'Christmas Jar' saga lives on

In 2005 when Jason F. Wright wrote a little Christmas story about love, finding oneself, and filling a jar with spare change and giving it away, he had no idea what he had started.

"The Christmas Jar," published by Shadow Mountain, became a New York Times bestseller, and what began as an experiment by the author's family has turned into a national movement that has spread to all 50 states and at least nine foreign countries.

"The movement has far outgrown the book," said Wright on a recent visit to Salt Lake City. "Now when people talk of Christmas jars, they are talking about the movement, not the book, and I couldn't be more proud."

He hoped that story would touch readers, of course, "but I never expected this. It has far overshadowed the book."

Because the jars are given anonymously, it is hard to tell exactly how many have been given away over the past four years. But Wright has a Web site — www.christmasjars.com — where people can contact him with their stories. He has heard from both donors and receivers of the jars, and although the stories differ, they all share one thing in common: The jar has changed lives.

What's also been interesting, he said, is that it has become a year-round phenomenon. "There are no rules. If you see a need in July, you can give your jar away in July and start another one for Christmas. The whole thing has taken on a life of its own, and that's pretty neat."

The Christmas jar movement has impacted his own life in myriad ways, but one he never expected is that he is back with year with a sequel, "Christmas Jars Reunion" (Shadow Mountain, $17.95) and with a children's book, "Penny's Christmas Jar Miracle" (Shadow Mountain, $17.95, illustrated by Ben Sowards).

"I never thought there would be a sequel. I know some authors write a book with that in mind, but I thought I'd told the story and was done."

What happened, he said, was that he "heard from so many people who had fallen in love with Hope (the main character in the first story) and wanted to know what happened to her and where she is now, that I thought I owed it to the fans of the book to finish her story."

In the first book, Hope, a journalist who was adopted as a baby, finds and develops a relationship with her birth mother as well as a loving community that surrounds Chuck's Chicken 'n Biscuits diner.