Christmas is a time to rejoice in the reason for the season, surrounded by family and friends, food and festivities. But for some, Christmas can be a rather blue and sorrowful time of the year instead.
For 20 years, 78-year-old Terrence of Greater Manchester has been alone on Christmas Day. It’s hard enough to be a senior living alone, but it’s even rougher during the holidays.
He used to spend time at his mother’s house for the holidays, carting along a pillowcase full of wrapped gifts like Santa and his sack full of goodies.
But now, he’s all alone.
“One day, I’ll never forget her saying to me, ‘Without you bringing me my presents for Christmas I wouldn’t have any presents, would I?’ And I often think about that now. You know, people on their own now don’t get any presents from people.”
When BBC Breakfast reporter Dan Walker sat down and interviewed Terrence about the heartbreaking loneliness that has veiled his life for years, viewers were dumbfounded that Terrence had been alone for so long and especially on Christmas Day. Dan, too, was visibly upset about Terrence’s situation.
Being alone for so long has led to depression for Terrence, which only compounds the grief he experiences during the holidays.
“I always think with anything, unless you’ve actually been there, you don’t know what it’s like. I didn’t know what it was like to have depression until I got it.”
So Dan teamed up with students from Oldham College and together they presented an ornately decorated Christmas tree to a shocked Terrence. He watched, stunned, as a diverse group of students finished decorating it for him.
Emotions of surprise and wonderment washed over Terrence who rose from his chair to thank the students and shake their hands. A few tears may have slipped down his cheek, too.
But Dan wasn’t done with the surprises yet…
He asked Terrence what his favorite Christmas carol was and he responded with “Silent Night.” Dan then opened the front door and Terrence laid eyes on Oldham College’s choir who performed a moving rendition of his favorite holiday tune.
This time, he couldn’t hold back the tears as he stood in the doorway, the sounds of the holidays surrounding him.
Olympic-winning former hockey player Sam Quek watched the video and tweeted how enamored he was with what everyone did for Terrence.
“This is just amazing… I’m on the train blubbering away.”
Showing just how kind and compassionate Terrence is, he in turn invited a 90-year-old woman named Nancy who has dementia to spend some time with him on Christmas Day. He met Nancy through his volunteer work with Age UK.
Statistics show that millions of seniors spend the holidays alone. Oftentimes the first Christmas after losing a loved one is the hardest.
Thankfully, Dan saw how much Terrence was hurting and stepped in to help. If everyone checked in on lonely seniors this holiday season and spent some time with them, it would brighten their day so much.
Watch how much this holiday surprise meant to Terrence in the video below.
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