My five brothers, my sister and I lived in Toronto with our parents. My father worked in a factory, and my mother stayed at home. Each year my father would dress up as Santa Claus and go through the streets sharing joy and candies with the children there. He loved it as much as they did! But around Christmas in 1970, my father was out of work. In fact, there was no money for Christmas and my parents weren't sure how they'd provide for us. That Christmas Eve, however, as usual, my father left the house dressed as Santa Claus. He knew that even though our Christmas would be hard, he could not make the other kids in the neighborhood disappointed. As my father left the house and went downstairs, another Santa Claus was walking up, with a great bag of gifts for us! He said nothing, only smiled a sweet smile at my father, and wished him a merry Christmas. The _ man handed the bag and walked away down the block. We never knew who showed us great kindness on the snowy Christmas night. We do know, however, that without him we would have had nothing under the tree. His kindness gave my parents hope and showed us in a very real way the true meaning of Christmas. Our family has never forgotten this kind stranger and his generosity . Each year we tell the story of the mysterious  Santa Claus and try to repay his gifts by giving help to others in need. According to the passage, the writer's father is   _  on Christmas.
brave lonely serious generous