December 25, 2013

"I have no 'meditations,' suggested by this spot where the very first 'Merry Christmas!' was uttered in all the world..."

"... and from whence the friend of my childhood, Santa Claus, departed on his first journey, to gladden and continue to gladden roaring firesides on wintry mornings in many a distant land forever and forever. I touch, with reverent finger, the actual spot where the infant Jesus lay, but I think — nothing."

From Mark Twain's "Innocents Abroad," found in "The Complete Mark Twain Collection," as I search for "Christmas" in my ebooks this morning.
Posted by Ann Althouse at 8:50 AM
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1 comment:

Richard Lawrence Cohen said...

Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird of dawning singeth all night long:
And then, they say, no spirit dare stir abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm;
So hallowed and so gracious is the time.
--Hamlet, Act I, Scene 1

12/25/13, 10:01 AM

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