What is Christmas?

“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

“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 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

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

“Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish.  Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself.”

Francis C. Farley

“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!”

David Grayson

“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

“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

“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.”

Ella Wheeler Wilcox

“People can’t concentrate properly on blowing other people to pieces if their minds are poisoned by thoughts suitable to the twenty-fifth of December.”

Ogden Nash

For those of you who believe, I wish you and yours a blessed Christmas. For those of you who celebrate this time of year in other ways, I wish you a joyous Holiday. Whatever your traditions, I wish you a season of quiet reflection, boisterous laughter, tenderness, intimate sharing, and most of all, I wish you a time of deep and profound gratitude for no matter what our situation in life, we are among the most privileged people on this earth.

With love,

Martha

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