Spirit of Christmas, then and now

The wonderful thing about Christmas is that it has never changed. Let us hope it never will.

A lot of things about Christmas have changed. The wrappings are fussier. The trees come now in almost any color and almost any material, including natural.

The toys are more and more elaborate, more and more warlike. And there has been a population explosion in the number of Santas to be seen in stores and on the streets.

But these are not Christmas. They are only the trappings of Christmas. The real Christmas is the Christmas spirit — the joy of planning and saving and even sacrificing to bring pleasure to someone very dear to you or to someone you may not even know.

It is the light in a child’s face on Christmas morn when he sees what love has brought him — love that so many times transcends and overcomes the limitation of material circumstances.

It is the kindness and generosity of those who wish to share their blessings with others less fortunate.

It is the gaiety and confusion of young folks home from school. It is the hustle and bustle of shopping, of last-minute errands, of remembering just in time a gift or card for someone you can’t see how you almost forgot to remember.

Christmas is the delicious tinge of nostalgia as you open Christmas cards from friends you never hear from at any other time, and the realization of how much you miss them.

Christmas is the Christmas tree and the fuss and bother of trimming it.

It is the hush of expectancy on Christmas Eve, the peal of church bells and the glitter of outdoor lights up and down the streets.

Most of all. Christmas is the reverence and the gratitude we feel deep down beneath it all, even though we may not show it or scarcely realize it.

No, Christmas has never changed. Let us hope it never will. The Christmas spirit is humanity at its best.

—Dec. 24, 1964, Daily Inter Lake

Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.