Christmas is celebration

"Christmas is celebration and celebration is instinct in the heart. With gift and feast, with red ribbon and fresh green bough, with the sound of music and merriment, we commend the day– oasis in the long landscape of the commonplace.

Christmas is celebration, but the traditions that cluster around the day have significance only if they translate the yearnings of the human spirit to encompass and express Faith and Hope and Love. Without this intention the gift is bare, the celebration a touch of tinsel, and the time without meaning.

Faith and hope and love which cannot be bought or sold or bartered but only given away, are the wellsprings firm and deep of Christmas celebration. These are the gift without price and the ornaments which cannot be imitated. Faith and Hope and Love are discovered only in one’s self and therefore are unique. They are not always easy to come by; but they are in unlimited supply, even in the province of all.

This Christmas mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion and replace it with trust. Write a love letter. Encourage youth. Show your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Find the time. Forego a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Listen. Apologize if you were wrong. Try to understand. Flout envy. Take up arms against malice. Examine your demands on others. Be kind; be gentle. Appreciate. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more. Express your gratitude. Cry out against complacency. Go to church. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the wonder and beauty of the earth. Speak your Love. Speak it again. Speak it once again."

I read this about 50 years ago in a Look magazine and saved it (but unfortunately not the name of the author). The portion above is my "Christmas Card" to all of you...