Christmas - A Finest Finish of the Year !

At Christmas….
A man is at his finest towards the finish of the year;
He is almost what he should be when the Christmas season's here;
Then he's thinking more of others than he's thought the months before,
And the laughter of his children is a joy worth toiling for.
He is less a selfish creature than at any other time;
When the Christmas spirit rules him he comes close to the sublime...

~ Edgar Guest

Lovely Christmas Quotes !

Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles.
~ Unknown

 

 

What do you call people who are afraid of Santa Claus? Claustrophobic.
~ Unknown

 

 

If there is no joyous way to give a festive gift, give love away.
~ Unknown

Christmas : Bonding All Together

Time was with most of us, when Christmas Day, encircling all our limited world like a magic ring, left nothing out for us to miss or seek; bound together all our home enjoyments, affections, and hopes; grouped everything and everyone round the Christmas fire, and make the little picture shining in our bright young eyes, complete.

 

~  Charles Dickens

Christmas - Loved By All !

At Christmas I no more desire a rose,

Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled shows;

But like of each thing that in season grows.

~ William Shakespeare

 

 

Christmas is more than a day at the end of the year,
More than a day of joy and good cheer...
Christmas is really God's pattern for living,
To be followed each day by unselfish giving...
Then Peace on Earth will come to stay,
When we live Christmas every day.

 

~  Unknown

Lovely Christmas !

Love came down at Christmas,
Love all lovely, Love Divine;
Love was born at Christmas;
Star and angels gave the sign.

 

 

~  Christina Rossetti

Christmas Time !!!

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play
And mild and sweet the words repeat,
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

 

I thought how as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had roll'd along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

 

And in despair I bow'd my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

 

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

 

'Til ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

 

 

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Christmas Quote

"At this festive season of the year, Mr Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. ... We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices."

-- Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol)

Xmas Quote

Fail not to call to mind, in the course of the twenty-fifth of this month, that the Divinest Heart that ever walked the earth was born on that day; and then smile and enjoy yourselves for the rest of it; for mirth is also of Heaven's making.

-- Leigh Hunt

Christmas Time Friendship...!!!

Friendship is a precious gift to give at Christmas time. A Cherished gift, a treasured gift that lasts through all time.

-- Unknown

Christmas - A Necessity !

From a commercial point of view, if Christmas did not exist it would be necessary to invent it.

 

 

~  Katharine Whitehorn

Everything is Young at Christmas !

The earth has grown old with its burden of care
But at Christmas it always is young,
The heart of the jewel burns lustrous and fair
And its soul full of music breaks the air,
When the song of angels is sung.

 

 

~ Phillips Brooks

Christmas Opens Shut-up Hearts !

 "But I am sure that I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round...as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely."

 

~  Charles Dickens

Christmas - Day Of Rememberance

Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance--a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.

 

~ Augusta E. Rundel

Let Christmas Not Be A Thing !

Let Christmas not become a thing
Merely of merchant's trafficking,
Of tinsel, bell and holly wreath
And surface pleasure, but beneath
The childish glamour, let us find
Nourishment for soul and mind.
Let us follow kinder ways
Through our teeming human maze,
And help the age of peace to come
From a Dreamer's martyrdom.

 

~Madeline Morse

Christmas - A Time To Gift !

I love the Christmas-tide, and yet,
I notice this, each year I live;
I always like the gifts I get,
But how I love the gifts I give!

 

~  Carolyn Wells

Feel The Spirit of Christmas !

Until one feels the spirit of Christmas, there is no Christmas. All else is outward display–so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn't the holly, it isn't the snow. It isn't the tree not the firelight's glow. It's the warmth that comes to the hearts of men when the Christmas spirit returns again.

 

- Unknown

Let Every Day Be Christmas !

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself.

 

~Norman W. Brooks,

"Let Every Day Be Christmas"

Christmas Time - Fun Time !

The outdoor Christmas lights, green and red and gold and blue and twinkling,

remind me that most people are that way all year round--

kind, generous, friendly and with an occasional moment of ecstasy.

But Christmas is the only time they dare reveal themselves.

 

~ Harlan Miller (Better Homes and Gardens)

Christmas Eve - Everlasting ...!!!

Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.

 

~ Bess Streeter Aldrich (Song of Years)

Christmas - A Family Gathering !

The merry family gatherings--
The old, the very young;
The strangely lovely way they
Harmonize in carols sung.

For Christmas is tradition time--
Traditions that recall
The precious memories down the years,
The sameness of them all.

 

~ Helen Lowrie Marshall

Christmas Fever !

"It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air."

 

~ W. T. Ellis

Christmas of Children !

Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree.  In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall. 

 

 

~ Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas

Gather Things for Christmas !

Have you any old grudges you would like to pay,
Any wrongs laid up from a bygone day?
Gather them now and lay them away
When Christmas comes.

Hard thoughts are heavy to carry, my friend,
And life is short from beginning to end;
Be kind to yourself, leave nothing to mend
When Christmas comes.

 

 

~ William Lytle ("When Christmas Comes")

Glow of Christmas Season !

And so, this Christmas season
may our hearts with gladness glow,
As we read the blessed story
That took place so long ago.

 

~  Alpha L. Buntain ("The First Christmas")

Think Christmas In All Things !

"So remember while December Brings the only Christmas day, In the year let there be Christmas In the things you do and say."

~ Anonymous

Christmas - A Glorious Dream

"Christmas is not in tinsel and lights and outward show. The secret lies in an inner glow. It's lighting a fire inside the heart. Good will and joy a vital part. It's higher thought and a greater plan. It's glorious dream in the soul of man."

~  Wilfred A. Peterson (The Art of Living)

Spirit of Christmas !

For the spirit of Christmas fulfils the greatest hunger of mankind. 

 

~ Loring A. Schuler

Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas.

~ Dale Evans

 

Christmas - Good for All !

Christmas is forever, not for just one day,
for loving, sharing, giving, are not to put away
like bells and lights and tinsel, in some box upon a shelf.
The good you do for others is good you do yourself.

 

 

~Norman W. Brooks, "Let Every Day Be Christmas"

Christmas - A Magical Season !

There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions.

~ Bill McKibben Author, Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For a More Joyful Christmas

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.

~ Norman Vincent Peale

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.

~ Hamilton Wright Mabi

Christmas - A Time to Enjoy !

For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas.  Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home. 

 

~ W.J. Ronald Tucker

Christmas bring us close !!

From Home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another. The warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other.

~  Emily Matthews

Christmas is Sharing !!!

Christmas is a time to expand our giving encompassing the friendless and needy ... near and far. Christmas is sharing.

 

 

~ Patricia Clafford

Enjoy Christmas All the Time !

Heap on the wood!

the wind is chill;

But let it whistle as it will,
We'll keep our Christmas merry still.

 

~ Sir Walter Scott

Christmas - Shining Forever !

Whatever else be lost among the years, Let us keep Christmas still a shining thing: Whatever doubts assail us, or what fears, Let us hold close one day, remembering Its poignant meaning for the hearts of men. Let us get back our childlike faith again.

~  Grace Noll Crowell

Christmas - A Great Festival !

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;
It makes no noise at all,
But softly gives itself away.

 

~Eva Logue

Christmas - Feel in Heart !

It is not even the beginning of Christmas unless it is Christmas in the heart.

 

~ Richard Roberts (Contemporary Christ)

When Christmas Comes.....

Have you any old grudges you would like to pay,
Any wrongs laid up from a bygone day?
Gather them now and lay them away
When Christmas comes.
Hard thoughts are heavy to carry, my friend,
And life is short from beginning to end;
Be kind to yourself, leave nothing to mend
When Christmas comes.

 

 

~ William Lytle ("When Christmas Comes")

Christmas - Bridge of Time Flow

Christmas is a bridge. We need bridges as the river of time flows past. Today's Christmas should mean creating happy hours for tomorrow and reliving those of yesterday.

 

 

~  Gladys Tabor (Still Cove Journal)

Spirit of Christmas !

It is the personal thoughtfulness, the warm human awareness, the reaching out of the self to one's fellow man that makes giving worthy of the Christmas spirit.

 

 

~ Isabel Currier

Keeping Christmas !

There is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and that is, keeping Christmas.

 

 

~ Henry Van Dyke

Christmas - A Strong Voice !

Christmas is the gentlest, loveliest festival of the revolving year - and yet, for all that, when it speaks, its voice has strong authority. 

 

 

~  W. J. Cameron

Christmas is for All

Christmas is for children. But it is for grownups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts.

 

 

~ Lenora Mattingly Weber, Extension

Christmas - Year Long !

Somehow not only for Christmas
But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others
Is the joy that comes back to you.

And the more you spend in blessing
The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing
Returns to make you glad.

 

~  John Greenleaf Whittier

Christmas - Once a Year !

At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year.

 

~  Thomas Tusser

"The Farmer's Daily Diet"

What is Christmas ?

What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.

~ Agnes M. Pharo

A Christmas Gift !

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree :  the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.

 

~ Burton Hillis .

Magic of Christmas !

The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas.

~  W. C. Jones

 

True Christmas !

Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most.

 

~ Ruth Carter Stapleton

Become a Child at Christmas Time !

Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.

~  Laura Ingalls Wilder

Christmas - One's Home in Heart

Christmas ... is not an eternal event at all,  but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart.

 

 

~ Freya Stark

 ("The Wise Men" Time and Tide)

Christmas Spirit !!

Wouldn't life be worth the living
Wouldn't dreams be coming true
If we kept the Christmas spirit
All the whole year through?

 

~ Unknown

Love Christmas !!

"Selfishness makes Christmas a burden,  love makes it a delight."

 

~ Unknown

Touching Christmas Quote !

Peace on earth will come to stay, When we live Christmas every day.

 

~ Helen Steiner Rice

Magic of Christmas !!

The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens, easing other's loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of Christmas.

~ W. C. Jones

Christmas - Piece of One's Home !

Christmas ... is not an eternal event at all, but a piece of one's home that one carries in one's heart.

 

 

~ Freya Stark

 ("The Wise Men" Time and Tide)

A Christmas Candle !!

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing;  It makes no noise at all,  But softly gives itself away;  While quite unselfish, it grows small.

 

~ Eva K. Logue

Christmas Spirit Every Month !

I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.

 

~ Harlan Miller (Better Homes and Gardens)

Christmas - The Word Of Joy !

Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given--when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes.

 

~ Joan Winmill Brown

Christmas Day - A Day of Joy !

"Christmas Day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both."

 

~ Phillips Brooks.

Ideal Christmas !

There is no ideal Christmas; only the one Christmas you decide to make as a reflection of your values, desires, affections, traditions.

 

 

 

~ Bill McKibben

A Lovely Christmas Quote

Mankind is a great, an immense family....... This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas.

 

 

~ Pope John XXIII

Christmas - Part of Our Lives !

"Christmas is not just a day, an event to be observed and speedily forgotten. It is a spirit which should permeate every part of our lives."

 

 

~ William Parks (Missions)

Man & Santa Claus !

There are three stages of man :

he believes in Santa Claus;

he does not believe in Santa Claus;

he is Santa Claus.

~ Bob Phillips

Lovely Christmas Thought !

Christmas is the one time of year when people of all religions come together to worship Jesus Christ.

 

 

~ Bart Simpson

Celebrating Christmas in school !

Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeers, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas.

 

 

~ Ronald Reagan. 

A Christmas Gift !

If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning. Whenever you want to talk, He'll listen. He could live anywhere in the universe, and He chose your heart. What about the Christmas gift He sent you in Bethlehem; not to mention that Friday at Calvary.

~ Joe Gatuslao

Celebrate the Christmas Day !

Eternal God, this holy night is radiant with the brilliance of your one true light. May that light illuminate our hearts and shine in our words and deeds. May the hope, the peace, the joy, and the love represented by the birth in Bethlehem this night fill our lives and become part of all that we say and do. May we share the divine life of your son Jesus Christ, even as he humbled himself to share our humanity. Amen.

~ Rev. Richard J. Fairchild

Beautiful Christmas Quote !

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

 

~ Calvin Coolidge

A Turkey for One...!!!

Lura's Uncle Roy is in Japan. He used to take Christmas dinner at Lura's home. Now he could only write her papa to say a box of gifts had been sent, and one was for his little girl.

The little girl clapped her hands, crying, "Oh, mamma! don't you think it is the chain and locket dear uncle said he would sometime give me?"

"No," replied her papa, reading on. "Your uncle says it is a turkey for one."

"But we do not need turkeys from Japan," remarked the little daughter, soberly.

Her papa smiled, and handed the open letter to her mamma.

"Read it aloud, every bit," begged Lura, seeing her mamma was smiling, too.

But her mamma folded the letter and said nothing.

On Christmas eve the box, which had just arrived, was opened, and every one in the house was made glad with a present. Lura's was a papier-mache turkey, nearly as large as the one brought home at the same time by the market-boy.

Next morning, while the fowl in the kitchen was being roasted, Lura placed hers before a window and watched people admire it as they passed. All its imitation feathers, and even more its red wattles, seemed to wish every man and woman, boy and girl, a Merry Christmas.

Lura had not spoken of the jewelry since her uncle's letter was read. It is not nice for one who receives a gift to wish it was different. Lura was not that kind of a child.

When dinner was nearly over, her papa said to her, "My dear, you have had as much of my turkey as you wanted; if you please, I will now try some of yours."

"Mine is what Uncle Roy calls a turkey for one," laughed Lura. She turned in her chair towards where her bird had been strutting on the window-sill, and added, in surprise, "Why, what has become of him?"

At that moment the servant brought in a huge platter. When room had been made for it on the table it was set down in front of Lura's papa, and on the dish was her turkey.

"Oh, what fun!" gayly exclaimed the child. "Did uncle tell you to pretend to serve it?"

"I have not finished what he directs me to do," her papa said, with a flourish of the carving-knife.

"But, papa oh, please!" Her hand was on his arm. "You would not spoil my beautiful bird from Japan!

A hidden spring was touched with the point of the knife. The breast opened, and disclosed the fowl filled with choice toys and other things. The first taken out was a tiny box; inside was a gold chain and locket; the locket held Uncle Roy's picture.

It was a turkey for one, for only Uncle Roy's niece. But all the family shared the amusement.

Lavinia S. Goodwin

Christmas History & Traditions...!!!

A brief history of Christmas and its five major traditions.

Why Do We Celebrate?

Part of the magic of Christmas is the melding of a multitude of traditions, ancient to modern, to honor the birth of Christ on December 25th.

In the U.S., modern Christmas is a season for giving, sharing, and caring. Many traditions, like Christmas trees and candy canes, are of European origin, but an American imagination brought forth our Santa Claus in all his plump, red-suited glory.

Dating back to 336 A.D., Christmas was first celebrated in ancient Rome, around 300 years after Christ's birth. It was a popular Christian holiday until the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. Because pagan customs had been enfolded into the religious observance, many Protestants chose not to celebrate it at all, including the American Puritans. In the rest of colonial America, Christmas was a raucous public holiday. Hunting, dancing, and feasting were the custom in the country, while city streets filled with enthusiastic celebrants.

By the 1800s, the holiday-focused merrymaking became such a public spectacle that concerned citizens, including Clement C. Moore, author of the famous poem "A Visit from St. Nicholas" (popularly known as "Twas the Night Before Christmas"), wanted to promote Christmas as a family holiday. His poem, written in 1822, and the pictures illustrator Thomas Nast drew from 1863 to 1886, depict the Santa we have come to know and love today, a cherubic and jolly fellow.

While merchants count the shopping days until Christmas, it is also a time to share with those less fortunate. Collecting and donating warm clothing, toys, and food is as American as bell-ringing "Sidewalk Santas." No matter how you choose to observe it, celebrating Christmas has become a beloved American tradition. It is the season to rejoice with friends, family, and community and dream of "peace on earth" and goodwill for all.

Favorite Traditions

Don't be a Grinch: Read this list (and check it twice!) of the most popular Christmas traditions and their origins.

1. Christmas Greenery Ancient Egyptians used palm branches, while northern cultures preferred evergreens, to brighten the home during the winter. Continuing a custom that dates back to the 16th century, German immigrants were the first Americans to purchase and decorate Christmas trees, typically in the pine family.

2. Old Saint Nick Today's "jolly old elf," Santa Claus, is based on a real saint who lived in Turkey in the 4th century. Saint Nicholas was renowned for his generosity and love of children. According to historical sources, he would drop coins down the chimney to preserve his anonymity and the dignity of his recipients.

3. Gift Giving Once frowned upon as a pagan custom dating back to the Romans, gift giving is an integral part of our Christmas tradition. Santa's alias, "Kriss Kringle," means Christ child in German, and referred to a medieval legend that the infant Jesus distributed presents.

4. Mistletoe Kissing Remember the following Norse fable the next time you sneak a smooch under the mistletoe: Frigga, goddess of love and beauty, wanted to make the world safe for her son, Balder. Everything on earth promised to do him no harm except the one plant Frigga overlooked, mistletoe. Loki, an evil spirit, made an arrow from the mistletoe's wood and killed Balder. Frigga's tears became the plant's white berries and revived her son. In her gratitude, Frigga promised to kiss anyone who passed under the mistletoe, just as we do today.

5. Candy Canes The striped confections we now love to crunch were once straight white sticks of sugar candy. In the 1600s, in Cologne, Germany, traditional folktales reveal that the candies were bent at the end to remind children of a shepherd's crook and to keep them quiet in church.

Little Christmas Carollers

We are a band of carollers,
We march through frost and snow,
But care not for the weather
As on our way we go.

At every hall or cottage
That stands upon our way,
We stop to give the people
Best wishes for the day.

We pray a merry Christmas,
Made bright by Christmas cheer,
With peace, and hope, and gladness
And all they may hold dear.

And for all those that happen
To pass us on our way
We have a smile, and wish them
A merry Christmas Day.

L.A. FRANCE

[Illustration: CHRISTMAS CAROLLERS]

The Christmas Carol of the Birds

Do you know, when we are having such good times at Christmas, what sweet music they have in Norway, that cold country across the sea? One day in the year the simple peasants who live there make the birds very happy, so that they sing, of their own free-will, a glad, joyous carol on Christmas morning.

And this is why they sing on that morning more than on any other. After the birds have found shelter from the north wind on Christmas-eve, and the night is still and bright with stars, or even if the storm be ever so severe, the good people bring out sheaves of corn and wheat from their storehouses. Tying them on slender poles, they raise them from every spire, barn, gatepost, and gable; then, when the Christmas sun rises over the hills, every spire and gable bursts forth into joyous song.

You can well believe that these songs of the birds make the people of Norway very happy. They echo, with all their hearts, their living, grateful anthem, "Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good-will to men!"

Mrs. G. Hall...

Mama's Happy Christmas...!!!

It had seemed to the little Wendell children that they would have
a very sad Christmas. Mama had been very ill, and papa had been so
anxious about mama that he could not think of anything else.

When Christmas Day came, however, mama was so much better that she
could lie on the lounge. The children all brought their stockings into
her room to open them.

"You children all seem as happy as if you had had your usual Christmas
tree," said mama, as they sat around her.

"Why, I never had such a happy Christmas before," said sweet little
Agnes. "And it's just because you are well again."

"Now I think you must all run out for the rest of the day," said the
nurse, "because your mama wants to see you all again this evening."

"I wish we could get up something expressly for mama's amusement,"
said Agnes, when they had gone into the nursery.

"How would you like to have some tableaux in here?" asked their French
governess, Miss Marcelle.

"Oh, yes," they all cried, "it would be fun, mama loves tableaux."

So all day long they were busy arranging five tableaux for the
evening. The tableaux were to be in the room which had folding-doors
opening into Mrs. Wendell's sitting-room.

[Illustration: MAMA'S HAPPY CHRISTMAS]

At the proper time Miss Marcelle stepped outside the folding-doors
and made a pretty little speech. She said that some young ladies and
a young gentleman had asked permission to show some tableaux to Mrs.
Wendell if she would like to see them. Mrs. Wendell replied that she
would be charmed.

Then mademoiselle announced the tableaux; opening the doors wide for
each one. This is a list of the tableaux: First, The Sleeping Beauty;
second, Little Red Riding Hood; third, The Fairy Queen; fourth, Old
Mother Hubbard; fifth, The Lord High Admiral.

Miss Marcelle had arranged everything so nicely, and Celeste, the
French maid, helped so much with the dressing, that the pictures all
went off without a single mistake.

[Illustration: LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD]

[Illustration: THE LORD HIGH ADMIRAL]

Mama was delighted. She said she must kiss those dear young ladies,
and that delightful young man who had given her such a charming
surprise.

So all the children came in rosy and smiling.

"Why, didn't you know us?" asked the little Lord Admiral.

"I know this," said mama, "I am like Agnes; I never had such a happy
Christmas before."

Miriam T. Barnard.

Popular Xmas Quotes, Just for You...!!!

Christmas Quotes...!!!!

It was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well,
if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us,
and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, "God Bless Us, Every One!".

-- Charles Dickens


Christmas and God...!!!

Let us keep Christmas beautiful
Without a thought of greed,
That it might live forevermore
To fill our every need,
That it shall not be just a day,
But last a lifetime through,
The miracle of Christmas time
That brings God close to you.

-- Garnett Ann Schultz



A Christmas Wish...!!!

I'd like a stocking made for a giant,
And a meeting house full of toys,
Then I'd go out in a happy hunt
For the poor little girls and boys;
Up the street and down the street,
And across and over the town,
I'd search and find them everyone,
Before the sun went down.

-- Eugene Field


The Spirit of Christmas...!!!

Until one feels the spirit of Christmas,
there is no Christmas. All else is outward display
so much tinsel and decorations. For it isn't the holly,
it isn't the snow. It isn't the tree not the firelight's glow.
It's the warmth that comes to the hearts of men
when the Christmas spirit returns again.

-- Author Unknown


Christmas - The Joy All Year Around...!!!

Somehow, not only for Christmas, But all the long year through,
The joy that you give to others, Is the joy that comes back to you.
And the more you spend in blessing, The poor and lonely and sad,
The more of your heart's possessing, Returns to you glad.

-- John Greenleaf Whittier


Christmas Gift...!!!

If there is no joyous way to give a festive gift, give love away.

--- Author Unknown


Christmas Time...!!!

Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.

--- Mary Ellen Chase


Christmas - Brings Us Closer...!!!

From home to home, and heart to heart, from one place to another.
The warmth and joy of Christmas, brings us closer to each other.

-- Emily Matthews


Christmas Heart...!!!

Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart,
A wide open heart that thinks of others first.

-- George Mathhew Adams


Merry Christmas...!!!

Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer,
but always it will be a day of remembrance -
a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved.

-- Augusta E. Rundel

Grandma's Christmas Gifts

Grandma Burns sat knitting busily in the sun one bright morning the week before Christmas. The snow lay deep, and the hard crust glistened like silver. All at once she heard little sighs of grief outside her door. When she opened it there sat Peter and Jimmy Rice, two very poor little boys, with their faces in their hands; and they were crying.

"My patience!" cried grandma. "What can be the matter with two bright little boys this sunny morning?"

"We don't have no good times," sighed little Peter.

"We can't slide. We haven't any sleds," whimpered Jimmy.

"Why, of course boys can't have a good time without sleds," said grandma, cheerily. "Let us look about and see if we can't find something." And grandma's cap-border bobbed behind barrels and boxes in the shed and all among the cobwebs in the garret; but nothing could be found suitable.

"Hum! I do believe this would do for little Pete;" and the dear old lady drew a large, pressed-tin pan off the top shelf in the pantry. A long, smooth butter-tray was found for Jimmy. Grandma shook her
cap-border with laughter to see them skim over the hard crust in their queer sleds. And the boys shouted and swung their hands as they flew past the window.

"I do expect they'll wear 'em about through," murmured grandma; "but boys must slide,--that's certain."

And the pan was scoured as bright as a new silver dollar and the red paint was all gone off the wooden tray when Peter and Jimmy brought their sleds back.

Grandma knitted faster than ever all that day, and her face was bright with smiles. She was planning something. She went to see Job Easter that night. He promised to make two small sleds for the pair of socks she was knitting.

When the sleds were finished she dyed them red and drew a yellow horse upon each one. Grandma called them horses, but no one would have suspected it. Then the night before Christmas she drew on her great socks over her shoes to keep her from slipping, put on her hood and cloak, and dragged the little sleds over to Peter and Timmy's house.

She hitched them to the door-latch, and went home laughing all the way.

The Dolls Christmas Party.

It was the week before Christmas, and the dolls In the toy-shop played together all night. The biggest one was from Paris.

One night she said, "We ought to have a party before Santa Claus carries us away to the little girls. I can dance, and I will show you how."

"I can dance myself if you will pull the string," said a "Jim Crow" doll.

"What shall we have for supper?" piped a little boy-doll in a Jersey suit. He was always thinking about eating.

"Oh, dear," cried the French lady, "I don't know what we shall do for supper!"

"I can get the supper," added a big rag doll. The other dolls had never liked her very well, but they thanked her now. She had taken lessons at a cooking-school, and knew how to make cake and candy. She gave French names to everything she made, and this made it taste better. Old Mother Hubbard was there, and she said the rag doll did not know how to cook anything.

They danced in one of the great shop-windows. They opened a toy piano, and a singing-doll played "Comin' through the Rye," The dolls did not find that a good tune to dance by; but the lady did not know any other, although she was the most costly doll in the shop. Then they wound up a music-box, and danced by that. This did very well for some tunes; but they had to walk around when it played "Hail Columbia," and wait for something else.

The "Jim Crow" doll had to dance by himself, for he could do nothing but a "break-down." He would not dance at all unless some one pulled his string. A toy monkey did this; but he would not stop when the dancer was tired.

They had supper on one of the counters. The rag doll placed some boxes for tables. The supper was of candy, for there was nothing in the shop to eat but sugar hearts and eggs. The dolls like candy better than anything else, and the supper was splendid. Patsy McQuirk said he could not eat candy. He wanted to know what kind of a supper it was without any potatoes. He got very angry, put his hands into his pockets, and smoked his pipe. It was very uncivil for him to do so in company. The smoke made the little ladies sick, and they all tried to climb into a "horn of plenty" to get out of the way.

Mother Hubbard and the two black waiters tried to sing "I love Little Pussy;" but the tall one in a brigand hat opened his mouth wide, that the small dollies were afraid they might fall into it. The clown
raised both arms in wonder, and Jack in the Box sprang up as high as me could to look down into the fellow's throat.

All the baby-dolls in caps and long dresses had been put to bed. They woke up when the others were at supper, and began to cry. The big doll brought them some candy, and that kept them quiet for some time.

The next morning a little girl found the toy piano open. She was sure the dolls had been playing on it. The grown-up people thought it had been left open the night before; but they do not understand dolls as well as little people do.

Viola Roseborough.

Christmas Day

Christmas Day

"Boys," said Mrs. Howard one morning, looking up from a letter she was reading, "I have had a letter from your grandmamma. She writes that she is returning to England shortly."

The boys went on with their breakfast without showing any great amount of interest in this piece of news, for they had never seen their grandmother, and therefore could not very well be expected to show any affection for her.

Now Mrs. Howard, the mother of two of the boys and aunt to the third little fellow, was a widow and very poor, and often found it a hard task to provide for her "three boys," as she called them, for, having adopted her little orphan nephew, she always treated him as her own son. She had sometimes thought it strange that old Mrs. Howard should not have offered to provide for Leslie herself but she had never done so, and at last Mrs. Howard had ceased to expect it. But now, right at the end of her letter, Grandmamma Howard wrote:--

"I have been thinking that perhaps it would come a little hard on you to support not only your own two boys, but poor Alice's son, and so, on my return to England, I propose, if you are willing, to adopt one of them, for I am a lonely old woman and shall be glad of a young face about me again."

After thinking the matter over, Mrs. Howard decided she would say nothing about their grandmother's intention to the boys, as she thought that it was just possible she might change her mind again.

Time passed on, and winter set in, and full of the delights of skating, the boys forgot all about the expected arrival of their grandmother.

During the Christmas holidays the boys one morning started off to Broome Meadow for a good day's skating on the pond there. They carried their dinner with them, and were told to be sure and be home before dark.

As they ran along the frosty road they came suddenly upon a poor old woman, so suddenly that Leslie ran right up against her before he could stop himself. The old woman grumbled about "lazy, selfish boys, only thinking of their own pleasure, and not caring what happened to a poor old woman!"

But Leslie stopped at once and apologized, in his polite little way, for his carelessness.

"I _am_ sorry," he said. "I hope I did not hurt you; and you have such heavy parcels to carry too. Won't you let me help you?"

"Oh! come on, Leslie," said his cousins; "we shall never get to the pond at this rate!"

"Yes, go on," said the old woman sharply; "your skating is of a great deal more importance than an old woman, eh?"

But Leslie's only answer was to take the parcels and trudge merrily along beside his companion.

On the way to her cottage the old woman asked him all sorts of questions about himself and his cousins, and then, having reached her cottage, dismissed him with scarcely a "thank you" for the trouble he had taken. But Leslie did not take it much to heart.

He raced along, trying his hardest to overtake his cousins before they reached the pond, and was soon skimming about with the rest of them.

Squire Leaholme, in whose grounds the boys were skating, afterwards came down to the pond to watch the fun, and, being a kind-hearted old gentleman, offered to give a prize of a new pair of skates to the boy who should win the greatest number of races.

As it was getting late, it was arranged that the racing should come off on the following day, and the Squire invited all the boys who took part in it, to come up to his house to a substantial tea, after the fun was over.

How delighted Leslie was, for he was a first-rate skater, and he did so want a new pair of skates!

But the Squire's skates were not to be won by him, for on the following day as he and his cousins were on their way to the pond, they came across the queer old woman whom they had met on the previous day.

She was sitting on the ground, and seemed to be in great pain. The boys stopped to ask what ailed her, and she told them that she had slipped and twisted her foot, and was afraid that her ankle was sprained, for she could not bear to put it to the ground.

[Illustration: FROM THE CHRISTMAS TREE.]

"You musn't sit here in the cold," said Leslie; "come, try and get up, and I will help you home."

"Oh! Leslie," cried both his cousins, "don't go. You will be late for the races, and lose your chance of the prize."

Poor Leslie! He turned first red, then white, and then said, in a husky tone of voice

"Never mind--you go on without me."

"You're a good laddie," said the old woman. "Will you be very sorry to miss the fun?"

Leslie muttered something about not minding _much_, and then the brave little fellow set himself to help the poor old woman home, as gently and tenderly as he could.

She would not let him come in with her, but told him to run off as quickly as he could, and perhaps after all, he would not be too late for the skating. But Leslie could not bear to leave her alone and in pain, so he decided to run home and fetch his Aunt.

When Mrs. Howard arrived at the cottage, you can think how surprised she was to find that Leslie's "poor old woman" was none other than Grandmamma Howard herself, who wishing to find out the real characters of her grandsons, had chosen to come in this disguise to the little village where they lived.

You will easily guess which of the three boys Grandmamma chose to be her little companion. And oh! what a lovely Grandmamma she was, as not only Leslie, but his cousins too, found out. She always seemed to know exactly what a boy wanted, and still better, to give it to him.

Walter and Stanley often felt terribly ashamed of the selfish manner in which they had behaved, and wished they were more like Leslie.

But Grandmamma told them that it was "never too late to mend," and they took her advice, and I am quite sure that at the present moment if they were to meet a poor old woman in distress by the roadside, they would not pass her by, as they once did Grandmamma Howard.

Anna Morrison.

The Fairy Christmas.

It was Christmas Day, and Toddy and Tita were alone. Papa and mamma had gone out West to see their big boy who was ill. They had promised to be home for Christmas, but a big snow had blocked the railroad track, and nurse was afraid the train would be delayed until the day after Christmas. What a dull Christmas for two little girls, all alone in the great city house, with only the servants! They felt so lonely that nurse let them play in the big drawing-room instead of in the nursery, so they arranged all the chairs in a row, and pretended it was a snowed-up train. Tita was the conductor, and Toddy was the passengers. Just as they were in the midst of it, they heard music in the street, and, running to the window, they saw a little boy outside, singing and beating a tambourine.

"Why," said Tita, "his feet are all bare!"

"Dess he hanged up bofe stockin's an' his shoes, too," said Toddy.

"Let's open the window and ask him."

But the great window was too high to reach, so they took papa's cane and pushed it tip. The little boy smiled, but they could not hear what he said, so they told him to come in, and ran to open the big front door. He was a little frightened at first, but the carpet felt warm to his poor bare feet.

He told them that his name was Guido, and that he had come from Italy, which is a much warmer country than ours, and that he was very poor, so poor that he had no shoes, and had to go singing from house to house for a few pennies to get some dinner. And he was so hungry.

"Poor little boy!" said Tita. "Our mamma is away, and we're having a pretty sad Christmas, but we'll try to make it nice for you."

So they played games, and Guido sang to them. Then the folding doors rolled back, and there was the dining-room and the table all set, and Thomas, the black waiter, smiling, just as if it had been a big dinner party instead of two very little girls. Nurse said: "Well, I never!" when she saw Guido, but she felt so sorry for the lonely little girls that she let him come to the table. And _such_ a dinner as he ate! He had never had one like it before. "It is a fairy tale," he said.

Just as dessert came on, the door opened and in rushed mamma and papa; the train had gotten in, after all. They were so glad to see their darlings happy instead of moping that they gave them each some extra kisses. You may be sure little Guido never went hungry and barefoot after that. Long afterward he would say: "That was a fairy Christmas!"

That night, after Tita had said her prayers, she said:

"Mamma, I know something. Whenever you feel sad and lonely, if you will just find somebody sadder and lonelier than yourself and cheer them up, it will make you all right."

And I think that that was the very best kind of a Christmas lesson of love. Don't you?

Etheldred B. Barry.

Santa Claus Does Not Forget...:-)

Bertie was a very good boy. He was kind, obedient, truthful, and unselfish. He had, however, one great fault, he always forgot.

No matter how important the errand, his answer always was, "I forgot." When he was sent with a note to the dress-maker his mother would find the note in his pocket at night. If he was sent to the store in a great hurry, to get something for tea, he would return late, without the article, but with his usual answer.

His father and mother talked the matter over, and decided that something must be done to make the little boy remember.

Christmas was near, and Bertie was busy making out a list of things which Santa Claus was to bring him.

"Santa Claus may forget some of those things," said his mother.

[Illustration: CHRISTMAS FROLICS]

"He cannot," replied Bertie; "for I shall write sled, and skates, and drum, and violin, and all the things on this paper. Then when Santa Claus goes to my stocking he will find the list. He can see it and put the things in as fast as he reads."

Christmas morning came, and Bertie was up at dawn to see what was in his stocking. His mother kept away from him as long as she could, for she knew what Santa Claus had done.

Finally she heard him coming with slow steps to her room. Slowly he opened the door and came towards her. He held in his hand a list very much longer than the one he had made out. He put it in his mother's hand, while tears of disappointment fell from his eyes.

"See what Santa Claus left for me; but I think he might have given me one thing besides."

His mother opened the roll. It was a list of all the errands Bertie had been asked to do for six months. At the end of all was written, in staring capitals, "I FORGOT."

Bertie wept for an hour. Then his mother told him they were all going to grandpa's. For the first time he would see a Christmas-tree. Perhaps something might be growing there for him.

It was very strange to Bertie, but on grandpa's tree he found everything he had written on his list. Was he cured of his bad habit? Not all at once; but when his mother saw that he was particularly heedless she would say, "Remember, Santa Claus does not forget."

M. A. Haley

The Night After Christmas...!!!

'Twas the night after Christmas, and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring--excepting a mouse.
The stockings were flung in haste over the chair,
For hopes of St. Nicholas were no longer there.
The children were restlessly tossing in bed,
For the pie and the candy were heavy as lead;
While mamma in her kerchief, and I in my gown,
Had just made up our minds that we would not lie down,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my chair to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I went with a dash,
Flung open the shutter, and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
Gave the lustre of noon-day to objects below.

When what to my long anxious eyes should appear
But a horse and a sleigh, both old-fashioned and queer;
With a little old driver, so solemn and slow,
I knew at a glance it must be Dr Brough.
I drew in my head, and was turning around,
When upstairs came the Doctor, with scarcely a sound,
He wore a thick overcoat, made long ago,
And the beard on his chin was white with the snow.
He spoke a few words, and went straight to his work;
He felt all the pulses,--then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,
With a nod of his head to the chimney he goes:--
"A spoonful of oil, ma'am, if you have it handy;
No nuts and no raisins, no pies and no candy.
These tender young stomachs cannot well digest
All the sweets that they get; toys and books are the best.
But I know my advice will not find many friends,
For the custom of Christmas the other way tends.
The fathers and mothers, and Santa Claus, too,
Are exceedingly blind. Well, a good-night to you!"
And I heard him exclaim, as he drove out of sight:
These feastings and candies make Doctors' bills right!"