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+*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14572 ***
+
+THE
+
+SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS
+
+BY
+
+HENRY VAN DYKE
+
+
+[Illustration: (Frontispiece)]
+
+
+NEW YORK
+
+CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
+
+1911
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+_Copyright, 1905, by Charles Scribner's Sons_
+
+_Published, October, 1905_
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  A DREAM-STORY
+
+    THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL 3
+
+  A LITTLE ESSAY
+
+    CHRISTMAS-GIVING AND CHRISTMAS-LIVING 33
+
+  A SHORT CHRISTMAS SERMON
+
+    KEEPING CHRISTMAS 45
+
+  TWO CHRISTMAS PRAYERS
+
+    A CHRISTMAS PRAYER FOR THE HOME 51
+
+    A CHRISTMAS PRAYER FOR LONELY FOLKS 56
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+A DREAM-STORY
+
+
+
+
+THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL
+
+
+It was the hour of rest in the Country Beyond the Stars. All the
+silver bells that swing with the turning of the great ring of light
+which lies around that land were softly chiming; and the sound of
+their commotion went down like dew upon the golden ways of the city,
+and the long alleys of blossoming trees, and the meadows of asphodel,
+and the curving shores of the River of Life.
+
+At the hearing of that chime, all the angels who had been working
+turned to play, and all who had been playing gave themselves joyfully
+to work. Those who had been singing, and making melody on different
+instruments, fell silent and began to listen. Those who had been
+walking alone in meditation met together in companies to talk. And
+those who had been far away on errands to the Earth and other planets
+came homeward like a flight of swallows to the high cliff when the day
+is over.
+
+It was not that they needed to be restored from weariness, for the
+inhabitants of that country never say, "I am tired." But there, as
+here, the law of change is the secret of happiness, and the joy that
+never ends is woven of mingled strands of labour and repose, society
+and solitude, music and silence. Sleep comes to them not as it does to
+us, with a darkening of the vision and a folding of the wings of the
+spirit, but with an opening of the eyes to deeper and fuller light,
+and with an effortless outgoing of the soul upon broader currents
+of life, as the sun-loving bird poises and circles upward, without a
+wing-beat, on the upholding air.
+
+It was in one of the quiet corners of the green valley called
+Peacefield, where the little brook of Brighthopes runs smoothly down
+to join the River of Life, that I saw a company of angels, returned
+from various labours on Earth, sitting in friendly converse on the
+hill-side, where cyclamens and arbutus and violets and fringed orchids
+and pale lady's-tresses, and all the sweet-smelling flowers which are
+separated in the lower world by the seasons, were thrown together in
+a harmony of fragrance. There were three of the company who seemed
+to be leaders, distinguished not only by more radiant and powerful
+looks, but by a tone of authority in their speech and by the willing
+attention with which the others listened to them, as they talked
+of their earthly tasks, of the tangles and troubles, the wars and
+miseries that they had seen among men, and of the best way to get rid
+of them and bring sorrow to an end.
+
+"The Earth is full of oppression and unrighteousness," said the
+tallest and most powerful of the angels. His voice was deep and
+strong, and by his shining armour and the long two-handed sword
+hanging over his shoulder I knew that he was the archangel Michael,
+the mightiest one among the warriors of the King, and the executor
+of the divine judgments upon the unjust. "The Earth is tormented with
+injustice," he cried, "and the great misery that I have seen among
+men is that the evil hand is often stronger than the good hand and can
+beat it down.
+
+"The arm of the cruel is heavier than the arm of the kind. The unjust
+get the better of the just and tread on them. I have seen tyrant kings
+crush their helpless folk. I have seen the fields of the innocent
+trampled into bloody ruin by the feet of conquering armies. I have
+seen the wicked nation overcome the peoples that loved liberty, and
+take away their treasure by force of arms. I have seen poverty mocked
+by arrogant wealth, and purity deflowered by brute violence, and
+gentleness and fair-dealing bruised in the winepress of iniquity and
+pride.
+
+"There is no cure for this evil, but by the giving of greater force to
+the good hand. The righteous cause must be strengthened with might to
+resist the wicked, to defend the helpless, to punish all cruelty and
+unfairness, to uphold the right everywhere, and to enforce justice
+with unconquerable arms. Oh, that the host of Heaven might be called,
+arrayed, and sent to mingle in the wars of men, to make the good
+victorious, to destroy all evil, and to make the will of the King
+prevail!
+
+"We would shake down the thrones of tyrants, and loose the bands of
+the oppressed. We would hold the cruel and violent with the bit of
+fear, and drive the greedy and fierce-minded men with the whip of
+terror. We would stand guard, with weapons drawn, about the innocent,
+the gentle, the kind, and keep the peace of God with the sword of the
+angels!"
+
+As he spoke, his hands were lifted to the hilt of his long blade, and
+he raised it above him, straight and shining, throwing sparkles of
+light around it, like the spray from the sharp prow of a moving ship.
+Bright flames of heavenly ardour leaped in the eyes of the listening
+angels; a martial air passed over their faces as if they longed for
+the call to war.
+
+But no silver trumpet blared from the battlements of the City of God;
+no crimson flag was unfurled on those high, secret walls; no thrilling
+drum-beat echoed over the smooth meadow. Only the sound of the brook
+of Brighthopes was heard tinkling and murmuring among the roots of the
+grasses and flowers; and far off a cadence of song drifted down from
+the inner courts of the Palace of the King.
+
+Then another angel began to speak, and made answer to Michael. He,
+too, was tall and wore the look of power. But it was power of the
+mind rather than of the hand. His face was clear and glistening, and
+his eyes were lit with a steady flame which neither leaped nor fell.
+Of flame also were his garments, which clung about him as the fire
+enwraps a torch burning where there is no wind; and his great wings,
+spiring to a point far above his head, were like a living lamp before
+the altar of the Most High. By this sign I knew that it was the
+archangel Uriel, the spirit of the Sun, clearest in vision, deepest
+in wisdom of all the spirits that surround the throne.
+
+"I hold not the same thought," said he, "as the great archangel
+Michael; nor, though I desire the same end which he desires, would I
+seek it by the same way. For I know how often power has been given to
+the good, and how often it has been turned aside and used for evil.
+I know that the host of Heaven, and the very stars in their courses,
+have fought on the side of a favoured nation; yet pride has followed
+triumph and oppression has been the first-born child of victory.
+I know that the deliverers of the people have become tyrants over
+those whom they have set free, and the fighters for liberty have been
+changed into the soldiers of fortune. Power corrupts itself, and might
+cannot save.
+
+"Does not the Prince Michael remember how the angel of the Lord led
+the armies of Israel, and gave them the battle against every foe,
+except the enemy within the camp? And how they robbed and crushed
+the peoples against whom they had fought for freedom? And how the
+wickedness of the tribes of Canaan survived their conquest and
+overcame their conquerors, so that the children of Israel learned to
+worship the idols of their enemies, Moloch, and Baal, and Ashtoreth?
+
+"Power corrupts itself, and might cannot save. Was not Persia the
+destroyer of Babylon, and did not the tyranny of Persia cry aloud for
+destruction? Did not Rome break the yoke of the East, and does not the
+yoke of Rome lie heavy on the shoulders of the world? Listen!"
+
+There was silence for a moment on the slopes of Peacefield, and then
+over the encircling hills a cool wind brought the sound of chains
+clanking in prisons and galleys, the sighing of millions of slaves,
+the weeping of wretched women and children, the blows of hammers
+nailing men to their crosses. Then the sound passed by with the wind,
+and Uriel spoke again:
+
+"Power corrupts itself, and might cannot save. The Earth is full of
+ignorant strife, and for this evil there is no cure but by the giving
+of greater knowledge. It is because men do not understand evil that
+they yield themselves to its power. Wickedness is folly in action, and
+injustice is the error of the blind. It is because men are ignorant
+that they destroy one another, and at last themselves.
+
+"If there were more light in the world there would be no sorrow. If
+the great King who knows all things would enlighten the world with
+wisdom--wisdom to understand his law and his ways, to read the secrets
+of the earth and the stars, to discern the workings of the heart of
+man and the things that make for joy and peace--if he would but send
+us, his messengers, as a flame of fire to shine upon those who sit in
+darkness, how gladly would we go to bring in the new day!
+
+"We would speak the word of warning and counsel to the erring, and
+tell knowledge to the perplexed. We would guide the ignorant in the
+paths of prudence, and the young would sit at our feet and hear
+us gladly in the school of life. Then folly would fade away as the
+morning vapour, and the sun of wisdom would shine on all men, and the
+peace of God would come with the counsel of the angels."
+
+A murmur of pleasure followed the words of Uriel, and eager looks
+flashed around the circle of the messengers of light as they heard the
+praise of wisdom fitly spoken. But there was one among them on whose
+face a shadow of doubt rested, and though he smiled, it was as if he
+remembered something that the others had forgotten. He turned to an
+angel near him.
+
+"Who was it," said he, "to whom you were sent with counsel long ago?
+Was it not Balaam the son of Beor, as he was riding to meet the
+King of Moab? And did not even the dumb beast profit more by your
+instruction than the man who rode him? And who was it," he continued,
+turning to Uriel, "that was called the wisest of all men, having
+searched out and understood the many inventions that are found under
+the sun? Was not Solomon, prince of fools and philosophers, unable
+by much learning to escape weariness of the flesh and despair of
+the spirit? Knowledge also is vanity and vexation. This I know well,
+because I have dwelt among men and held converse with them since the
+day when I was sent to instruct the first man in Eden."
+
+Then I looked more closely at him who was speaking and recognised
+the beauty of the archangel Raphael, as it was pictured long ago:
+
+  "A seraph winged; six wings he wore to shade
+  His lineaments divine; the pair that clad
+  Each shoulder broad came mantling o'er his breast,
+  With regal ornament; the middle pair
+  Girt like a starry zone his waist, and round
+  Skirted his loins and thighs with downy gold
+  And colours dipped in Heav'n; the third his feet
+  Shadowed from either heel with feathered mail,
+  Sky-tinctured grain. Like Maia's son he stood
+  And shook his plumes, that Heavenly fragrance filled
+  The circuit wide."
+
+"Too well I know," he spoke on, while the smile on his face deepened
+into a look of pity and tenderness and desire, "too well I know that
+power corrupts itself and that knowledge cannot save. There is no cure
+for the evil that is in the world but by the giving of more love to
+men. The laws that are ordained for earth are strange and unequal,
+and the ways where men must walk are full of pitfalls and dangers.
+Pestilence creeps along the ground and flows in the rivers; whirlwind
+and tempest shake the habitations of men and drive their ships to
+destruction; fire breaks forth from the mountains and the foundations
+of the world tremble. Frail is the flesh of man, and many are his
+pains and troubles. His children can never find peace until they learn
+to love one another and to help one another.
+
+"Wickedness is begotten by disease and misery. Violence comes from
+poverty and hunger. The cruelty of oppression is when the strong tread
+the weak under their feet; the bitterness of pride is when the wise
+and learned despise the simple; the crown of folly is when the rich
+think they are gods, and the poor think that God is not.
+
+"Hatred and envy and contempt are the curse of life. And for these
+there is no remedy save love--the will to give and to bless--the will
+of the King himself, who gives to all and is loving unto every man.
+But how shall the hearts of men be won to this will? How shall it
+enter into them and possess them? Even the gods that men fashion for
+themselves are cruel and proud and false and unjust. How shall the
+miracle be wrought in human nature to reveal the meaning of humanity?
+How shall men be made like God?"
+
+At this question a deep hush fell around the circle, and every
+listener was still, even as the rustling leaves hang motionless when
+the light breeze falls away in the hour of sunset. Then through the
+silence, like the song of a far-away thrush from its hermitage in the
+forest, a voice came ringing: "I know it, I know it, I know it."
+
+Clear and sweet--clear as a ray of light, sweeter than the smallest
+silver bell that rang the hour of rest--was that slender voice
+floating on the odorous and translucent air. Nearer and nearer it
+came, echoing down the valley, "I know it, I know it, I know it!"
+
+Then from between the rounded hills, among which the brook of
+Brighthopes is born, appeared a young angel, a little child, with
+flying hair of gold, and green wreaths twined about his shoulders, and
+fluttering hands that played upon the air and seemed to lift him so
+lightly that he had no need of wings. As thistle-down, blown by the
+wind, dances across the water, so he came along the little stream,
+singing clear above the murmur of the brook.
+
+All the angels rose and turned to look at him with wondering eyes.
+Multitudes of others came flying swiftly to the place from which the
+strange, new song was sounding. Rank within rank, like a garden of
+living flowers, they stood along the sloping banks of the brook while
+the child-angel floated into the midst of them, singing:
+
+"I know it, I know it, I know it! Man shall be made like God because
+the Son of God shall become a man."
+
+At this all the angels looked at one another with amazement, and
+gathered more closely about the child-angel, as those who hear
+wonderful news.
+
+"How can this be?" they asked. "How is it possible that the Son of God
+should be a man?"
+
+"I do not know," said the young angel. "I only know that it is to be."
+
+"But if he becomes a man," said Raphael, "he will be at the mercy
+of men; the cruel and the wicked will have power upon him; he will
+suffer."
+
+"I know it," answered the young angel, "and by suffering he will
+understand the meaning of all sorrow and pain; and he will be able to
+comfort every one who cries; and his own tears will be for the healing
+of sad hearts; and those who are healed by him will learn for his sake
+to be kind to each other."
+
+"But if the Son of God is a true man," said Uriel, "he must first be
+a child, simple, and lowly, and helpless. It may be that he will never
+gain the learning of the schools. The masters of earthly wisdom will
+despise him and speak scorn of him."
+
+"I know it," said the young angel, "but in meekness will he answer
+them; and to those who become as little children he will give the
+heavenly wisdom that comes, without seeking, to the pure and gentle
+of heart."
+
+"But if he becomes a man," said Michael, "evil men will hate and
+persecute him: they may even take his life, if they are stronger than
+he."
+
+"I know it," answered the young angel, "they will nail him to a cross.
+But when he is lifted up, he will draw all men unto him, for he will
+still be the Son of God, and no heart that is open to love can help
+loving him, since his love for men is so great that he is willing to
+die for them."
+
+"But how do you know these things?" cried the other angels. "Who are
+you?"
+
+"I am the Christmas angel," he said. "At first I was sent as the dream
+of a little child, a holy child, blessed and wonderful, to dwell in
+the heart of a pure virgin, Mary of Nazareth. There I was hidden till
+the word came to call me back to the throne of the King, and tell
+me my name, and give me my new message. For this is Christmas day on
+Earth, and to-day the Son of God is born of a woman. So I must fly
+quickly, before the sun rises, to bring the good news to those happy
+men who have been chosen to receive them."
+
+As he said this, the young angel rose, with arms outspread, from the
+green meadow of Peacefield and, passing over the bounds of Heaven,
+dropped swiftly as a shooting-star toward the night shadow of the
+Earth. The other angels followed him--a throng of dazzling forms,
+beautiful as a rain of jewels falling from the dark-blue sky. But
+the child-angel went more swiftly than the others, because of the
+certainty of gladness in his heart.
+
+And as the others followed him they wondered who had been favoured
+and chosen to receive the glad tidings.
+
+"It must be the Emperor of the World and his counsellors," they
+thought. But the flight passed over Rome.
+
+"It may be the philosophers and the masters of learning," they
+thought. But the flight passed over Athens.
+
+"Can it be the High Priest of the Jews, and the elders and the
+scribes?" they thought. But the flight passed over Jerusalem.
+
+It floated out over the hill country of Bethlehem; the throng of
+silent angels holding close together, as if perplexed and doubtful;
+the child-angel darting on far in advance, as one who knew the way
+through the darkness.
+
+The villages were all still: the very houses seemed asleep; but in one
+place there was a low sound of talking in a stable, near to an inn--a
+sound as of a mother soothing her baby to rest.
+
+All over the pastures on the hillsides a light film of snow had
+fallen, delicate as the veil of a bride adorned for the marriage; and
+as the child-angel passed over them, alone in the swiftness of his
+flight, the pure fields sparkled round him, giving back his radiance.
+
+And there were in that country shepherds abiding in the fields,
+keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo! the angel of the
+Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them,
+and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them: "Fear not;
+for behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy which shall be to
+all nations. For unto you is 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."
+
+And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly
+host, praising God and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on
+earth peace, good-will toward men." And the shepherds said one to
+another: "Let us now go, even to Bethlehem, and see this thing which
+is come to pass."
+
+So I said within myself that I also would go with the shepherds, even
+to Bethlehem. And I heard a great and sweet voice, as of a bell, which
+said, "Come!" And when the bell had sounded twelve times, I awoke; and
+it was Christmas morn; and I knew that I had been in a dream.
+
+Yet it seemed to me that the things which I had heard were true.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+A LITTLE ESSAY
+
+
+
+
+CHRISTMAS-GIVING AND CHRISTMAS-LIVING
+
+I
+
+
+The custom of exchanging presents on a certain day in the year is very
+much older than Christmas, and means very much less. It has obtained
+in almost all ages of the world, and among many different nations.
+It is a fine thing or a foolish thing, as the case may be; an
+encouragement to friendliness, or a tribute to fashion; an expression
+of good nature, or a bid for favour; an outgoing of generosity, or
+a disguise of greed; a cheerful old custom, or a futile old farce,
+according to the spirit which animates it and the form which it takes.
+
+But when this ancient and variously interpreted tradition of a day
+of gifts was transferred to the Christmas season, it was brought
+into vital contact with an idea which must transform it, and with an
+example which must lift it up to a higher plane. The example is the
+life of Jesus. The idea is unselfish interest in the happiness of
+others.
+
+The great gift of Jesus to the world was himself. He lived with and
+for men. He kept back nothing. In every particular and personal gift
+that he made to certain people there was something of himself that
+made it precious.
+
+For example, at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, it was his thought for
+the feelings of the giver of the feast, and his wish that every guest
+should find due entertainment, that lent the flavour of a heavenly
+hospitality to the wine which he provided.
+
+When he gave bread and fish to the hungry multitude who had followed
+him out among the hills by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were
+refreshed and strengthened by the sense of the personal care of Jesus
+for their welfare, as much as by the food which he bestowed upon them.
+It was another illustration of the sweetness of "a dinner of herbs,
+where love is."
+
+The gifts of healing which he conferred upon many different kinds of
+sufferers were, in every case, evidences that Jesus was willing to
+give something of himself, his thought, his sympathy, his vital power,
+to the men and women among whom he lived. Once, when a paralytic was
+brought to Jesus on a bed, he surprised everybody, and offended many,
+by giving the poor wretch the pardon of his sins, before he gave new
+life to his body. That was just because Jesus thought before he gave;
+because he desired to satisfy the deepest need; because in fact he
+gave something of himself in every gift. All true Christmas-giving
+ought to be after this pattern.
+
+Not that it must all be solemn and serious. For the most part it deals
+with little wants, little joys, little tokens of friendly feeling. But
+the feeling must be more than the token; else the gift does not really
+belong to Christmas.
+
+It takes time and effort and unselfish expenditure of strength to make
+gifts in this way. But it is the only way that fits the season.
+
+The finest Christmas gift is not the one that costs the most money,
+but the one that carries the most love.
+
+
+II
+
+But how seldom Christmas comes--only once a year; and how soon it is
+over--a night and a day! If that is the whole of it, it seems not
+much more durable than the little toys that one buys of a fakir on the
+street-corner. They run for an hour, and then the spring breaks, and
+the legs come off, and nothing remains but a contribution to the dust
+heap.
+
+But surely that need not and ought not to be the whole of
+Christmas--only a single day of generosity, ransomed from the dull
+servitude of a selfish year,--only a single night of merry-making,
+celebrated in the slave-quarters of a selfish race! If every gift
+is the token of a personal thought, a friendly feeling, an unselfish
+interest in the joy of others, then the thought, the feeling, the
+interest, may remain after the gift is made.
+
+The little present, or the rare and long-wished-for gift (it matters
+not whether the vessel be of gold, or silver, or iron, or wood, or
+clay, or just a small bit of birch bark folded into a cup), may carry
+a message something like this:
+
+"I am thinking of you to-day, because it is Christmas, and I wish you
+happiness. And to-morrow, because it will be the day after Christmas,
+I shall still wish you happiness; and so on, clear through the year.
+I may not be able to tell you about it every day, because I may be
+far away; or because both of us may be very busy; or perhaps because I
+cannot even afford to pay the postage on so many letters, or find the
+time to write them. But that makes no difference. The thought and the
+wish will be here just the same. In my work and in the business of
+life, I mean to try not to be unfair to you or injure you in any way.
+In my pleasure, if we can be together, I would like to share the fun
+with you. Whatever joy or success comes to you will make me glad.
+Without pretense, and in plain words, good-will to you is what I mean,
+in the Spirit of Christmas."
+
+It is not necessary to put a message like this into high-flown
+language, to swear absolute devotion and deathless consecration. In
+love and friendship, small, steady payments on a gold basis are better
+than immense promissory notes. Nor, indeed, is it always necessary to
+put the message into words at all, nor even to convey it by a tangible
+token. To feel it and to act it out--that is the main thing.
+
+There are a great many people in the world whom we know more or less,
+but to whom for various reasons we cannot very well send a Christmas
+gift. But there is hardly one, in all the circles of our acquaintance,
+with whom we may not exchange the touch of Christmas life.
+
+In the outer circles, cheerful greetings, courtesy, consideration;
+in the inner circles, sympathetic interest, hearty congratulations,
+honest encouragement; in the inmost circle, comradeship, helpfulness,
+tenderness,--
+
+  "_Beautiful friendship tried by sun and wind
+  Durable from the daily dust of life._"
+
+After all, Christmas-living is the best kind of Christmas-giving.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+A SHORT CHRISTMAS SERMON
+
+
+
+
+KEEPING CHRISTMAS
+
+    ROMANS, xiv, 6: _He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto
+    the Lord._
+
+It is a good thing to observe Christmas day. The mere marking of times
+and seasons, when men agree to stop work and make merry together, is
+a wise and wholesome custom. It helps one to feel the supremacy of the
+common life over the individual life. It reminds a man to set his own
+little watch, now and then, by the great clock of humanity which runs
+on sun time.
+
+But there is a better thing than the observance of Christmas day, and
+that is, keeping Christmas.
+
+Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to
+remember what other people have done for you; to ignore what the world
+owes you, and to think what you owe the world; to put your rights
+in the background, and your duties in the middle distance, and your
+chances to do a little more than your duty in the foreground; to see
+that your fellow-men are just as real as you are, and try to look
+behind their faces to their hearts, hungry for joy; to own that
+probably the only good reason for your existence is not what you are
+going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life; to
+close your book of complaints against the management of the universe,
+and look around you for a place where you can sow a few seeds of
+happiness--are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you
+can keep Christmas.
+
+Are you willing to stoop down and consider the needs and the desires
+of little children; to remember the weakness and loneliness of people
+who are growing old; to stop asking how much your friends love you,
+and ask yourself whether you love them enough; to bear in mind the
+things that other people have to bear on their hearts; to try to
+understand what those who live in the same house with you really
+want, without waiting for them to tell you; to trim your lamp so that
+it will give more light and less smoke, and to carry it in front
+so that your shadow will fall behind you; to make a grave for your
+ugly thoughts, and a garden for your kindly feelings, with the gate
+open--are you willing to do these things even for a day? Then you can
+keep Christmas.
+
+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.
+
+And if you keep it for a day, why not always?
+
+But you can never keep it alone.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+TWO CHRISTMAS PRAYERS
+
+
+
+
+A CHRISTMAS PRAYER FOR THE HOME
+
+
+  Father of all men, look upon our family,
+  Kneeling together before Thee,
+  And grant us a true Christmas.
+
+  With loving heart we bless Thee:
+    For the gift of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ,
+    For the peace He brings to human homes,
+    For the good-will He teaches to sinful men,
+    For the glory of Thy goodness shining in His face.
+
+  With joyful voice we praise Thee:
+    For His lowly birth and His rest in the manger,
+    For the pure tenderness of His mother Mary,
+    For the fatherly care that protected Him,
+    For the Providence that saved the Holy Child
+      To be the Saviour of the world.
+
+  With deep desire we beseech Thee:
+    Help us to keep His birthday truly,
+    Help us to offer, in His name, our Christmas prayer.
+
+  From the sickness of sin and the darkness of doubt,
+  From selfish pleasures and sullen pains,
+  From the frost of pride and the fever of envy,
+    God save us every one, through the blessing of Jesus.
+
+  In the health of purity and the calm of mutual trust,
+  In the sharing of joy and the bearing of trouble,
+  In the steady glow of love and the clear light of hope,
+    God keep us every one, by the blessing of Jesus.
+
+  In praying and praising, in giving and receiving,
+  In eating and drinking, in singing and making merry,
+  In parents' gladness and in children's mirth,
+  In dear memories of those who have departed,
+  In good comradeship with those who are here,
+  In kind wishes for those who are far away,
+  In patient waiting, sweet contentment, generous cheer,
+    God bless us every one, with the blessing of Jesus.
+
+  By remembering our kinship with all men,
+  By well-wishing, friendly speaking and kindly doing,
+  By cheering the downcast and adding sunshine to daylight,
+  By welcoming strangers (poor shepherds or wise men),
+  By keeping the music of the angels' song in this home,
+    God help us every one to share the blessing of Jesus:
+  In whose name we keep Christmas:
+  And in whose words we pray together:
+
+  _Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name._
+  _Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven._
+  _Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we
+          forgive our debtors._
+  _And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:_
+  _For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
+          Amen._
+
+
+
+
+A CHRISTMAS PRAYER FOR LONELY FOLKS
+
+
+  Lord God of the solitary,
+  Look upon me in my loneliness.
+  Since I may not keep this Christmas in the home,
+  Send it into my heart.
+
+  Let not my sins cloud me in,
+  But shine through them with forgiveness in the face of the child
+          Jesus.
+  Put me in loving remembrance of the lowly lodging in the stable of
+          Bethlehem,
+  The sorrows of the blessed Mary, the poverty and exile of the
+          Prince of Peace.
+  For His sake, give me a cheerful courage to endure my lot,
+  And an inward comfort to sweeten it.
+
+  Purge my heart from hard and bitter thoughts.
+  Let no shadow of forgetting come between me and friends far away:
+  Bless them in their Christmas mirth:
+  Hedge me in with faithfulness,
+  That I may not grow unworthy to meet them again.
+
+  Give me good work to do,
+  That I may forget myself and find peace in doing it for Thee.
+  Though I am poor, send me to carry some gift to those who are
+          poorer,
+  Some cheer to those who are more lonely.
+  Grant me the joy to do a kindness to one of Thy little ones:
+  Light my Christmas candle at the gladness of an innocent and
+          grateful heart.
+
+  Strange is the path where Thou leadest me:
+  Let me not doubt Thy wisdom, nor lose Thy hand.
+  Make me sure that Eternal Love is revealed in Jesus, Thy dear Son,
+  To save us from sin and solitude and death.
+  Teach me that I am not alone,
+  But that many hearts, all round the world,
+  Join with me through the silence, while I pray in His name:
+
+  _Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name._
+  _Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven._
+  _Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we
+          forgive our debtors._
+  _And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:_
+  _For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
+          Amen._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Spirit of Christmas, by Henry Van Dyke
+
+*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14572 ***