Christmas Shoes

It was almost Christmas time, there I stood in another line

Tryin' to buy that last gift or two, not really in the Christmas mood

Standing right in front of me was a little boy waiting anxiously

Pacing 'round like little boys do

And in his hands he held a pair of shoes

His clothes were worn and old, he was dirty from head to toe

And when it came his time to pay

I couldn't believe what I heard him say

Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please

It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size

Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time

You see she's been sick for quite a while

And I know these shoes would make her smile

And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

He counted pennies for what seemed like years

Then the cashier said, "Son, there's not enough here"

He searched his pockets frantically

Then he turned and he looked at me

He said Mama made Christmas good at our house

Though most years she just did without

Tell me Sir, what am I going to do,

Somehow I've got to buy her these Christmas shoes

So I laid the money down, I just had to help him out

I'll never forget the look on his face when he said

Mama's gonna look so great

Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please

It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size

Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time

You see she's been sick for quite a while

And I know these shoes would make her smile

And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

I knew I'd caught a glimpse of heaven's love

As he thanked me and ran out

I knew that God had sent that little boy

To remind me just what Christmas is all about Sir, I want to buy these shoes for my Mama, please

It's Christmas Eve and these shoes are just her size

Could you hurry, sir, Daddy says there's not much time

You see she's been sick for quite a while

And I know these shoes would make her smile

And I want her to look beautiful if Mama meets Jesus tonight

The Other Christmas Story

The Other Christmas Story
And there were in the same country husbands and fathers keeping watch over their home by night but going to work every morning to make lots of money. And lo, the smooth-voiced TV announcer came upon them, and the Glories of many fine possessions shone out at them, and they were sore afraid they would never be able to buy all the things their families wanted.
And the TV announcer said unto them, "Fear not, for I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all fathers, mothers, children, and relatives." "For unto you there is this day, in the city where our store is, a Savior, which is our credit manager. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find this Wondrous One wrapped in red clothing, with a big stomach, and sporting white whiskers. We call him Santa Claus."
And suddenly there was with the TV announcer a multitude of TV actors, praising the store and saying,"Glory to Santa, and on earth, lots of presents for all."
And it came to pass as the TV actors faded away, the fathers and mothers said one to another, "Let us now go even unto this store which the TV announcer hath made known unto us."
And they came with haste and found glittering wristwatches, fur coats, transistor radios, electric can openers, new dresses, and also the Wondrous One, dressed in red sitting by the cash register saying "Ho ho ho."
And when they had made their purchases they spoke now among all their neighbors how they were going to have one of the best Christmases ever, but Santa Claus kept all the time contracts in his safe and pondered on all the interest he was going to collect.
Be very careful that the message of what man has to sell does not overwhelm the proclamation of what God has to Give.


What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a Shepard,
I would bring a lamb.
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part.
Yet what can I give Him?
I give Him my heart.

The Twelve Days After Christmas

The first day after Christmas,

my true love and I had a fight.
And so i chopped the pear tree down,
and burned it just for spite.
Then with a single cartridge, I shot that blasted partridge...
My true love gave to me.
The second day after Christmas,
I pulled on my old rubber gloves
And very gently rung the necks of both the turtle doves...
My true love gave to me.
The third day after Christmas, my mother caught the croup;
I had to use the three French hens to
make some chicken soup.
The four calling birds were a big mistake,
for their language was obscene.
The five gold rings were completely fake,
and they turned my fingers green.
The sixth day after Christmas,
the six geese wouldn't lay;
So i gave the whole worthless gaggle to the ASPCA.
On the seventh day, what a mess i found:
All seven of the swimming swans had drowned...
That my true love gave to me.
The eighth day after Christmas, before they could suspect,
I bundled up the eight maids a-milking,
the nine pipers piping,
The ten ladies dancing, the eleven lords a-leeping
And the twelve drummers drumming,
and sent them back collect.
I wrote my true love, "We are through, love,"
And i said in so many words,
"Furthermore, your gifts were really for the birds
... Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree."

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

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 our brains 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 tinny 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, on Donner 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 head, 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!"

The Proffesor Told A Lie

Clem grew up in a parsonage. His daddy was a preacher, then a bishop, and finally president of Columbia College. So you can understand how Clem skipped boyhood and became a scholar.
He was a professor of Biblical Learning at General Theological Seminary where he authored A Compendious Lexicon of the Hebrew Language. Not exactly a best-seller.
In 1813 Professor Clem looked up from his reading and writing long enough to discover love. He got married, started a family, and began to explore the wonderland of make-believe.
And one day he authored a false statement. If he had told it only to his children, nothing would have happened, but the meticulous professor wrote it down.
A friend of the family saw a copy and sent it to a New York newspaper. The story was copied... repeatedly.
Thousands came to believe it, and all Clem could do was hope no one ever discovered that he, the distinguished professor of languages, had written this unmitigated falsehood based on the appearance and manner of an old German handyman who worked around the professorial house.
Finally, 15 years after it was first published, with his children grown and gone, he confessed. And the whole world rose up to thank him.
Forgotten is his Compendious Lexicon. We remember Dr. Clement Clarks Moore for the one whimsical verse which embarrassed him and began... "Twas the night before Christmas..."

The Happy Parasite

It's hard to believe that anything which could bring so much joy in classified as a parasite But it's true! The technical name for this Christmas delight is literally "tree thief." But, of course, it's not all bad. Actually this fungus is good enough that Oklahoma made the decoration its official state flower.
To the early inhabitants of the British Isles, it was a magical plant and the object of worship. Some ancients wore it around the neck to ward off disease. Others stuck a sprig in their hats to guarantee good hunting.

The Japanese were convinced that it would increase crop growth and fertility. The Swiss shot it out of trees wit arrows for good luck and happy days. Italian peasants thought the happy parasite offered protection against harm in general, and fire in particular. In old England, the first cow that produced a calf after New Year's Day a bedecked with a garland of its leaves.

Our early colonists kept springs of the plant under their pillow to induce dreams of happy days to come. Young girls believed they could receive a dream-preview of their future spouses.

You know what it is? Sure you do! You've seen plenty of it, every year. No one in America expects it to drive away evil spirits or roll back prices or solve the energy crisis.
But it does enliven dull parties and offer hope to the kiss-less.
It's mistletoe.

The Day After Christmas

'Tis the day after Christmas, and out in the den
Daddy is watching pro football again.
The children are throwing and breaking their toys,
And mother is up to her ears in the noise.
The melting snow drips through a hole in the roof;
Wow... one of those reindeer sure had a big hoof.
Ribbons and wrappings are spread all around,
And we hope when they're cleared our lost boy will be found.
Santa long since disappeared in the fog,
The turkey is tasteless and the eggnog won't nog.
The holly and ivy, the tinsel and lights,
no longer bring warm glows on cold darkened nights.
Children, who were last week helpful and sweet,
Have mouths that are sassy and rooms less than neat.
Those people with faces that smiled forth like elves,
Are now once again just their grouchy old selves.
Then carols of joy and hope filled the air,
but now they are muffled by hard rock's loud blare.
The cold winds which now make Aunt Josephine freeze,
Were not even noticed on Yule shopping sprees.
Why should such a great day let us down so hard?
Is there something about Christmas that we disregard?
The babe in the manger became a great man.
He grew up to be Savior. that was God's plan.
Remember when you take down that last Christmas bough,
He'll never love more than He loves you right now.
And if we know that Christ loves us and always is near,
Then Christmas should be every day of the year.

White Christmas

In 1939 Isreal Baline composed a Christmas song, but he thought so little of it that he never showed it to anyone. He just tossed it into a trunk and didn't see fit to retrieve it until he needed it ten years later for a Bing Crosby-Fred Astaire movie, Holiday Inn.
Bing Crosby was a staunch Catholic, and at first he refused to sing the song because he felt it tended to commercialize Christmas. He finally agreed, took eighteen minutes to make the recording, and then the "throw away" song became an all-time hit.

Crosby's version had sold over 40 million copies. All together, this song had appeared in 750 versions, selling 6 million copies of sheet music and 90,000,000 recordings in the United States and Canada alone.
You might not recognize the song from the movie Holiday Inn, or from the composer, later known as Irving Berlin.

But you're bound to know it, because it's on everyone's list of Christmas favorites- "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas".



Fractured Christmas Songs

Sing along with these new takes on old favorites:

•  

• Deck the halls with Buddy Holly

• We three kings of porridge and tar

• On the first day of Christmas my tulip gave to me

• Later on we'll perspire, as we dream by the fire

• He's making a list, chicken and rice

• Noel, Noel, Barney's the king of Israel

• With the jelly host proclaim

• Olive, the other reindeer

• Frosty, the Snowman, is a ferret elf i say

• Sleep in heavenly peas

• You'll go down in Listerine

• Oh, what fun it is to ride with one horse, soap and hay

• Come, froggy faithful

• Good tidings we bring to you and your kid

Stimulating Seasonal Songs From Roget's Thesaurus

Listen, the celestial messengers pronounce harmonious sounds. - Hark The Herald Angels Sing
Nocturnal time span of unbroken quietness. - Silent Night
An emotion excited by the expectation of good given to this sphere. - Joy To The World
Embellish the interior passageways. - Deck The Halls
Exalted heavenly beings to whom mankind harkened. - Angels We Have Heard On High
Twelve o'clock on a clement night witnessed its arrival. - It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
The Christmas proceeding all others. - The First Noel
Small municipality in Judea southeast of Jerusalem. - O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Diminutive master of skin-covered percussionist cylinders. - The Little Drummer Boy
Supreme being who elicits respite to ecstatic distinguished males. - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
In awe of nocturnal time span characterized by religiosity. - O Holy Night
Geographic state of fantasy during Mother Nature's dormancy. - Winter Wonderland
Tintinnabulation of vacillating pendulums in resonant cups. - Carol Of The Bells
Proceed declaring upon a specific geological alpine formation. - Go Tell It On The Mountain
Move hither ward the assembly of those who are loyal in their belief. - O Come All Ye Faithful

Murphy's Law... Christmas Style

• The time it takes to find a parking space it inversely proportional to the time you have to spend.
• The more expensive a breakable gift is, the better the chances of dropping it.
• The other line always moves faster.
• Un-assembled toys will have twice as many screws as you expect, and some will always be left over.
• Interchangeable parts aren't.
• All children have built-in detection devices when it comes to finding the Christmas gifts you've so cleverly hidden.
• Amnesia strikes all family members when the Scotch tape and scissors are needed.
• When a broken toy is demonstrated for the store manager, it works perfectly.

J15 Winter

"Which of the four seasons do you most anticipate?"

Winter, mostly. i love the cold weather, the ice and snow. i like wrapping up in blankets and sitting by the fire. Christmas is great, but winter lasts a long time past Christmas. i prefer cold weather, and i like cloudy days. i spend more time inside, ususlly with people, and i like that :) Winter usually ins't very busy for me, after the holidays. Its nice to have a break for a while.
i also like late spring, the sunshine and warmth, but thats another post :)


What is your favorite season?