Chains Jewelry

When one hears the words “silver chain” and the word “sacrifice” used together, one might expect a tale about a back lashing by someone with a chain. That is not what you will find in the following article. The following article recounts a story about a silver chain. The purchase of that chain became possible because one woman committed herself to completion of a sacrificial act. In the following article, the writer seeks to take a closer look at the full meaning of sacrifice. She points out that gift giving has traditionally been associated with sacrifice.

A silver chain can be used as a meaningful Christmas gift. There is a touching tale in which one character presents a second character with a silver chain. That same tale could be repeated, with a platinum chain mentioned, in place of the silver one.

That story is called “The Gift of the Magi.” It is a story about a poor couple. The man and wife have no extra money, and yet they want to give each other a Christmas present. The wife wants to purchase a silver chain for her husband, because he has a stop watch that lacks a chain.

The husband wants to buy brushes for his wife. He knows that she has no way to brush her long hair. The husband thus searches his brain for a method that would allow him to cover the cost of a set of brushes. He decides to sell his watch.

Meanwhile the wife faces a similar problem. If she wants to buy a silver chain for her husband’s watch, she needs to obtain, somehow, some extra money/.She decides to sell her long hair.

The husband sells his watch and buys a collection of beautiful brushes for his wife. The wife has her hair undergo a drastic shortening, and she sells her cut hair. She uses the money from that sale to buy a silver chain for her husband’s watch.

A child told this story often sees it as a very sad story. For a child, it often seems a marked contrast to the joy of the holiday season. A child might be slow to grasp the message in the story known as “The Gift of the Magi.”

Too frequently, children expect a gift. Too frequently, children need to be reminded about why we give Christmas gifts. Gift giving at Christmas originated with the presentation of gifts to the Christ child. Not all of those gifts were expensive gifts. No doubt the gift of the shepherds required a certain amount of sacrifice

Even the tree kings had made a sacrifice in order to present their gift. They had sacrificed time and energy, in order to walk east to the site indicated to them by a star. That gift of time and energy should be acknowledged as clearly as the description of the kings’ gifts—gold, frankincense and myrrh.

A child needs to understand that his or her simple gift deserves every word of a parents’ glowing praise. A loving parent generally realizes the sacrifice behind that gift. The parent knows that the child sacrificed some play time in order to make or to go and buy that gift.  .

Today many, schools require their teenage students to learn the value of giving. Many schools give credit for community service. Students help various organizations. No doubt some students have lent assistance to one or more literacy organization. Perhaps some student has read to young children the story with the silver chain, “The Gift of the Magi.”