Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-12-25
Christnas Day.

To their merry peas, how the glad hearts reoouno,
And haste to the church 10 sing ahtneH Huu
prayer.
There is poetry in Christmas for the |
Christian heart. The light that threw its
halo round the Jewish shepherds, and
brought them to the crib at Bethlehem to
hear f'tidines of great Joy from the lips of
ANGELS. seems to dispense itself over the
Christian world at every recurrence Of the
festival. and illumines particularly the
hearts of the simple Children feel it in
stinctivelv, and their little hearts swell with
rapture. They know there is something in
Christmas that makes them desrer to their
parents-tllat calls forth their willing,
grateful contributions to their childish fam
cies and delights on that day. Parents,
too. feel the influence of that Light, and
those ''tidings of great joy" And whence
comes that peculiar tenderness, that alb
sorption. we might call it, of their whole
nature, in the Juvenile felicities of their
Young household? Is it not a ray reflected
from the brightness of Mary's bosom, as,
with rapturous devotion, she gazed on her
new-born?-t hight of Israel-her son,
her God-the Lord Jesus Christi
The "Son of Man is born, and man re-
ioices thereat that Son of Man came to
give W lA4O hOtAu, ehAiA a JSg
fills the heart Of the Christian. His coming
is heraldedby the celestial choirs of angels,
and mans heart responds to the glorious
chant, ''Glory to God on high, and on earth
peace 10 Ieen of good will !" Thus light,
ioy and nlz.sic were furnished by Heaven
10 inauCurate the mystery Of man sredemp-
ton, and earth, under Heavens inspiration,
responds with light, music and joy-all
-, ha M IF Aha 1axvnfa1
children of God. who crowd the church on
this blessed Christmas morning, to re-echo
the heavenly sounds heard eighteen hundred
years ago in Judea.
Here we have the origin of Christmas
Day-the Wise Men coming from the East
to adore the newborn King, whom they
found lying in manager in a stable at
Bethlehem, and to whom they presented
rich gifts, consisting of gold, frankincense
and myrrh. For nearly three hundred years
the Christians celebrated this day in the
Catacombs of Rome, or in secluded places
elsewhere, but as soon as Constantine the
Great recognized the right of Christians to
worship their God, and to build temples to
His honor. then it was that they assembled
en- r1asse to celebrate the festival with the
ponp andmagnifcence becoming the birth
OF OuI DdNAOul. AJOO4l SLiO4OeAlpA l4p4Co
were erected over the then Christian world,
and now we read of the 'joy bells of
Christmas" calling the people together to
hear the ''glad tidings of great JOY"
Who will deny that even the few church
bells we have here give forth joyous
music; but what would our readers think
of the numerous chimes in the old coun-
| tries-hundreds of bells ringing out their
merry chimes Oh! there is music, and
light, and Joy, in many heart, and many
household in Europe, as they hear the
merry peals of those Christmas chimes,
that tell the hour of the nativity! 1t is
nearly half a century since we last heard
them, but as we write these lines, We could
sing the notes of every chime, SO firmly are
| they impressed upon our memory The
dome of glorious old st. Peters, at Rome,
is filed with the joyful sound. The "Shep-
herds of Israel" now there assembled,
hear it, and their hearts are filed with
| Joy, whilst, in earnest desire, they watt the
blessed sound to their homes all over the
world. That sound is taken up, and in
creases in chorus from the many steeples
on the churches of the Tiber. The Alpine
| sides resound with its notes. 1t spreads
| itself over the homes of the Tueton, and
the fair land of the vine. Even the stormy
waves of the Irish sea stop not its course,
and before the echo of the sound dies
| away, the hill sides of dear Erin are COW
| cred with lines of glorious light, as the
| peasants in their picturesque dresses, with
their blazing torches, tread the well beaten
paths on every side that lead to the roman
tic mountain site, which the monks of old
had erected for their Monastery, and where
still the sacred mysteries are celebrated.
Let unbeievers say, what they will, there
is poetry in Christmas IA poetry which
reaches the hearts of all people and nations
and tongues There Is charity in Christ
mas-a charity which compels even the
miser to part with some of his superabund-
ance. There is jog in Christmas-a joy
which pervades whole communities, old and
young, rich and poor; but the Christian
alone feels that celestial joy with which the
wise men of the East and the Shepherds
were inspired on beholdingthe Saviour.
Going back again to our boyhood days,
we call to mind the Christmas carols which
we were wont to sing and listen to with
such delight One Of the most beautiful
of these we ever heard was a German
Christmas hymn, translated for, and pub
lished in the New York B'r6en.GR'S journal
some fifteen years ago. On Christmas eve,
the boys and girls, young men and maldens,
sing these carols under the windows OF their
friends and neighbors, and continue until
the midnight chimes call them to their
several churches, to assist at the commem-
Grafton of our Saviour S; birth, and sacrifice.
There is probably no loss more sensibly
felt by the immigrant to our shores than the
loss of the Christmas carols to the Cont
mental, or the midnight Mass in the most
romantic spots Of his own romantic land,
to the Irishman. They were the delight of
his boyhood, the Joy of manhood, the sol
ace of his age. The very recollection OF
them will make many warm and sorrow
ing heart young and buoyant again, this
blessed Christmas morning, fulfilling to
the letter, the lines with which we preface
these remarks.
In conclusion, trust my readers will
spend this day in becoming manner, by
being happy themselves and contributing
all in their power to make others happy.
Forget not the poor. Remember that what
seems small to you, who have abundance,
appears large to the poor, who have moth
ing. Therefore, fail not to give or send
something TO the poor and suffering in
your neighborhood, and before you leave
home, remember the carrier boy-leave
his Christmas gift. If you do this, they
will bring blessings upon you and yours,
and enable you to pass ahappy Christmas
blessing now invoked for you all, by
gs CHARLIE.