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diff --git a/old/14572.txt b/old/14572.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e37aaaa --- /dev/null +++ b/old/14572.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1132 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Spirit of Christmas, by Henry Van Dyke + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Spirit of Christmas + +Author: Henry Van Dyke + +Release Date: January 3, 2005 [EBook #14572] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS *** + + + + +Produced by Robert Cicconetti, William Flis, and the PG Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + + + + +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 THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS *** + +***** This file should be named 14572.txt or 14572.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/4/5/7/14572/ + +Produced by Robert Cicconetti, William Flis, and the PG Online +Distributed Proofreading Team. + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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