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1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 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.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
The Christmas rose isn�t really a rose at all, but is related to the buttercup. It has been used as a medicine and a poison for thousands of years. From Egypt it was taken to early Greece and used to treat epilepsy, gout, and mental disorders.
One early legend says a little shepherd girl wept because she had no gift for the Babe on the night of the Nativity. An angel took pity on her and commanded the Helleborus niger, which grew nearby, to blossom. It did, for the first time ever, and the little girl gathered an armful and took them to the stable in Bethlehem. She was exalted when the Babe turned from the gifts of the Magi and reached for the flowers.
by Clement Clarke Moore
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that ST. NICHOLAS soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;
"Now, DASHER! now, DANCER! now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! on CUPID! on, DONDER and BLITZEN!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of toys, and St. Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my hand, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.
His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;
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 a little round belly,
That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"HAPPY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD-NIGHT."
by James Rice
�Twas the night before Christmas, in the cold wintry fog.
Nary a critter was movin�, nor a lone prairie dog.
Then from out of the north the breeze gave a stir;
An icy cold blast swirled the fog in a blur.
A blue Texas norther roared over the plains.
The cold fairly whistled through the loose winderpanes.
I poked at the farplace to stir up a flame-
The embers glowed redder, but the cold stayed the same.
Ma fixed up our dinner to be ready next day
And thought about Christmas a few hours away.
Our scuffed boots were assembled on the floor pair by pair
Where Santy would find �em, for he soon would be there.
The younguns were bundled down snug in their covers,
A sprout of a girl and her two older brothers.
So me in my long johns and Ma in her gown
Warmed up by the far �fore we laid ourselves down.
Then from out on the range there came such a ruckus,
I ran to the winder to see what the fuss was.
Through the blue winter blizzard a scene came to sight;
I squinted to see, for there waren�t much light.
There stompin� and snortin� and pawin� the ground
Were eight scroungy longhorns stampedin� around
In front of a wagon piled full as could be
With boxes and bundles as high as a tree.
Then a bellerin� yell soon set them all straight
From a fat li�l ole ramrod who put fear in the eight.
Well, they waren�t really scairt- no harm would he cause-
For their longhorn head honcho was old Santy Claus!
He got their attention and called them by name,
�Hey, Leadfoot and Waleye- git up there, Culhane!
�Come on, Gimp and Flopear and Scarface - start draggin�,
Git on, Sam and High-Hips, let�s move this here wagon!�
Old Leadfoot, he bellered and lifted his head,
Then straight on they trampled through Ma�s flower bed.
They laid the gate flat, and the clothesline went, too.
Nothin� stood in their way as they flat-footed through.
Santy pulled them up short on top of the roof
After wrecking the porch with them clodhopper hoofs.
They rocked our sod shanty, the dirt sifted down,
And then through the chimney Santy cam with a bound!
He was dressed all in rawhide with a Stetson on top.
His big Texas boots hit the floor with a clop.
He shook his great belly and stomped with each foot,
Which knocked off a shower of mud, ash, and soot.
His eyes were both squinty and his skin was like leather
From too much exposure to the raw Texas weather.
He looked tough as a horseshoe, but I felt no alarm,
�Cause a wink of his eye showed he�d do us no harm.
A feed bag of toys he flung from his back,
And with nary a word he opened the sack.
He filled all the boots and piled them up high,
Then looked out the winder and up at the sky.
The cold Texas norther still whistled and blew,
But more younguns was waitin�-
his work wasn�t through.
It was hard to just leave and walk through the door
To face all them longhorns and the cold as before.
He drank some hot mud and hunched close to the heat
To soak up the warmth and thaw his cold feet.
He could no longer dally or put off the chore,
So he gave us a wink and pushed through the door.
He prodded the longhorns to get on the go,
And the wagon took off through the fog and the snow.
He called over the norther �fore he went out of sight.
�Merry Christmas, y�heah?
And y�all have a good night!�
INDEX
I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa Says �If You see it in The Sun, it's so.� Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? Virginia O'Hanlon
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except what they see. They think that noting can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or children's, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world bout him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense an sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the would would be extinguished.
Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that's no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.
You tear apart the baby's rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart. Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real? Ah, Virginia, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.
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.
The New York Sun, September 21, 1897.
LINKS TO OTHER STORY AND CHRISTMAS PAGES
Holiday Stories
Christmas Down Under - Aussie Stories
Christmas �round the World Wide Web
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