Long after the summer was swept away by fall, and fall had run its course, winter frost settled over Canton, Ohio. Seven-year-old Sebastian Hathaway stood near a window in his parent’s house watching snow fall softly in the front yard.
“Mom!” he called out. “Can I go out and play?”
“Not now,” Olivia Hathaway replied from the kitchen. “Your Uncle Randy will be here soon. We are going to be eating dinner as soon as he and your father get here.”
Sebastian turned back to the window. As the sun began to set, people came outside to turn on their Christmas lights. He watched as his neighbor’s yards lit up, one by one. Sebastian, like most children, loved Christmas lights. He especially liked the lights that blinked different colors. He often thought to himself that they looked like fireflies. That is why he liked the blinking lights so much. During the summer, one of his favorite things to do with his father, Jim Hathaway, was chasing fireflies at Meyers Lake. Sebastian was very disappointed every year when the fireflies went away but was happily reminded of them each Christmas.
Twenty minutes later, Uncle Randy arrived, and shortly behind him was Jim. Sebastian always looked forward to Uncle Randy coming over. He always told wonderful stories and played with Sebastian. Entering the kitchen, Randy yelled out “Merry Christmas!” and swept up Sebastian, carrying him around the house upside down and demanding that he be referred to as the king for the rest of the evening. Sebastian gave in after much giggling, and was gently returned to his upright position.
After the family finished dinner, which included green beans and spinach, two foods that Sebastian truly hated, they group all gathered in the living room. This was Sebastian’s favorite room in the whole house because of the blinking lights on the tree, of course. He crossed the room and sat down beside his uncle.
“Uncle Randy,” Sebastian said. “I think those lights look like fireflies. Don’t you?”
Randy smiled at him and rubbed Sebastian’s head. “They do, don’t they?” he replied. “Say, Sebastian, did I ever tell you the story about fireflies and Santa Claus?” Sebastian shook his head no, but seemed very enthused about the story. “Well, you see, a long time ago, fireflies lived everywhere year round. You could find them from the North to the South Poles every day of the year. What most people don’t know, however, is that fireflies love pine trees more than any other tree, especially in the winter. So, when it would get cold, they would fly into people’s houses and sleep in their Christmas trees. This made Santa Claus very happy because it made it much easier to find his way from house to house.” Sebastian smiled at this. He had always known that fireflies were special, and now he had proof. “But then something happened to the fireflies,” Randy continued.
“Oh no!” Sebastian exclaimed.
“Oh yes!” Randy replied.
“What happened?”
“I’m gonna tell you. So it came to be that the fireflies couldn’t stand the cold weather anymore. After a few years, there were very few left in the winter. Santa was having a very hard time finding everyone’s houses. Something had to be done!”
“What did he do?” asked Sebastian.
“Well, Santa made a special trip away from the North Pole. He actually came right here to this very town, to the very lake where you and your dad catch fireflies in the summer. He spoke with the King of the Fireflies, and an agreement was made. A couple fireflies would travel with Santa back to the North Pole so he could study them and try to solve the problem. Santa worked very hard and studied the fireflies the rest of the summer and fall. With the help of the fireflies, he created a new invention that would help him find all the little boy’s and girl’s houses.
“What was it?” Sebastian asked anxiously.
“Blinking Christmas lights,” Randy replied.
“Wow!” Sebastian said.
“I know, right? I bet you didn’t know that, did you sport?” Randy asked.
“I sure didn’t, Uncle Randy,” Sebastian replied.
“Well, now you do,” Randy said. He looked at his watch and stood up. “I think that it is time for me to go home. Sebastian, you make sure you keep those blinking lights on if you want Santa to find your house this year.”
“I will, Uncle Randy,” Sebastian replied.
Later that night, Sebastian woke and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. Through the window, he could see that the lights on the tree had been unplugged. He crept into the room and crawled behind the tree. Quickly the tree lit up once more. Sebastian turned and looked at the tree as he walked of out the room.
"Goodnight fireflies," he said. "Sleep tight."