This is a compilation of thoughts and quotes that I have found or written recently, as well as many that I've collected throughout the years. Most thoughts are posted randomly, as I feel inspired. A listing of quotes can be found alphabetically (check the 2008 and 2009 archives listing), or by source.

Feel free to suggest additions!


“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7

Friday, December 12, 2008

Christmas Quotes

1. The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. - Burton Hillis

2. I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys. - Charles Dickens

3. Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. -Norman Vincent Peale

4. He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. - Roy L. Smith

5. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
- Isaiah 7:14

6. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist… - Francis P. Church’s editorial in the New York Sun

7. Christmas, my child, is love in action. Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas. – Dale Evans Rogers

8. “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store, Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more!” - From Dr. Seuss' 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

9. Then Bob proposed: `A Merry Christmas to us all, my dears. God bless us.' Which all the family re-echoed. `God bless us every one.' said Tiny Tim, the last of all. - from Charles Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'

10. Were earth a thousand times as fair, Beset with gold and jewels rare,
She yet were far too poor to be, A narrow cradle, Lord, for Thee. - Martin Luther

11. “No.” Mr. Kringle shook his head. Christmas isn’t just a day. It’s a frame of mind.” -Valentine Davies, 'Miracle on 34th Street'

12. We honor on His day of birth, The Child born to bring peace on earth.
The God who was born in a stable. - from The Lord of Misrule by Norah Lofts

13. His eyes - how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! - Clement C. Moore, ' Visit from St. Nicholas'

14. So we will not “spend” Christmas… nor “observe” Christmas. We will “keep” Christmas –keep it as it is… in all the loveliness of its traditions. - Peter Marshall

15. Of all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi. - O. Henry, 'Gifts of the Magi'

16. Happy, happy Christmas that can win us back to the delusions of our childish days; that can recall to the old man the pleasures of his youth; that can transport the sailor and the traveler, thousands of miles away, back to his own fire-side and his quiet home! - Charles Dickens, 'The Pickwick Papers'

17. And numerous indeed are the hearts to which Christmas brings a brief season of happiness and enjoyment. - Charles Dickens, 'The Pickwick Papers'

18. What can I give Him, Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man I would do my part
Yet what can I give Him?
Give my heart.
- Christina Rossetti

19. 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. - Luke 2:7

20. A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!” cried a cheerful voice. “Bah!” said Scrooge, “Humbug!” - Charles Dickens, 'A Christmas Carol'

21. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. - Luke 2:13-14

22. O Father, may that holy Star grow every year more bright,
And send its glorious beam afar to fill the world with light.
- William Cullen Bryant

23. Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long…. So hallow’d and gracious is that time. - William Shakespeare, 'Hamlet'

24. But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night." - Clement C. Moore, ' Visit from St. Nicholas'

25. There seems a magic in the very name of Christmas. - Charles Dickens

26. Christmas is not a season. It is a feeling. - Edna Ferber

27. Christmas is doing a little something extra for someone. - Charles Schultz

28. Christmas - that magic blanket that wraps itself about us, that something so intangible that it is like a fragrance. It may weave a spell of nostalgia. Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance - a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved. - Augusta E. Rundell

29. It is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child Himself. - Charles Dickens

30. A good conscience is a continual Christmas. - Benjamin Franklin

31. If we are to have the very best Christmas ever, we must listen for the sound of sandaled feet. We must reach out for the Carpenter's hand. With every step we take in His footsteps, we abandon a doubt and gain a truth. - Thomas S. Monson

32. What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace. - Agnes M. Pharo

33. When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness. - Bob Hope

34. I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world. - Norman Vincent Peale

35. As we struggle with shopping lists and invitations, compounded by December's bad weather, it is good to be reminded that there are people in our lives who are worth this aggravation, and people to whom we are worth the same. - Donald E. Westlake

36. To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world. - Calvin Coolidge

37. Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart...filled it, too, with melody that would last forever. - Bess Streeter Aldrich

38. Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we're here for something else besides ourselves. - Eric Sevareid

39. When Christ entered our world, he didn't come just to brighten our Decembers, but to transform our lives. - Rich Miller

40. Santa Claus brought me presents, but Christ gave His life for me. - Becky Kelley

41. The only real blind person at Christmas-time is he who has not Christmas in his heart. - Helen Keller

42. Christmas! The very word brings joy to our hearts. No matter how we may dread the rush, the long Christmas lists for gifts and cards to be bought and given--when Christmas Day comes there is still the same warm feeling we had as children, the same warmth that enfolds our hearts and our homes. - Joan Winmill Brown

43. Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time. - Laura Ingalls Wilder

44. Heap on the wood!-the wind is chill; But let it whistle as it will, We'll keep our Christmas merry still. - Sir Walter Scott

45. The magic of Christmas is not in the presents, but in His presence. - Unknown

46. It is the one season of the year when we can lay aside all gnawing worry, indulge in sentiment without censure, assume the carefree faith of childhood, and just plain "have fun." Whether they call it Yuletide, Noel, Weinachten, or Christmas, people around the earth thirst for its refreshment as the desert traveler for the oasis. - D. D. Monroe

47. Christmas is not in tinsel and lights and outward show. The secret lies in an inner glow. It's lighting a fire inside the heart. Good will and joy a vital part. It's higher thought and a greater plan. It's glorious dream in the soul of man. - Wilfred A Peterson

48. This is Christmas: not the tinsel, not the giving and receiving, not even the carols, but the humble heart that receives anew the wondrous gift, the Christ. - Frank McKibben

49. What will you and I give for Christmas this year? Let us in our lives give to our Lord and Savior the gift of gratitude by living His teachings and following in His footsteps. It was said of Him that He 'went about doing good.' As we do likewise, the Christmas spirit will be ours. - Thomas S. Monson

50. Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen. - Unknown

51. There has been only one Christmas - the rest are anniversaries. - W.J. Cameron

52. Christmas means ‘giving,’ and the gift without the giver is bare. Give of yourselves; give of your substance; give of your heart and mind. Christmas means ‘compassion and love’ and, most of all ‘forgiveness’...How poor indeed would be our lives without the influence of His teachings and His matchless example. He whose birth we commemorate this season is more than the symbol of a holiday. He is the Son of God, the Redeemer of mankind, the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace. - Gordon B. Hinckley

53. There is no better time than now, this very Christmas season, for all of us to rededicate ourselves to the principles taught by Jesus the Christ. It is the time to love the Lord our God with all our heart — and our neighbors as ourselves. It is well to remember that he who gives money gives much, he who gives time gives more, but he who gives of himself gives all. Let this be a description of our Christmas gifts. - Thomas S. Monson 

54. Christmas is not just a day, an event to be observed and speedily forgotten. It is a spirit which should permeate every part of our lives. - William Parks

55. My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that? - Bob Hope

56. Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.- Mary Ellen Chase

57. Christmas can be celebrated in the school room with pine trees, tinsel and reindeers, but there must be no mention of the man whose birthday is being celebrated. One wonders how a teacher would answer if a student asked why it was called Christmas. - Ronald Reagan


58. By C.S. Lewis:

 Look for Christ and you will find Him. And with Him, everything else.

Among the oxen 
(like an ox I'm slow) 
I see a glory in the stable grow
Which, with the ox's dullness 
might at length
Give me an ox's strength

Among the asses 
(stubborn I as they)
I see my Savior 
where I looked for hay;
So may my beast like folly 
learn at least
The patience of a beast

Among the sheep 
(I like a sheep have strayed) 
I watch the manger 
where my Lord is laid; 
Oh that my baa-ing nature 
would win thence 
Some woolly innocence! 

"Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world." 

"Exmas and Christmas are not the same. The pictures which are stamped on the Exmas-cards have nothing to do with the sacred story..."

"Always winter and never Christmas; think of that! How awful!" said Lucy.
from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

"Can it really be my duty to buy and receive masses of junk every winter just to help the shopkeepers?"

"The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God."

59.
Christmas is most truly Christmas when we celebrate it by giving the light of love to those who need it most. - Ruth Carter Stapleton

60. Christmas gift suggestions: To your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. - Oren Arnold

61. "Credit cards... long lines waiting for Santas... incessant, loud commercials shouting "Buy! buy! buy!... plastic reindeer and neon elves... Somewhere, underneath the din, lies a forgotten Christmas. It's nothing tangible, but you can smell it in the spicy scent of wassail, see it in the eyes of anxious children, and feel it in the warmth of a crackling fire." - Kurt Bestor

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