Christmas


A Christmas wish-
May you never forget
what is worth remembering
or remember
what is best forgotten.
-Irish

 

A Merry Christmas this December
To a lot of folks I don't remember.
-Franklin P. Adams, 1922

 

"As fits the holy Christmas birth,
Be this, good friends, our carol still-
Be peace on earth, be peace on earth,
To men of gentle will."
-William Makepeace Thackeray

 

At Christmas play and make good cheer
For Christmas comes but once a year.
-Thomas Tusser

 

Be merry all, be merry all,
With holly dress the festive hall,
Prepare the song, the feast, the ball,
To welcome Merry Christmas.

 

"Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love."
-Hamilton Wright Mabie

 

Christmas is here,
Merry old Christmas,
Gift-bearing, heart-touching, joy-bringing Christmas,
Day of grand memories, king of the year."
-Washington Irving

 

"Heap on more wood!-the wind is chill
But let it whistle as it will,
We'll keep our Christmas merry still."
-Sir Walter Scott

 

Here's to the holly with its bright red berry.
Here's to Christmas, let's make it merry.

 

Here's to the day of good will, cold weather, and warm hearts!

 

Here's to us all!
God bless us every one!
-Tiny Tim's toast,
from A Christmas Carol by
Charles Dickens

 

Or, for those who would like to savor the entire incident:

At last the dinner was all done, the cloth cleared, the hearth swept, and the fire made up. The compound in the jug being tasted, and considered perfect, apples and oranges were put upon the table, and a shovelful of chestnuts on the fire. Then all the Cratchit family drew around the hearth in what Bob Cratchit called a circle, meaning half a one; and at Bob Cratchit's elbow stood the family display of glass. Two tumblers and a custard-cup without a handle. These held the hot stuff from the jug, however, as well as golden goblets would have done; and Bob served it out with beaming looks, while the chestnuts on the fire sputtered and crackled noisily. Then Bob proposed:

"A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us!"
Which the family re-echoed.
"God bless us every one!" said Tiny Tim, the last of all.
-Charles Dickens,
A Christmas Carol

 

Here's wishing you more happiness
Than all my words can tell,
Not just alone for Christmas
But for all the year as well.

 

Holly and ivy hanging up
And something wet in every cup.
-Irish

 

I have always thought of Christmas as a good time; a kind, forgiving, generous, pleasant time; a time when men and women seem by one consent to open their hearts freely; and so I say "God bless Christmas."
-Charles Dickens

 

I know I've wished you this before But every year I wish it more, A Merry Christmas.
-From an old postcard

 

I wish you a Merry Christmas And a Happy New Year A pocket full of money And a cellar full of beer!

 

Joy to the world-and especially to you.

 

May the Virgin and her Child lift your latch on Christmas night.
-Irish. This refers to the old Irish custom
of leaving the door unbolted and a candle in the
window for Mary on her way to Bethlehem.

 

May you be as contented as Christmas finds you all the year round.
-Irish

 

May you be poor in misfortune this Christmas
and rich in blessings
slow to make enemies
quick to make friends
and rich or poor, slow or quick,
as happy as the New Year is long.
-Irish

 

May you be the first house in the parish to welcome St. Nicholas.
-Irish

 

May you never be without a drop at Christmas.
-Irish

 

May your corn stand high as yourself, your fields grow bigger with rain, and the mare know its own way home on Christmas night.
-Irish

 

May you live as long as you Wish, and have all you Wish as long as you live. This is my Christmas Wish for you.

 

May your sheep all have lambs but not on Christmas night.
-Irish

 

Peace and plenty for many a Christmas to come.
-Irish

 

Then let us be merry and taste the good cheer, And remember old Christmas comes but once a year.
-From an old Christmas carol

 

'Twas the month after Christmas,
And Santa had flit;
Came there tidings for father
Which read: "Please remit!"