What is Christmas?

7. GOODWILL...let the whole world send back the song which now the angels sing.
8. LOVE...how silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given...
9. PERSEVERANCE...we got into a drifting bank, and whee we got upsought...
10. WONDER...O holy night, the stars are brightly shining.
11. GLORY...Angels we have heard on high, sweetly singing o'er the plains, and the mountains in reply, echo back their joyous strains.
12. JOY...fields and floods, rock, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy.

There is nothing sadder in this world than to awaken Christmas morning and not be a child. Not to feel the cold on your bare feet as you rush to the Christmas tree in the living room. Not to have your eyes sparkle at the wonderment of discovery. Not to rip the ribbons off the shiny boxes with such abandon.

A child of Christmas doesn't have to be a toddler or a teen. A child of Christmas is anyone who believes that kings have birthdays. Children of Christmas are givers. That's what the day is for. They give thanks, love, gratitude, joy, and themselves to one another. How sad indeed to awaken on Christmas and not be a child. Time, self-pity, apathy, bitterness, and exhaustion can take the Christmas out of the child, but you cannot take the child out of Christmas.

During this holiday season, follow the twelve steps of Christmas. Practice these principles not only during this most holy period, but throughout the year. You too, can become a child of Christmas.

I crept to the window and looked out across the snow shrouded fields, and there witnessed the magical power of midnight. The star rained down its fire and the majesty and beauty of life were renewed.