Christmas Day is the sum of all its parts
Enjoy Christmas Day in every way.
Today is Christmas Day, Dec. 25, 2019. Billions of people on this planet are in a celebratory mood today, marking the birth of the Christ child.
The towering symbols are the brightly illuminated Christmas trees in homes and in business establishments.
In Charles Dickens “Christmas Carol,” Tiny Tim set the happy holiday tone with these few words, “God bless us, every one.”
Clement Clarke Moore’s description of Santa has become the model of his character in “’Twas the night before Christmas.”
“The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath, He had a broad face and little round belly,
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
“And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself.”
When Virginia O’Hanlon was eight, she wrote a letter asking “is there a Santa Claus?” and Francis Church, an editor of the New York Sun, wrote a reply that has been published in many languages millions of times: He concluded with these words:
“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.”
During the yuletide season, we will all hear wonderful songs about the boy born in a manger:
Here are some of the most popular titles:
“It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,” “Silent Night, Holy Night,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “O Holy Night,” “What Child is This?” “The First Noel,” “Away in a Manger,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Joy to the World.”
Among the top Christmas movies are “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “The Polar Express,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Miracle on 34th Street.”
Here are just a few of the best Christmas quotes:
“Maybe Christmas, the Grinch thought, doesn’t come from a store,” Dr. Seuss; “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year,” Charles Dickens. “Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling,” Edna Ferber; “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; “Unless we make Christmas an occasion to share our blessings, all the snow in Alaska won’t make it ‘white,’” Bing Crosby; “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 Christmastime,” Laura Ingalls Wilder; “Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone,” Charles M. Schulz; “I don’t think Christmas is necessarily about things. It’s about being good to one another,” Carrie Fisher; “Peace on earth will come to stay, when we live Christmas every day,” Helen Steiner Rice; and “Christmas is a day of meaning and traditions, a special day spent in the warm circle of family and friends,” Margaret Thatcher.
From the Antelope Valley Press, “a wonderful, delightful day, filled with the Christmas spirit and personal efforts toward days and nights of kindness, empathy and joy to those around you.”