Christmas Jars

One of my big girl traditions is to try and find a new Christmas book/story every year, and this year the book I chose was Christmas Jars by Jason Wright.  It is a shortish novella which I liked because with the hecticness of the holiday season most people don't have time to sit down and read an epic tome.

The story is about an up and coming reporter named Hope Jensen.  Hope has just lost her adopted mother, the only family she has, pouring all her energy into becoming a top reporter, and to top it all off her apartment gets broken into.  In the midst of all this appears a simple jar, stuffed full of change and a few bills, it isn't a huge amount, but it is enough to get her through, but more importantly it is the idea that somebody cared enough to leave it for her.  Her reporter instincts kicking in, Hope does some research and finds that others in the area have also received what they have dubbed "Christmas Jars".  As she tries to interview the people who have received them, she finds them reluctant to speculate on who the givers may be.  Every jar was given right when not only the money, but the moral boost was needed the most.  The recipients would rather respect the anonymity of the givers, as it seems to be their wish to remain unknown.  After some digging Hope finds the Maxwell family who seem to be behind this tradition.  Knowing that they want to remain anonymous she tells a cover story of being a college student interested in small family businesses.  The Maxwell's welcome her into the family and after a time tell her the story of the Christmas Jar.  Every year they would put there spare change into the jar and use it on Christmas Eve to do the Christmas shopping.  One year there young daughter impulsively gave it to a woman who was crying on a street curb.  This started the tradition of giving the jar away.  After learning the story Hope heads home to discover the paper has run a top editor story about her, blowing her cover with the Maxwell's.  Fearing they would be angry at her deception she avoids all contact with them.  One morning she is at the office early and answers the phone, the person on the other end would like to run an obituary, turns out that the father of the Maxwell family has died of a heart attack.  Heartbroken at never reconciling with him, Hope goes to the family after the funeral, who welcome her back with open arms.  At the end many people come to bring Christmas Jars to the Maxwell family in gratitude for all they have done over the years, including one woman with a story.  Turns out the first woman that the little girl impulsively gave the Christmas Jar too, was Hopes birth mother bringing the story full circle.

The story got a little muddled and emotional for my taste, with events happening very quickly with very little realistic human pettiness.  Overall I think it was more of a way to get a point across then it was a fully fleshed story.  All that said however I do love the idea of the book, I love how it shows how a little tiny thing like tossing your change into a jar can make such a huge differences in somebodies life.  I also like to concept of good things spreading, and helping your fellow man.  My parents instilled this idea in us at a very young age, even when we were the recipients of some very generous benefactors, we were taught to always look for people who we could help, even if it was just holding the door open for a parent with a stroller. For stories about real people who have given and received Christmas Jars go here.

What is your favorite giving tradition?  Do think Christmas books have a pass to be overly sentimental?  Are you going to give a Christmas Jar?