In a small white village in the Alpujarra region of Granada lived a girl named Estrella. Her mother had given her that name because she said that when she was born, she radiated a special light that filled not only the whole family but the entire village with happiness.

Indeed, Aljama, as the village was called, was located in a small valley surrounded by mountains. It had lost many inhabitants in previous decades, and the arrival of a baby was a sign of prosperity and, above all, hope. Each birth was celebrated with festivals and even fireworks. It should be noted, however, that only five children had been born in the last five years, so the expense was not difficult for the people of Aljama to bear.

Of the five, only three remained in the village: Estrella, Luz and Martín. They were the same age; all three had been born in the spring of the same year. Some in the village say that this coincidence was not accidental and that it was due to the good weather in the summer and the very good harvests. 

Be that as it may, the fact is that the three friends had grown up together in complete freedom, playing in the fields with the animals, jumping over ditches, picking blackberries, and rushing home whenever they heard their mothers calling. 

They were happy even when they went to school. Their teacher, Rosa, taught them very interesting things and let them play so they could experiment.

Christmas was approaching, and Miss Rosa always decorated the classroom with garlands and paper flowers that the children had cut out and strung together with great care. As she did every year, and as she was very careful, she always put them away at the end of Christmas. This year, when she took out the Christmas box, she realised that they had a large number of garlands of all colours, so she decided to make something special: they would draw the figures of a nativity scene, colour them in, cut them out, and put them on the wall.

So they did. They drew, coloured, cut out and placed the figures of Joseph, the Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus on the wall. It looked so beautiful! They were such a happy family!

Everyone was very happy, everyone except Martin. He seemed a little sad. Estrella and Luz asked him what was wrong. He replied sadly:

"I don't know if my dad will be able to come this Christmas. He's working in Germany and, as it's very far away and the plane ticket is very expensive, he said that he might not be able to come this year".

"But that's very sad... Christmas without your dad...!" said Luz.

"That can't be, no way!" said Estrella. "We have to do something so your dad can come!" And she became very thoughtful.

That night, when the girl went to bed, she didn't fall asleep but stayed awake looking for a solution. Finally, she found one. She jumped out of bed and ran to her parents' room. She knocked on the door and said:

"Mum, Dad, can I come in?

“But darling, what's wrong? Are you ill? Are you in pain?” replied her mother with concern.

"No, Mum. You see, Martín's dad can't come this Christmas because he doesn't have money for the trip. I thought... If I help you bake a cake and we sell it to the neighbours, we can earn money and give it to Martín's dad".

"But darling," said her dad, "you've had a wonderful idea. Of course, Dad should come and spend Christmas with the family! We must do everything we can to find a solution, and... what you're suggesting isn't a bad idea. No, it's not".

"You're right," said her mother. "Tomorrow morning we'll buy the eggs and flour to make the cake. When you come home from school, we'll make it".

"In the meantime," said Dad, "I'll invite the neighbours over for tea and we'll offer them some cake."

And that's what they did.

The next day, at teatime, all the neighbours were gathered around a modestly laid table, with slices of cake on each plate and a cup of hot chocolate to go with them.

Everyone said it was delicious and thanked them for the invitation.

Then Estrella's mother said to her:

"Darling, explain to our friends the problem Martín has and the solution you have found."

Estrella did so. 

After listening attentively to the girl, the neighbours looked at her with affection and tenderness. They looked at each other and finally one of them, who was known for being stern, said:

"Estrella, you live up to your name. You are a good, loving girl and, as well as being intelligent, you are very decisive. Of course we cannot allow Martín's family not to be together this Christmas. But you don't have to sell anything. We'll all contribute what we can to buy the ticket. Martín's dad will be here, no matter what it takes!"

And that's what they did. Each family contributed what they could, whether it was a little or a lot, and the ticket was bought. 

Martín's dad was able to come home for Christmas. Martin was so happy that he couldn't stop kissing everyone: his parents, his friends, and everyone he met on the street.

That Christmas, no one was missing from the table. The whole village was invited to Martín's house for Christmas Eve dinner. Everyone gathered there to dine and celebrate that they were all one big family. Each person cooked their speciality. That night, they ate, sang and danced. They even played cards in the early hours of the morning, after midnight mass.

Since that day, when Christmas comes, all the neighbours gather to celebrate and the children sing:

"When a town shares generously, unity brings hope and true warmth. Christmas blossoms with strength and tenderness when together we overcome absence and doubt."