By+Lynn+R.Hartz

Many years ago， my mother gave my father a red V！ neck sweater for Christmas. He looked so handsome in it with his black hair and dark brown eyes. I was the oldest child and used to ask to borrow his red sweater. It looked good with my black"and#gray skirt. Daddy never said no. Mom used to wear it sometimes， too， especially in the middleofthewinter.

As my sisters and brothers grew up， the sweater became one of their favorite things to borrow as well. Eventually， Daddys red sweater settled in the hands of myyoungest brother， Andy. He took it to college and kept it. As all five of us kids went about the business of our adult lives， the red sweater became a memory of our youth， a source of laughter and story swapped at family gatherings.

The Christmas of 1989， with Daddy increasingly beingincapacitated due to a series of strokes， Andy had a dilemma： what do you give a homebound senior citizen who chooses to live modestly？ The answer came like a revelation. On that Christmas morning， packaged neatly in the finest holiday wrappings， Daddy received his red sweater as a Christmas present for the second time—twenty$one years after hed first received it from our mother.

When Daddy died in August 1991， my stepmother asked if there was anything of his I wanted.“Oh， yes. Please may I have Daddys red sweater？”I could not bear to think of losing that family treasure. It was given to megraciously. I knew that I could not be selfish and keep the sweater all for myself. Frankly， I wondered whether it might have meant more to me than to the rest of my brothersandsisters.

That year as a gift for my sister， Joey， I put the sweater in a Christmas box with a tag on it that said，“A gift to Joey from Daddy.”Inside the box was a card with a message to keep it for a year， and then pass it on the next year to the next in birth order， Ray. Ray passed it on to Jean，andthenJeanpasseditontoAndy.

As the holiday crept nearer， Joey and I discussed whatweweregoingtodofor Christmas. Ofcourse， thered sweater was the topic of conversation.“I wonder why we never bought our own red sweaters，”I said. Both of our eyes lit up like cartoon characters with light bulbs over their heads.“Red sweaters for Christmas！”we said in unison. Then， she said，“We never bought our own because we never needed one. We could always borrow Daddys.”We needed six identical red sweaters. It took several trips， but I had six identical red sweaters. I was so excited that I could hardly wait for the six of us to get together and for the others to opentheirsweaters.

Joey gave Ray the box that Daddys sweater was in. He opened it and said，“I just might have to wear this sometime this year.”“I dont think so，”Joey handed out the packages to everyonetoopen.Jean started to cry. Andy laughed with joy. Ray chuckled and said，“I was just wondering if I could find sixredsweatersforeveryonefornextyear！”

Mom said，“You got me one， too！”“Well， Mom， you have to have one， as you started it，”one of us reminded her.

The new red sweaters that each of us now owns have alreadybeen shared with others. Rayswife has worn his； Joeys boyfriend has worn hers. My daughters want to knowwhentheygettoshareDadssweater.

My father has been gone for ten years now， but his love and memory join us together each year at Christmas. Daddys red sweater has become a living symbol of a hard！working， generous father who taught us the joy of sharingandfamily.

许多年前，母亲送给父亲一件V领红色毛衣作为圣诞礼物。父亲有着一头乌黑的头发和一双深棕色的眼睛，穿上那件毛衣显得格外帅气。我是家里最大的孩子，经常会借父亲的红毛衣穿。它跟我的黑灰色裙子搭配起来十分好看，而且父亲从来不会拒绝我的请求。母亲过去有时也会穿，尤其是在深冬时节。

随着弟弟妹妹们逐渐长大，这件毛衣也成了他们最喜欢借用的物件。最后，爸爸的那件红毛衣传到了最小的弟弟———安迪手里。他把毛衣带到大学里，并将它收藏起来。随着我们兄弟姐妹五人都长大成人，忙于日常琐事，那件红毛衣就成了我们对青春的记忆、家庭聚会时的笑料和谈资。

1989年的圣诞节，由于多次中风，父亲逐渐丧失了行动能力，安迪提出了一个难题：像父亲这样为人低调，又出门不便的老人，你能为他准备什么礼物呢？我们找到了答案，就像得到了上帝的启迪一样。那个圣诞节的早上，我们用最好看的节日包装纸把红色毛衣利落地包了起来。就这样，父亲再次收到了紅色毛衣的圣诞礼物，距离他第一次收到母亲送给他的红毛衣已经21年了。

1991年8月，父亲去世了。当时继母问我是否有父亲的东西想留着。“哦，有。可以把父亲的红毛衣给我吗？”想到要失去我们的“传家宝”，我就难过。继母体恤地将红毛衣给了我。我知道自己不能太自私，将毛衣占为己有。老实讲，我想搞清楚，相比其他兄弟姐妹，这件毛衣对我来说是否更有意义。

那一年圣诞节，我把毛衣装进了礼盒，将它作为圣诞礼物送给了妹妹乔伊，盒子上附了个标签，上面写着：“父亲送给乔伊的礼物。”我还在礼盒内留了一张卡片，写着让乔伊把毛衣珍藏一年，然后按照我们的出生顺序，在下一年圣诞节传给雷。雷把它传给琼，琼再传给安迪。

随着圣诞节的渐渐临近，乔伊和我一起讨论我们圣诞节该做些什么。当然，红毛衣是我们谈论的焦点。“我想知道，为什么我们自己从来不买红色毛衣。”我说。我们两个人的眼睛都闪烁着兴奋的光芒，就像卡通人物头上闪烁着灯泡一样。“这个圣诞节买红色毛衣吧！”我们齐声说道。接着，乔伊说：“我们自己从来不买，因为我们从来都不需要买。我们以前总是可以借父亲的毛衣穿。”我们需要买六件一模一样的红色毛衣。走了好几家商店，我最终买到了六件一模一样的红色毛衣。我非常兴奋，迫不及待地想看到我们六个聚在一起，然后看着他们打开各自的毛衣包装。

乔伊把装有父亲毛衣的盒子给了雷。他打开盒子说：“我今年刚好要穿这件毛衣呢。”“我觉得不需要了。”乔伊把包装袋递给他们几个，让他们打开。琼哭了起来，安迪开心地笑了起来。雷轻声笑着说：“我正想着明年能不能给我们六个都买一件红色毛衣呢！”

母亲说：“你们给我也买了一件！”“是的，母亲，你必须得有一件，因为送红色毛衣是从你开始的。”我们其中一个提醒她。

我们每个人现在的新红毛衣都跟其他人分享过。雷的妻子穿过他的，乔伊的男朋友穿过她的。我的女儿们想知道她们什么时候能分享父亲的毛衣。

如今，父亲已经去世十年了，但每年的圣诞节，他的爱以及他带给我们的回忆都把我们紧紧连在一起。父亲的红色毛衣已经让那个勤奋大方的父亲深深地印在我们的脑海里，是他让我们体会到了分享以及大家庭的快乐。