Oh Christmastide! Oh wondrous, gladsome time! Divinity speaks, humanity answers,—and, with universal impulse, pays homage to the Bethlehem babe, the Saviour of the World!
Again the listening ear catches the refrain of angel-voices, chanting the new-old message, "Peace on earth, good-will to men." The singing waves of human want and human woe are hushed and still. Harmony pervades the air, and joy floods the world.
Shall this abide with men, this wonderful season,— enriched, as it is, with such a warmth of divine Love, such a sweet consciousness of His presence, from whom cometh down every good and perfect gift? Is it but for an hour and a day? Is it to be symbolized alone by a lower mortal sense of giving and receiving material goods and bodily adornments?
