Dec. 25, 2020
On this Christmas Day edition of Charlotte Talks, host Mike Collins reads a special poem he first learned about 25 years ago.
It was written by Minnesota actor and author Tom Haag for a Christmas program at his church. When Haag was asked to speak, he agonized over what to write. He couldn’t seem to come up with anything to say — until the night before when it all came rushing out on one of those yellow legal pads.
The next day, he walked to the lectern to read what he had written.
The church was filled. But when Haag finished, he left the stage to stony silence. He thought that he had bombed. But actually, it struck a chord in the congregation — a deep one. After a moment, the applause started, and built, and lingered.
It turned out that the people listening to that first reading were simply too moved to respond right away, too caught up in what he had read. But when they finally did respond, they leaped to their feet.
Haag went on to publish his poem. It met with phenomenal success. And in many places, like here, the reading of “A Cup of Christmas Tea” has become an anticipated Christmas tradition.
Today, in 2020, with the dangers of coronavirus, the events described in this holiday poem aren’t possible. But we hope that with the introduction of a vaccine, we’ll be able to gather with family and friends next Christmas for “A Cup of Christmas Tea.”
