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Show We know that Christmas is a time of faith. It is a time when lost strength and courage may be renewed in the quiet stillness still-ness of a church, in the somber darkness of a solitary room, even in the hustle and bustle bus-tle of the crowd. Hope springs eternally from the Christmas Christ-mas message and in the great example of the life and death of Christ, there is for all men the promise of a greater and a better tomorrow. There is no more significant time for all of us to count our blessings and, at Christmas, they seem to be more abundant' than ever. What is the 'Spirit of Christmas?' Have you ever wondered exactly what someone means when they express the wish that "the spirit of Christmas reach into every heart"? One thing is for sure. The spirit of Christmas cannot be summed up in a single word. It encompasses joy, peace, faith, hope, and gratitude as a mere beginning. Christians', of course, rejoice in the true meaning of Christmas. It is the birthday of the Saviour-an anniversary of the day on which the Christ Child appeared on earth to show mankind the route to eternal salvation. sal-vation. We know that Christmas is, essentially, a time of peace. The coming of Christmas has never put an end to a major war or even a minor skirmish, but almost invariably invari-ably it does cause men to pause, to think and, more often than not, to pray for peace. If the spirit of Christmas abounded all year long, there would be no wars. |