Christmas Quotes

Christmas Quotes & Sayings Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale Christmas is a time when you get homesick - even when you're home. ~Carol Nelson He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ~Roy L. Smith Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. ~Mary Ellen Chase I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable 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, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. ~Charles Dickens 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 The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveler, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home! ~Charles Dickens, the Pickwick Papers, 1836

There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child." ~ Erma Bombeck (1927-1996), American author and humorist. Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." ~ Peg Bracken.

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 (1835-93), American Episcopal bishop, wrote 'O Little Town of Bethlehem'.

Quotes - words of wisdom

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, American author and editor. This is the message of Christmas: We are never alone." ~ Taylor Caldwell (1900-1985), English novelist. Remember, if Christmas isn't found in your heart, you won't find it under a tree." ~ Charlotte Carpenter. There are no strangers on Christmas Eve." ~ Adele Comandini and Edward Sutherland. Michael O'Brien (Charles Winninger), Beyond Tomorrow, after proposing that the partners invite three strangers to dinner (1940). To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world." ~ Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933), American president. Presidential message (December 25, 1927).

Christmas, in its final essence, is for grown people who have forgotten what children know. Christmas is for whoever is old enough to have denied the unquenchable spirit of man." ~ Margaret Cousins (1905- ), senior editor Doubleday Publishing Company. Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white'." ~ Bing Crosby (1904-1977), American singer and film actor. 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. I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." ~ Charles Dickens (1812-1870), English author. From 'A Christmas Carol'. Something about an old-fashioned Christmas is hard to forget." ~ Hugh Downs (1921- ), American newscaster. They err who thinks Santa Claus comes down through the chimney; he really enters through the heart." ~ Mrs. Paul M. Ell. It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air." ~ W. T. Ellis Christmas, my child, is love in action." ~ Dale Evans (1912-2001), American film actress, singer and songwriter. Wife of Roy Rogers. Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. They're never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal." ~ Lenore Hershey

My first copies of Treasure Island and Huckleberry Finn still have some blue-spruce needles scattered in the pages. They smell of Christmas still." ~ Charlton Heston (1923- ), American film actor. At Christmas, all roads lead home." ~ Marjorie Holmes, American writer. It comes every year and will go on forever. And along with Christmas belong the keepsakes and the customs. Those humble, everyday things a mother clings to, and ponders, like Mary in the secret spaces of her heart." ~ Marjorie Holmes, American writer. My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?" ~ Bob Hope, American film actor and comedian. When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness." ~ Bob Hope, American film actor and comedian. Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart." ~ Washington Irving (1783-1859), American short-story writer and essayist. 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 A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together." ~ Garrison Keillor (1942-), American author. 'Exiles,' Leaving Home (1987). Were I a philosopher, I should write a philosophy of toys, showing that nothing else in life needs to be taken seriously, and that Christmas Day in the company of children is one of the few occasions on which men become entirely alive." ~ Robert Lynd (1892-1970), American sociologist. 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 (1881-1954), American author, 'Song of Years'. Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect." ~ Oren Arnold

I sometimes think we expect too much of Christmas Day. We try to crowd into it the long arrears of kindliness and humanity of the whole year. As for me, I like to take my Christmas a little at a time, all through the year. And thus I drift along into the holidays-let them overtake me unexpectedly--waking up some fine morning and suddenly saying to myself: 'Why this is Christmas Day!'" ~ Ray Stannard Baker, pseud. David Grayson (1870-1946), American author, journalist. The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!" ~ Charles N. Barnard, American author, travel writer.

Quotes makes you think

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love." ~ Hamilton Wright Mabie (1845-1916), American author, essayist and critic. I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month." ~ Harlan Miller Christmas is the keeping-place for memories of our innocence." ~ Joan Mills Christmas is, of course, the time to be home - in heart as well as body." ~ Garry Moore 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. Pahro

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." ~ Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), American Protestant religious leader, author. I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world." ~ Norman Vincent Peale (1898-1993), American Protestant religious leader, author. Mankind is a great, an immense family... This is proved by what we feel in our hearts at Christmas." ~ Pope John XXIII one of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly." ~ Andy Rooney (1919-), American writer, producer, humorist. The best Christmas trees come very close to exceeding nature." ~ Andy Rooney (1919-), American writer, producer, humorist. Christmas--that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. 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. Rundell Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone." ~ Charles Schulz (1922-2000), American cartoonist 'Peanuts'. As long as we know in our hearts what Christmas ought to be, Christmas is." ~ Eric Sevareid (1912-1992), American newscaster. Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas... perhaps... means a little bit more." ~ Dr. Seuss (1904-1991), American author of children's books. From 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas'. Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves." ~ Eric Sevareid (1912-1992), American newscaster. Christmas renews our youth by stirring our wonder. The capacity for wonder has been called our most pregnant human faculty, for in it is born our art, our science, our religion." ~ Ralph Sockman (1889-1970), American religious leader. He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree." ~ Sunshine Magazine

Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends." ~ Margaret Thatcher (1925- ), English political leader. At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year." ~ Thomas Tusser (c. 1515-1580), author 'The Farmer's Daily Diet'. 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 (1895-1971), American author. Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance - each beautiful, unique and too soon gone." ~ Deborah Whipp (1964-), web designer. Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall." ~ Larry Wilde, author 'The Merry Book of Christmas'. Which Christmas is the most vivid to me? It's always the next Christmas." ~ Joanne Woodward (1930- ), American film actress. 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. Arlo Guthrie: Santa Claus wears a Red Suit, He must be a communist. And a beard and long hair must be a pacifist. What's in that pipe that he's smoking? "The Pause of Mr. Claus" Barbara Ehrenreich: I was raised the old-fashioned way, with a stern set of moral principles: Never lie, cheat, steal or knowingly spread a venereal disease. Never speed up to hit a pedestrian or, or course, stop to kick a pedestrian who has already been hit. From which it followed, of course, that one would never ever -- on pain of deletion from dozens of Christmas card lists across the country -- vote Republican.

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

Calvin Coolidge: 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.

Charles Dana: Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exists, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Editorial in the New York Sun, 1897, responding to a letter from 8-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon Charles Dickens: I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.

Charles Dickens: Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!

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

Daniel Roselle: CREDO AT CHRISTMAS

At Christmas time I believe the things that children do.

I believe with English children that holly placed in windows will protect our homes from evil. I believe with Swiss children that the touch of edelweiss will charm a person with love. This entry continued... Dick Gregory: I never believed in Santa Claus because I knew no white man would be coming into my neighborhood after dark. Ella Wheeler Wilcox: When Christmas bells are swinging above the fields of snow, we hear sweet voices ringing from lands of long ago, and etched on vacant places are half-forgotten faces of friends we used to cherish, and loves we used to know. "Christmas Fancies" - Poems of Power Emily Dickinson: Before the ice is in the pools, before the skaters go, or any cheek at nightfall is tarnished by the snow, before the fields have finished, Before the Christmas tree, Wonder upon wonder will arrive to me! Erma Bombeck: There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression Eva K. Logue: A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; it makes no noise at all, but softly gives itself away; while quite unselfish, it grows small.

Garrison Keillor: A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together.

George Bernard Shaw: Christmas is forced upon a reluctant and disgusted nation by the shopkeepers and the press; on its own merits it would wither and shrivel in the fiery breath of universal hatred.

Grace Noll Crowell: Let Us Keep Christmas whatever else is 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.

Hamilton Wright Mabie: Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love.

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

Helen Steiner Rice: Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: 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 rolled along the' unbroken song of peace on earth, good will to men. And in despair I bowed 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."

This entry continued... Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon: Remember this December, that love weighs more than gold!

Kate L. Bosher: Isn't it funny that at Christmas something in you gets so lonely for - I don't know what exactly, but it's something that you don't mind so much not having at other times?

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

Kin Hubbard: Next to a circus there isn’t anything that packs up and tears out faster than the Christmas spirit.

Lenora Mattingly Weber: 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.

Lenore Hershey: Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. They're never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal.

Oren Arnold: Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. Ralph Sockman: Christmas renews our youth by stirring our wonder. The capacity for wonder has been called our most pregnant human faculty, for in it is born our art, our science, our religion.

Shirley Temple: I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph.

Sir Walter Scott: Heap on the wood!-the wind is chill; But let it whistle as it will; we’ll keep our Christmas merry still.

W. C. Fields: Christmas at my house is always at least six or seven times more pleasant than anywhere else. We start drinking early. And while everyone else is seeing only one Santa Claus, we'll be seeing six or seven.

W. C. Jones: 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.

Washington Irving: Christmas! 'This the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial fire of charity in the heart. 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 A Christmas shopper's complaint is one of long-standing. - Unknown A goose never voted for an early Christmas. - Irish Saying A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together. - Garrison Keillor A scientist said, making a plea for exchange scholarships between nations, "The very best way to send an idea is to wrap it up in a person." That was what happened at Christmas. The idea of divine love was wrapped up in a Person. - Halford E. Luccock A white Christmas fills the churchyard. - French Proverb And the angel said unto them, "Fear not! For, behold, I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. "For unto you are born this day in the city of David A Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, Lying in a manger." - Luke 2:10-12 Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world - stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death - and that the blessed life which began in Bethlehem nineteen hundred years ago is the image and brightness of the Eternal Love? Then you can keep Christmas. - Henry Van Dyke As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December's bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same. - Donald E. Westlake Ask your children two questions this Christmas. First: "What do you want to give to others for Christmas?" Second: "What do you want for Christmas?" The first fosters generosity of heart and an outward focus. The second can breed selfishness if not tempered by the first. - Anonymous At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year. - Thomas Tusser "The Farmer's Daily Diet" Bless us Lord, this Christmas, with quietness of mind; teach us to be patient and always to be kind. - Helen Steiner Rice

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. - Hamilton Wright Mabie Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind. - Mary Ellen Chase Christmas day is a day of joy and charity. May God make you very rich in both. - Phillips Brooks 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 a melody that would last forever. - Bess Streeter Aldrich Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. - Oren Arnold Christmas has lost its meaning for us because we have lost the spirit of expectancy. We cannot prepare for an observance. We must prepare for an experience. - Handel H. Brown Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves. - Eric Sevareid Christmas is a race to see which gives out first - your money or your feet. - Unknown Christmas is a time when everybody wants his past forgotten and his present remembered. What I don't like about office Christmas parties is looking for a job the next day. - Phyllis Diller Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone. - Charles Schulz 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 ... 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 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 Christmas is not just a time for festivity and merry making. It is more than that. It is a time for the contemplation of eternal things. The Christmas spirit is a spirit of giving and forgiving. - J. C. Penney Christmas is the day that holds all time together. - Alexander Smith

Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart. - Washington Irving Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas. - Dale Evans Rogers Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. 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 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 waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. - Norman Vincent Peale Do give books - religious or otherwise - for Christmas. They're never fattening, seldom sinful, and permanently personal. - Lenore Hershey Don't expect too much of Christmas Day. You can't crowd into it any arrears of unselfishness and kindliness that may have accrued during the past twelve months. - Oren Arnold Even before Christmas has said Hello, it's saying 'Buy Buy'. - Robert Paul For many of us, sadly, the spirit of Christmas is "hurry". And yet, eventually, the hour comes when the rushing ends and the race against the calendar mercifully comes to a close. It is only now perhaps that we truly recognize the spirit of Christmas. It is not a matter of days or weeks, but of centuries - nearly twenty of them now since that holy night in Bethlehem. Regarded in this manner, the pre - Christmas rush may do us greater service than we realize. With all its temporal confusion, it may just help us to see that by contrast, Christmas it is eternal. - Burton Hills For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. - Isaiah 9:6 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 Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas. - Peg Bracken

Good news from heaven the angels bring, Glad tidings to the earth they sing: To us this day a child is given, to crown us with the joy of heaven. - Martin Luther "Happy, happy Christmas, that can win us back to the delusions of our childhood days, recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth, and transport the traveler back to his own fireside and quiet home!" - Charles Dickens He who has no Christmas in his heart will never find Christmas under a tree. - Sunshine Magazine. 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 I am not alone at all, I thought. I was never alone at all. And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the word seemingly most indifferent. For this is still the time God chooses. Taylor Caldwell I do come home at Christmas. We all do, or we all should. We all come home, or ought to come home, for a short holiday - the longer, the better - from the great boarding school where we are forever working at our arithmetical slates, to take, and give a rest. - Charles Dickens "I heard the bells on Christmas Day their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth, good - will to men! - Longfellow I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph. - Shirley Temple I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. - Charles Dickens, Ebeneezer Scrooge, a Christmas Carol 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) If Ifs and Buts were candies and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas. - Unknown If there is no joyous way to give a festive gift, give love away. - Unknown

In the old days, it was not called the Holiday Season; the Christians called it 'Christmas' and went to church; the Jews called it 'Hanukka' and went to synagogue; the atheists went to parties and drank. People passing each other on the street would say 'Merry Christmas!' or 'Happy Hanukka!' or (to the atheists) 'Look out for the wall!'" - Dave Barry "Christmas Shopping: A Survivor's Guide" It comes every year and will go on forever. And along with Christmas belong the keepsakes and the customs. Those humble, everyday things a mother clings to, and ponders, like Mary in the secret spaces of her heart. - Marjorie Holmes It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. - W. T. Ellis 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 Jennifer Bofinger, media spokeswoman for the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, said despite the shabby treatment of deer in general, her organization has not received any complaints about how Santa Claus treats his reindeer. Los Angeles (LA) Times Let us remember that the Christmas heart is a giving heart, a wide open heart that thinks of others first. The birth of the baby Jesus stands as the most significant event in all history, because it has meant the pouring into a sick world of the healing medicine of love which has transformed all manner of hearts for almost two thousand years... Underneath all the bulging bundles is this beating Christmas heart. - George Mathhew Adams Love came down at Christmas, Love all lovely, Love Divine; Love was born at Christmas; Star and angels gave the sign. - Christina Rossetti Many banks have a new kind of Christmas club in operation. The new club helps you save money to pay for last year's gifts. - Unknown Next to a circus there isn’t anything that packs up and tears out faster than the Christmas spirit. - Kin Hubbard No more lives torn apart, that wars will never start, and time will heal our hearts. Every man will have a friend, that right will always win,

and love will never end. This is my grown-up Christmas List. Nothing's as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas. - Kin Hubbard Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. - Matthew 2:1-2 Once again, we come to the Holiday Season, a deeply religious time that each of us observes, in his own way, by going to the mall of his choice. - Dave Barry One good thing about Christmas shopping it toughens you for the January sales. - Grace Kriley One of the nice things about Christmas is that you can make people forget the past with a present. - Author Unknown Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day. - Helen Steiner Rice Perhaps the best Yuletide decoration is being wreathed in smiles. - Unknown Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don't quite know how to put our love into words. - Harlan Miller Selfishness makes Christmas a burden, love makes it a delight. - Unknown Some businessmen are saying this could be the greatest Christmas ever. I always thought that the first one was. - Art Fettig 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 hearts possessing, Returns to you glad. - John Greenleaf Whittier The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. - Burton Hillis (Better Homes and Gardens) 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 The magi, as you know, were wise men - wonderfully wise men that brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. - O. Henry

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 The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting. - Louisa May Alcott 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 There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. - Erma Bombeck (I Lost Everything in the Post-Natal Depression) 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 "'Taws the night before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring - not even a mouse: The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there. - Clement C. Moore Two things upon this changing earth can neither change nor end; the splendor of Christ's humble birth, the love of friend for friend. - Unknown Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won't make it 'white'. - Bing Crosby 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 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 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

When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? - Gilbert Keith Chesterton You know you're getting old, when Santa starts looking younger. - Robert Paul You might as well do your Christmas hinting early. - Anonymous

Christmas Shorts A three-year-old gave this reaction to her Christmas dinner. "I don't like the turkey, but I like the bread he ate." Mother decided that 10-year-old Cathy should get something "practical" for Christmas. "Suppose we open a savings account for you?" mother suggested. Cathy was delighted. "It's your account, darling," mother said as they arrived at the bank, "so you fill out the application." Cathy was doing fine until she came to the space for "Name of your former bank." After a slight hesitation, she put down "Piggy." There was the little boy who approached Santa in a department store with a long list of requests. He wanted a bicycle and a sled, a chemical set, a cowboy suit, a set of trains, a baseball glove and roller skates. "That's a pretty long list," Santa said sternly. "I'll have to check in my book and see if you were a good boy." "No, no," the youngster said quickly. "Never mind checking. I'll just take the roller skates."

From "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" Narrator: All the Whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot, but the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did not. The Grinch hated Christmas -- the whole Christmas season. Oh, please don't ask why, no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. Or maybe his head wasn't screwed on just right. But I think that the best reason of all may have been that his heart was two sizes too small. Grinch: Blast this Christmas music! It's joyful and triumphant. Grinch: Are you having a holly, jolly Christmas? Lou Lou Who: I'm glad he took our presents. You can't hurt Christmas, Mr. Mayor, because it isn't about the... the gifts or the contest or the fancy lights. That's what Cindy's

been trying to tell everyone... and me. I don't need anything more for Christmas than this right here: my family. And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more? - Dr. Seuss

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. From the Editorial Page of The New York Sun, written by Francis P. Church, September 21, 1897 We take pleasure in answering thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: "Dear Editor--I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in The Sun, it's so.' Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus?" Virginia O'Hanlon, 115 West Ninety-fifth Street Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! How dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no child-like faith then, no poetry, and no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if you did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the

world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and useable in the world. You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in this entire world there is nothing else real and abiding. No Santa Claus! Thank God! He lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. Norman Vincent Peale I have always thought of Christmas time 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 The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. Burton Hillis The magi, as you know, were wise men - wonderfully wise men that brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. O. Henry He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. Roy L. Smith God put Santa Claus on earth to remind us that Christmas is ‘posed to be a happy time. Bill Keane’s "Family Circus" So if a Christian is touched only once a year, the touching is still worth it, and maybe on some given Christmas, some quiet morning, the touch will take. Harry Reasoner Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you ... to remember the weakness and loneliness of people who are growing old ... Are you willing to believe that love is the strongest thing in the world ... stronger than hate, stronger than evil, stronger than death... Then you can keep

Christmas! But you can never keep it alone. Henry van Dyke A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; it makes no noise at all, but softly gives itself away. Eva Logue A Christmas Blessing During this Christmas season, May you be blessed With the spirit of the season, which is peace, The gladness of the season, which is hope, And the heart of the season, which is love 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 There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child. Erma Bombeck 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 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 is doing a little something extra for someone. Charles Schulz At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year. Thomas Tusser, 16th century and is it true? And is it true, this most tremendous tale of all, Seen in a stained-glass window's hue, A Baby in an in ox's stall? The Maker of the stars and sea became a Child on earth for me? Sir John Betjeman, 1954 I heard the bells on Christmas Day their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on Earth, good will to men! - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 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 The feet of the humblest may walk in the field where the feet of the Holiest trod, this, then, is the marvel to mortals revealed. - Phillips Brooks Good news from heaven the angels bring, Glad tidings to the earth they sing: To us this day a child is given, to crown us with the joy of heaven. - Martin Luther The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap; His hair was like a light. (O weary, weary was the world, But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child stood at Mary's knee, His hair was like a crown, and all the flowers looked up at Him and all the stars looked down. - G. K. Chesterton I dreamed it was Christmas Eve, and while waiting for a green light I noticed the manger scene on the church lawn. It's all so overwhelming, this Christmas business, I thought. The shopping and singing and partying and gift-wrapping and Santa Claus and Jesus. I feel wonderful then guilty then joyful then confused. God help me, I thought. And the light changed, and the baby in the manger smiled. - Joe Hickman