepared for dinner. Tom stood hand in hand with his new girlfriend, and they would occasionally stomp their feet to warm them against the chilly autumn morning. When the wind blew a certain way Tom could smell summer flowers. Tim and Tom did not know each other, but it wasn’t long until they noticed one another from across the boulevard because they were both wearing the same black fedora hat – the only difference being a small green feather in the band of Tim’s fedora and a small red feather in the band of Tom’s. The difference was so small that neither saw it from across the large street.
The parade route began about a mile from the location of our friends. It wound through the center of the city until it turned onto the large boulevard that led to the city’s airport where, at the end of the parade, participants would scatter from the parking lot and start home to enjoy their turkey dinners. From their carefully chosen spots our friends could see each attraction as it turned a corner to begin the last leg of the journey down the big street. Both groups had arrived early to see the Grand Marshall lead the procession of marching bands, Christmas themes and holiday balloons.
Everyone cheered when the colorful first car rounded the corner with a big sign in front, flapping in the wind. In the back seat of the convertible was the Grand Marshall, enthusiastically waving to the crowd. Next was a large float filled with oversized sculpted turkeys, dressed like pilgrims, followed by a marching band from a local high school. The blasts from the brass instruments and the thumping of the big bass drum caused everyone to clap and cheer even louder as the music passed. Fluttering banners ahead of each troupe announced where they were from, and almost every other band came from a high school from across the state and even the country. Between the marching bands were vibrant wind tossed floats filled with holiday messages delivered by television personalities, beauty queens and heroes. If it wasn’t for the wind, the chilly temperatures might have been forgotten, but the gusts were regularly pushing everything and everyone as cheers rose for each passing performance.
The wind really kicked up as Santa’s sleigh and reindeer turned onto the boulevard, heading towards our friends. His sleigh was on a large wheeled float that was being cleverly pulled by an automobile disguised as a very large Christmas wreath. In the front of the float there were models of all the reindeer harnessed to a big sleigh towards the back. The reindeer gently bobbed above white puffy clouds as they appeared to pull Santa and his sleigh full of presents forward on his magical journey. Gusts continued to blow and from the distance Santa’s beard looked like a fluffy white scarf being tossed back and forth under his chin. On each side of Santa’s float elves dressed in green were scurrying about the boulevard picking up parade ornaments that were being blown about by the wind.
Just as the reindeer began to pass in front of our friends, a particularly strong wind gust blew the hats off of both Tim and Tom. The fedoras arched to the ground and began tumbling down the street past Santa’s float with one of the elves running after them. The elf caught up to the hats and headed back towards Tim. Before the elf offered Tim his hat he turned to Santa who was just now passing by. Santa glanced at the elf, smiled, nodded and winked. As the elf held out the hat, Tim gratefully took it and, feeling it might blow down the street again, held it tightly in his hand. Then the elf scooted behind the float and across the boulevard to Tom who had been waving his arm in the air. He returned the remaining fedora and Tom yelled, “Thank you!” as the merry elf joined his fellow elves at the end of the parade. Tom did not want to lose his hat again either, so he also carried it in his hand.
Santa always marked the end of the Thanksgiving Day Parade so, with the pageant over, both men started home securely holding their hats – Tim walked with his family towards the train station while Tom walked with his girlfriend towards his car in the parking lot. Not until they were safely out of the wind – Tim on the train and Tom in his car – did either think to put their hats back on.
Sitting in the bench opposite his wife, with the children settling between them, Tim gazed out the train’s window as passengers continued to board. To the smiles of his family he carefully placed his hat back on his bead – and experienced the strangest sensation. Meanwhile, Tom arrived at his car and politely opened the door for his girlfriend. It had been a chilly day, so Tom let the car idle in the parking lot for a few minutes to warm up the car’s heater. Tom reached for his hat as his girlfriend turned on the radio. Placing the hat on his head, Tom wondered if she heard him utter a low, “What?” Blocks apart from each other now, both men removed their hats and gaped out the window for a moment. When they looked down Tim found his green feather had turned red and Tom saw his red feather had turned green, and they both suspected what had happened. It seems the helpful elf at the parade had gotten their hats mixed up, and given Tim’s hat to Tom and Tom’s hat to Tim. But it is what happened when they put the hat on that was causing them to be so uncomfortable.
Tim had been looking out the train’s window at all the stores decorated with beautiful plastic wreaths and holiday figures. After he put Tom’s hat on those same stores seemed cluttered, with the decorations blocking the view of what important products and services were being offered.
Tom was looking across the parking lot at the exit, deciding if he should turn left or right onto the street in front of the buildings, when he had put on Tim’s hat. Suddenly it seemed like discount signs appeared everywhere, in all the windows of all the stores and on every corner and every wall proclaiming Christmas sales. They were both very reluctant to put the other man’s hat back on their head, but each hat fit perfectly. Tim’s family didn’t see the difference between a green feather and a red feather and began to laugh saying they remembered the feather was always red, while Tom’s girlfriend hadn’t even noticed there had been a feather in the hat band at all, and felt that green was a very pretty color.
Well, the next few weeks were very interesting for both men. First, they both tried to find alternative hats to wear. They tried baseball caps, wool hats and old fedoras with wear marks that quickly reminded them why they had bought their new fedoras. They even considered buying a brand new hat, not because their fedoras from the parade didn’t fit well enough, but because wearing them just didn’t feel right. Every time they would put on the other man’s hat the world seemed to look so different.
Tim took the train downtown to work each day and looked forward to doing Christmas shopping during his lunch hour, but when he wore the fedora during the train ride he quickly became frustrated. What had previously been a pleasant excursion surrounded by the sale banners of stores and shops was now an irritating ride through chaos. He could not see the places he wanted to visit during lunch because of so many holiday decorations adorning everything. When he did manage to shop he paid at the cashier with one of his credit cards, just like always, except that while wearing the fedora he felt like something important was missing. Tim remembered every one of the Christmas gifts he opened when he was young. He realized now how much his family had sacrificed to give him those gifts, and that sacrifice was what was missing from the gifts he bought. He began looking into organizations that helped people at Christmas. One of the slogans said “Give ‘til it hurts” and that is just what Tim did.
Tom drove his car downtown to work each day. He took the expressway to avoid traffic congestion and pedestrian packed intersections. The highway’s exit ramp led almost directly to the parking lot where he paid a monthly fee. Then it was a quick three block walk down Main Street to his employer. The section of Main Street Tom walked was filled with department stores which were now offering all kinds of holiday sales, but he had never really noticed. Since wearing the fedora from the parade Tom became all too aware of the stores and their bargains – so much so that he changed the route he walked from the parking lot to work. Tom found that if he walked over two blocks before going down the three blocks towards work he could avoid all the sale banners. Of course he needed to walk back the extra two blocks before getting to his employer, but Tom felt that it was worth it. Tom took his new route everyday, and as Christmas approached he became aware that those streets were so still because they were lined with the best jewelry stores, where elite customers quietly paid high prices for necklaces, bracelets and rings. Tom found himself walking a little slower each day while his attention was drawn to the display windows with small holiday decorations. His thoughts would often wander towards his girlfriend and the smell of summer flowers as he walked, and the week before Christmas he finally decided that the earrings catching his eye daily in one of the jewelry store windows would be a nice gift for his girlfriend. Snow flurries fell on the day he broke his routine and entered the jewelry store on his way home. After buying the earrings he sat in his car, to let the heat warm up, and opened the velvet box. The diamonds were beautiful as they captured reflections of the falling snowflakes outside the car windows, but he found himself thinking, ‘What if she doesn’t like them?’ and ‘What if she already has a pair just like these earrings?’. He understood that whether or not his Christmas gift was a success depended on his girlfriend. He remembered the gifts he had received in the past, and how ungrateful he had been for those gifts. It wasn’t until he bought this gift that he realized just how much time and effort had gone into each of the those presents – cards and presents he had brushed aside as insignificant.
Days before Christmas - neither man was sure just which day - they began to regularly wear their hats from the parade. The fedoras no longer made them feel uncomfortable. There were no more sensations of seeing the world differently, and the hats only helped keep their heads warm on the cold winter days. They began to see the hats as a gift, and both felt they should say ‘Thank you’ at Christmas. Tim jumped on the Internet to confirm that the small chapel a half mile from his home still held a midnight Mass. Tom drove by the same chapel every day on his way home from work, and the sign on the corner got him thinking about midnight Mass too. Soon it was Christmas Eve, and both men knew what they should do.
Tim’s family had planned to go to church Christmas morning but tonight, Christmas Eve, he asked his wife if it would be alright if he also went to midnight Mass by himself because he had something special to pray for. His wife nodded and around 10 o’clock Tim helped put the children to bed, helping his wife fill the children’s dreams with soft and wonderful stories of Saint Nicholas. Then they walked down the hall and quietly took the hidden gifts from the closet. They made no sound as they carefully carried the presents downstairs and spoke not a word while placing them beneath the Christmas tree. When they finished it was 11:30 and time for Tim to go. He put on his hat and overcoat, then slipped out the door. The night was cold and clear and as he walked the half mile to the chapel and he looked back and forth across the sky to see if one star was brighter than the others.
Tom had planned to take his girlfriend to Mass at her parish on Christmas morning but, shortly before midnight, he grabbed his hat and coat and went out the door to his car. During the short drive to the chapel he too glanced at the sky looking for a bright star.
The two men entered the chapel at different times and through different doors, but both wanted to sit near the Nativity scene. They both arrived early and Tom politely excused himself before squeezing past a woman sitting at the end of the pew. He moved down and sat, turning to place his hat on the bench when he was startled. There next to him was an identical fedora with a red feather in the hat band. Tom raised his eyes and was very surprised to see the man from the Thanksgiving Day Parade kneeling deep in prayer. Tom could not believe his good fortune and believed it to be a Christmas miracle! He did not want to disturb the man’s prayers, so he joined him kneeling in the pew and gave thanks to God for his good job, his new girlfriend, and for finding his hat.
Tim was silently thanking God for his lovely wife, his beautiful children and their nice home. Sensing it was almost time for Mass to begin, Tim finished his prayers and as he sat was startled to see the two hats in the pew – one with a green feather and one with a red feather. He looked up and recognized the man from the Thanksgiving Day Parade kneeling deep in prayer. Tim was deciding what to say to the man when the bell rang and Mass began. Both men stood and turned briefly to look at one another, then both joined in singing the opening Christmas hymn. They listened to warm readings and a brief sermon, all the while joining with the small congregation in song and prayer. After the Final Blessing the priest charged the people to ‘Go in peace to love and serve the Lord – and have a joyous Christmas!’. Soon people began filing out of the pews, and our two friends turned to each other once again. Tim said, “Nice hat” to which Tom answered, “Oh, not as nice as your hat”. They wished one another a Merry Christmas, then turned to leave. They paused for just a moment at the manger before each man left through a different door. Heading home, one walking and the other driving, both thanked God for their wonderful new understanding of the Christmas Spirit.
The following morning Tom’s girlfriend, smelling of summer flowers, loved the earrings she opened after Mass, and when Tim’s family returned from church they found a card slipped under their front door addressed to Tim which read ‘Thank you for your help this holiday season’ and it was signed by the mayor.
~ Epilogue ~
After that mystical Christmas Tim always helped the less fortunate during the holidays and, after the children had grown, he even wore a red suit and white beard to help an organization distribute gifts to needy families at Christmas. On Christmas Eve Tim would still attend midnight Mass at the chapel whenever he could. Tom’s girlfriend became his fiancé, and they were married the following summer with the air filled with the scent of summer flowers from nearby fields. Tom tried to attend midnight Mass at the same chapel too – until all the babies began to arrive…
Now perhaps you felt that when Tim and Tom happened to sit in the same pew they should have reacted like old friends, staying after midnight Mass was over to share their recent experiences with the Christmas hats. Perhaps you felt that they might have continued talking out to the parking lot, and Tom could have even offered Tim a ride home while they both made plans for future meetings. Perhaps…but Santa’s magic can be tricky stuff, and it is often confused with a vivid imagination. I can’t see just how a conversation about such a strange and personal experience could have begun. Children might have tried to explain to one another what had happened, as children believe everything has the most simplest of explanations, but adults are most often cautious and can be slow to describe mystical Christmas blessings. Perhaps you felt that at the very least they should have exchanged hats in order to get their own fedora back, but they both seem so much happier with the new perceptions inspired by the other’s hat. Why would they want to return to their old outlooks?
Adults may be careful when describing blessings, but bear witness to those blessings with the colorful lights, beautiful carols and warm visits that fill our holidays with fond memories of the past, joyful gifts of good will in the present, and heartfelt hopes for a peaceful future. Sometimes an adult might even write a short story!
The end.
