Keeping Christmas....

 "Christmas waves a magic wand over this world,  and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." (N. V. Peele)

 "It is Christmas every time you let God love others thru you. Yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother and offer him your hand." (Mother Teresa)

 "Be humble, be gentle in every way. Be patient with each other, and lovingly accept each other." (Ephesians 4:2)

 "Christmas is Love in action....." ( D. Evans)

 "Mankind is a great, immense family.This is proved by what we feel at Christmas. "
                         (Pope John XXIII)

 "The joy of brightening other lives, bearing each others' burdens,easing each others' loads and supplanting empty hearts and lives with generous gifts becomes for us the magic of the holidays." (W.C. Jones)

 "Somehow we just don't make the same boisterous fun of a  Holy Week as we do of Christmas. No one plans to have a holly jolly Easter...." (Frederica Matthewes-Green)

 "Live the full life of the mind.Exhilarated by new ideas, Intoxicated by the romance of the unusual. " (Ernest Hemingway)

 "Christmas is the day that holds all time together." ( Alexander Smith)

 "Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing, but for reflecting. ( Winston Churchill)

 "I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. " ( Charles Dickens)

On this Eve of all nights......

        On this Eve of all nights. Phantoms settle on snow.  Lights burn. Making their presence known. On this Eve. This night .

 Ice veils the night. This Eve above all. This Eve where peace is prayed for.  And Hope above all.

 Candles shine. Lit through the dark. This night of all nights.

 Ancient evergreens loom. Treasures of gold, myrrh and frankincense.

 Midnight black, light  comes into day. Light banishes dark.

 And the Eve is still. On this Eve of all nights....

 We scuffle down our earthly paths. In chorus. Listening to see whose voice is sweeter.

 Haunting snow  cascades.Smashes against  the world outside. And yet we sing on.

 Cold and dark we make our way. On this Eve of all nights....

 Wondering if we will find it. Wondering if we dare hope.

 On this Eve of all nights.

 Will all be transparent.

 Will we be patient enough.

 To wait and Hear. To listen and wait.
                               
 And the Eve closes in. This Eve so different from all others.

 Warmless stars  sing sweet ballads. As we wait for the moment.

  Evening star rises. And leads us onwards. Ever searching.

 We are warmed by some wandering minstrel

 Who sings of hope and joy and peace. And Love.

 And this shall be a sign to us......

 The ancient words foretell. Sometimes we cannot hear .

 And you shall find. Wrapped in swaddling clothes......

 And heaven will behold, in all its Joy.

 That which brings . And we will find it. And morning will make us new.

 Day will become Light. And  night will become day. Through the  cloudless  snow.  Wandering. Whispering down.  On this Eve of all nights....