Why do I send Christmas Cards?

Maybe this poem explains it. Every year I decide not to send so many. Then I look at the list......

A Christmas Poem
by Helen Steiner Rice.

I have a list of folks I know, all written in a book

And every year when Christmas comes, I go and take a look,

And that is when I realize that these names are a part

Not of the book they are written in, but really of my heart.

.........

For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime,

And in the meeting they've become the rhythm in each rhyme

And while it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim,

I really feel that I'm composed of each remembered name

.........

And while you may not be aware of any special link

Just meeting you has changed my life a lot more than you think

For once I've met somebody, the years cannot erase

The memory of a pleasant word or of a friendly face

...........

So never think my Christmas cards are just a mere routine

Of names upon a Christmas list, forgotten in between,

For when I send a Christmas card that is addressed to you,

It is because you're on the list that I'm indebted to.

..........

For I am but a total of the many folks I've met,

And you happen to be one of those I prefer not to forget

And whether I have known you for many years or few,

In some ways you have a part in shaping things I do

..........

.And every year when Christmas comes, I realize anew,

The best gifts life can offer is meeting folks like you.

And may the spirit of Christmas that forever endures

Leave its richest blessings in the hearts of you and yours.