Simple as an Orange

During this time of year, we have an abundance of Melissa’s organic citrus to choose from: organic navel oranges, satsuma tangerines, Clementine tangerines, grapefruits, and so on!

I remember growing up and looking forward to an orange in my stocking hung on the hearth. It was my favorite part of the holiday, seeing a navel orange roll out along with nuts and candy canes. To this day, I give some sort of citrus to my family on Christmas day, so the tradition continues! As a matter of fact, I love giving surprise gifts of fruits and vegetables at the peak of their season throughout the entire year.

Recently, I gifted an organic California Green Keitt mango to a friend and did a tasting of Winesap, Hanner’s Jumbo, and Sonata apples with my family after a trip back from Oregon.

All of this brings to mind a favorite holiday story called The Christmas Orange by Laura Martin-Buhler. In the story, she reminds us that “sometimes it is easy to forget the true meaning of the holidays.” The story involves an orange given as a gift each holiday. The orange is extra special due to the fact it is one of the only gifts received during the year for a group of children in foster care.

The story centers on one boy who receives punishment for tracking mud into the house and is denied the precious orange he has looked forward to all year. Knowing he wouldn’t get an orange, he retired to bed early, but during the wee hours of the night, he was awakened by a gentle nudge and surprised to be handed an object by an unknown giver. I’ll let Laura take you the rest of the way.

“Looking closely at it in the dim light, he saw that it looked like an orange! Not a regular orange, smooth and shiny, but a special orange, very special. Inside a patched together peel were the segments of nine other oranges, making one whole orange for Jake! The nine other children in the orphanage had each donated one segment of their own precious oranges to make a whole orange as a gift for Jake.”

Sharing what we truly value is the true spirit of the holidays—even if it’s something as simple as an orange. As you shop and give this year, perhaps you’ll begin your tradition of giving something simple and sweet as a Melissa's organic orange.