O. Henry's "The Gift of The Magi": A True Christmas Story
Della Jim
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. She had put it aside  one cent and then another and then another  in her careful buying of meat and other food.  Della  counted it three times. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. There was nothing to do but fall on the bed and cry. So  Della  did it.
Thatâs how the story of  Della  and  Jim  begins. Della fretting over buying the perfect Christmas gift for âher  Jim .â
âShe had had many happy hours planning something nice for  him . Something nearly good enough.
Something almost worth the honor of belonging to  Jim .â
The first thing that shines through this extraordinary little tale is the love  Della  has for  her Jim . When she finally cries her way into figuring out how to make a little extra money and discovers the perfect gift â a pocketwatch chain for  Jim âs only thing of value  an inherited gold watch â thereâs not a sentence in literature that expresses more profound affection:
It was a gold watch chain  very simply made. Its value was in its rich and pure material. Because it was so plain and simple  you knew that it was very valuable. All good things are like this. It was good enough for The Watch. As soon as she saw it  she knew that  Jim  must have it. It was like  him . Quietness and valueâJim and the chain both had quietness and value. She paid twenty-one dollars for it. And she hurried home with the chain and eighty-seven cents.
I wonât give away the ending (seriously  read it)  but letâs just say O. Henry is known for delivering a twist ending that makes M. Night Shyamalan look like a film school novice. And what  Della  and  her  husband discover in their mutual search for the perfect gift is the beauty of sacrifice for the beloved. And if that isnât the story of God sacrificing his only son to the sin and violence of mankind because he so loved the world  I donât know what is.
The sacrament of marriage is supposed to mirror the connection that God has to his church.  Della  and Jim embody that connection  selflessly giving up the things they value to show their love for each other  and being content in the discovery that those sacrifices donât always yield quite what one expects. But often the act of sacrifice is enough. O. Henry compares his charactersâ sacrifice for each other to the gifts of the Magi (the Wise Men)  brought from far-away lands to honor the birth of the baby Jesus. Because in the selfless act of love  even when it goes hand in hand with the mistakes  Della  and  Jim  make  there is wisdom. Maybe infinite and ineffable wisdom.
I never thought of Christmas the same way again after that reading. I had to go back and re-read that story many times over the years; something always compelled me to do so  and that something was planted during the 10 minutes I spent sitting with my father  listening to him gently tell the tale of  Della  and  her Jim . I also grew up with an understanding of love that has proved a difficult  perhaps quaint  notion to hold in these cynical times.
One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. She had put it aside  one cent and then another and then another  in her careful buying of meat and other food.  Della  counted it three times. One dollar and eighty-seven cents. And the next day would be Christmas. There was nothing to do but fall on the bed and cry. So  Della  did it.
Thatâs how the story of  Della  and  Jim  begins. Della fretting over buying the perfect Christmas gift for âher  Jim .â
âShe had had many happy hours planning something nice for  him . Something nearly good enough.
Something almost worth the honor of belonging to  Jim .â
The first thing that shines through this extraordinary little tale is the love  Della  has for  her Jim . When she finally cries her way into figuring out how to make a little extra money and discovers the perfect gift â a pocketwatch chain for  Jim âs only thing of value  an inherited gold watch â thereâs not a sentence in literature that expresses more profound affection:
It was a gold watch chain  very simply made. Its value was in its rich and pure material. Because it was so plain and simple  you knew that it was very valuable. All good things are like this. It was good enough for The Watch. As soon as she saw it  she knew that  [TGT] Jim  must have  [TGT] . It was like  him . Quietness and valueâJim and the chain both had quietness and value. She paid twenty-one dollars for it. And she hurried home with the chain and eighty-seven cents.
I wonât give away the ending (seriously  read it)  but letâs just say O. Henry is known for delivering a twist ending that makes M. Night Shyamalan look like a film school novice. And what  Della  and  her  husband discover in their mutual search for the perfect gift is the beauty of sacrifice for the beloved. And if that isnât the story of God sacrificing his only son to the sin and violence of mankind because he so loved the world  I donât know what is.
The sacrament of marriage is supposed to mirror the connection that God has to his church.  Della  and Jim embody that connection  selflessly giving up the things they value to show their love for each other  and being content in the discovery that those sacrifices donât always yield quite what one expects. But often the act of sacrifice is enough. O. Henry compares his charactersâ sacrifice for each other to the gifts of the Magi (the Wise Men)  brought from far-away lands to honor the birth of the baby Jesus. Because in the selfless act of love  even when it goes hand in hand with the mistakes  Della  and  Jim  make  there is wisdom. Maybe infinite and ineffable wisdom.
I never thought of Christmas the same way again after that reading. I had to go back and re-read that story many times over the years; something always compelled me to do so  and that something was planted during the 10 minutes I spent sitting with my father  listening to him gently tell the tale of  Della  and  her Jim . I also grew up with an understanding of love that has proved a difficult  perhaps quaint  notion to hold in these cynical times.