The Little Red Wagon

The little red wagon became a symbol of the Christ Child Society as the result of a Christmas wish. After a serious fall that caused Mary Virginia Merrick, founder of the Christ Child Society, to become an invalid and unable to walk, her father arranged for a little boy named Paul to run errands for her.

Before Christmas, 1884, when Miss Merrick was nearly 18, she asked, "Paul, what are you going to get for Christmas this year?" What Paul really wanted was a little red wagon, but he answered that there would be no Christmas that year because his father was out of work. Miss Merrick said, "Why don't you write to the Christ Child and ask Him?" Paul asked, " Who is He?" And she replied, "The giver of gifts." When the red wagon and other gifts were given to the children on Christmas Day, they were marked simply, "From the Christ Child". This was the beginning of Christmas giving for what was soon to become the Christ Child Society.