,transcriber's ,note    ,italic text    
displayed as3 italic          ,christmas
 ,builders          ,,books ,,by ,,dr4  
,,jefferson        ,,the ,,character    
,,of ,,jesus    ,,doctrine ,,and ,,deed 
,,the ,,minister ,,as ,,prophet    ,,the
 ,,new ,,crusade    ,,quiet ,,hints ,,to
 ,,growing ,,preachers    ,,quiet       
,,talks ,,with ,,earnest ,,people       
,,things ,,fundamental    ,,my          
,,father',s ,,business             99   
99       99       99       99           
,,christmas ,,builders    ,,faith ,,and 
,,life    ,,the ,,old ,,year ,,and ,,the
 ,,new    ,,the ,,world',s ,,christmas  
,,tree        ,,thomas ,y4 ,,crowell    
,,co4    ,,new ,,york    ,illustration3 
,to him undoubtedly has ,god committed  
the secret of  ,christmas               
,illustration3      ,christmas          
,builders      ,,by      ,,charles      
,,edward    ,,jefferson                 
,illustration3 ,decoration      ,new    
,york    ,thomas ,y4 ,crowell  ,co4     
,publishers              ,,copyright1   

#aiji1 ,,by ,,thomas ,y4 ,,crowell      
,,co4      ,,published ,,september1     
#aiji        ,d4 ,b4 ,,updike1 ,,the    
,,merrymount ,,press1 ,,boston          
,christmas ,builders      ,there was    
trouble in the land1 all on account of  
,christmas4 ,men  stood bewildered and  
women were distracted1 not knowing what 
to do4  ,the trouble was that ,christmas
 had become too small4 ,once there was  
room enough in it and to spare4 ,only a 
few of the inhabitants of the  earth    
brought their treasures into it4 ,but   
little by little the world  learned of  
the beauty of ,christmas until          
everybody1 almost1 wanted to  get into  
it1 and not only into it himself1 but he
 wanted to bring all  his relatives and 
friends1 every one of them laden with   
packages and  bundles1 until at last    
,christmas became crowded to            
suffocation4 ,there  was not room to    
turn round4 ,everybody was so huddled   
and jostled1 and  there was so much     
scrambling and pushing1 that some people

 quite  lost their temper1 and even in  
the palace of ,christmas looked sour4   
,it seems strange that the world should 
be embarrassed and really  injured by a 
desire of people to be loving and to    
manifest their  love by giving gifts1   
and yet that is the very thing which    
happened4  ,christmas became a breeder  
and disseminator of dark and ugly       
feelings4 ,it is well enough when only a
 few people make up their  mind to be   
affectionate and generous2 but when     
everybody decides to  put on the        
,christmas graces on the same day of the
 year1 the world  cannot stand the      
strain of so much goodness all at once  
expressed1  and the result is a tragedy 
almost as deep and dark for many hearts 
as if there were no ,christmas at all4  
,for in their eagerness to keep         
,christmas1 men forgot the claims of    
brotherhood4 ,they were so  zealous to  
get into the enchanted palace themselves
 that they forgot  all about their      
neighbors1 who wanted to get in also4   

,illustration3 ,men forgot the claims of
 brotherhood    ,one cannot very well   
manufacture gifts himself1 and therefore
 some  one else must make them4 ,one    
cannot carry gifts himself1--at least   
not all of them1--and therefore some one
 else must carry them4 ,as  ,christmas  
was just a day and as it came only once 
a year1 all the  days preceding         
,christmas became frenzied and feverish1
 and men and  women by the thousands    
were compelled to work so fast and      
through  such long hours that they were 
not able to reach the palace at all4    
,they had their faces in the direction  
of it1 but they were all so  jaded and  
out of breath that when the palace came 
in sight they had  not energy sufficient
 to enjoy the beauty of it1 and could   
only look  on half dazed and benumbed at
 the more fortunate mortals who had been
  able to get inside of its golden      
doors4    ,letter-carriers1 knowing by  
experience what ,christmas really was1  
began to lament long before the month of

 ,december came1 seeing in  their       
imagination the huge bundles of letters 
and papers and packages  which must be  
carried up the crowded roadway of the   
days which led to  the ,christmas       
palace4 ,expressmen also never spoke    
enthusiastically  of ,christmas1 but    
scowled at the mere mention of it1 as   
though it  were a prison instead of a   
palace1 a sort of punishment which was  
inexorably inflicted on them at the end 
of every year4 ,dressmakers  were also  
sickened even by the thought of         
,christmas1 for just before  that       
beautiful day every woman wanted a new  
coat or a new waist or  a new skirt1 and
 everybody wanted it at once1 so that   
she would be  ready for ,christmas1 the 
result being that the dressmakers and   
all  the girls in their shops were so   
driven and so roundly scolded by        
impatient and sharp-tongued customers   
that it was really difficult  on the    
twenty-fifth of ,december to feel       
charitable and forgiving and  kind to   

all4 ,christmas ,day was a palace filled
 with beautiful sights  and sounds1 but 
the fact is that many people never got  
into it1 but  sat down fagged and       
despondent at the door4 ,clerks in the  
big stores  had no good word for        
,christmas1 notwithstanding its beauty  
and its  hallowed associations4 ,some of
 them1 ,i fear1 hated it1 especially    
the young women clerks1 for the hours   
were so long and the crowds  in the     
store were so big and the air was so    
bad1 and so many of the  people were so 
unreasonable and inconsiderate and      
crotchety1 and the  cars at evening were
 so crowded and the nights seemed so    
short1 that  clerks were heard saying to
 one another1 8,won't you be glad when  
,christmas is over80    ,many children  
even grew to be afraid of ,christmas4   
,they dreaded it  as though it were a   
huge goblin or monster casting a shadow 
over  the days which preceded it4 ,the  
little delivery boys at the grocery     
stores became so weary lugging good     

things for ,christmas dinners that  they
 could not laugh real heartily or enjoy 
their own dinner when  ,christmas ,day  
came4 ,it was so late the night before  
when the last  basket was delivered that
 the boys fell into a sleep too deep    
even  for dreams4 ,they lost the rare   
and radiant pleasure which is the       
birthright of boys1--the joy of dreaming
 of what a good time is coming  on      
,christmas4 ,and as for the little girls
 who worked all day long  tying up      
bundles in the basements of the great   
stores1 they did their  best to keep    
alive in their hearts a genuine love of 
the birthday of  ,jesus1 but1 alas1 in  
many cases their heroic efforts were in 
vain4 8,i  just hate ,christmas60 said  
one little girl to another at the end of
 a  long and wearisome day4    ,things  
have indeed come to a tragic pass when a
 thought of the one  most splendid and  
gorgeous day of the entire year quenches
 the  sparkle in a child's eyes and     
crushes every feeling of ecstatic       

anticipation out of a child's heart4 ,it
 was indeed a spectacle  to cause one to
 stop and ponder1 this widespread       
shrinking and  shuddering at the very   
thought of ,christmas1 this long-drawn  
sigh of  relief when ,christmas was     
really over4    ,and when ,i looked     
around and saw how all the days         
immediately  preceding ,christmas were  
thrown into tumult and confusion in     
which  thousands of men and women and   
boys and girls were wounded1 and many   
of them hurt with an injury that was    
deep2 and when ,i looked at the  days   
succeeding ,christmas and saw them      
covered with the wreckage  which        
,christmas had created1 the holiday     
season resembling indeed  a great       
battlefield on which a terrific battle  
had been fought1  the maimed and        
bleeding lying moaning1 waiting for the 
healing  influences of a new year1 ,i   
began to ask myself1 ,what is the cause 
of  this great tragedy1 and how can     
humanity be delivered from so great a   

scourge8    ,it seemed unendurable that 
the anniversary of the birthday of      
,jesus  should be permitted to wreck the
 happiness of so many hearts and  homes4
 ,if ,christmas stands for anything it  
stands for joy4 8,peace  and good       
will0--this is the heart of ,christmas4 
,the first ,christmas  was ushered in by
 a burst of song1 and the last          
,christmas to be  celebrated on our     
planet will no doubt dawn in the same   
heavenly way4  8,peace on earth1 good   
will toward men10 so the angels sang1   
and keep  on singing1 and will continue 
to sing forever4 8,do not be afraid10   
said the visitor from the skies1 8for ,i
 bring you good tidings of  great joy40 
,fear was banished when ,jesus came1 and
 so were all the  dark and dismal       
spectres of the mind4 ,the shepherds    
were glad1 and  so were the aged saints 
in the temple1 and so were the scholars 
from the ,east1 and so was              
everybody--except ,herod--who came to   
know  of the arrival of the wonderful   

baby4 ,human hearts began to sing  when 
,jesus came1 and nothing must be allowed
 to reduce the volume or  the sweetness 
of the music4 ,what is wrong1 ,i asked1 
with ,christmas  that it has become a   
sort of discord in the harmony of the   
year8 ,why  should the one most lustrous
 day of all the months loom dark and    
terrible before so many eyes8 ,why      
should pain and sorrow flow like        
swollen and dismal streams from a day   
created by infinite love for  making    
human hearts rejoice8    ,on            
investigation ,i discovered that        
,christmas had simply become too  small 
to accommodate the ,christmas sentiment 
of the world4 ,the  dimensions of the   
palace were not sufficiently spacious to
 allow all  of us to get in without     
treading on one another4 ,one day was   
not  large enough for the celebration of
 the birth of ,jesus4 ,twenty-four      
hours were not sufficient to allow      
everybody to practise the precept  of   
,jesus1 8,it is more blessed to give    

than to receive40 ,the ,christmas  heart
 had outgrown the narrow limits of the  
,christmas day1 and the  problem of the 
world in the first decade of the        
twentieth century  was1 ,how can        
,christmas be enlarged8    ,the query   
raised a host of interesting questions  
wherever it was  propounded4 ,men began 
to ask1 ,is it possible to expand the   
limits of  ,christmas1 to extend the    
dimensions of its golden rooms1 to widen
  the area on which it stands8 ,for     
instance1 would it be possible to  make 
,christmas cover two days instead of    
one8 ,how would it do to say  that      
,christmas is the #bdth and #beth of    
,december1 or the #beth and  #bfth of   
,december8 ,at first glance one would   
declare that this is  quite impossible1 
for the reason that ,jesus was born on  
the #beth of  ,december and therefore we
 have no right to include in our        
,christmas  celebration any other day4  
,but right here we face a curious and   
puzzling fact4 ,nobody knows on what    

particular day of ,december ,jesus  of  
,nazareth was born4    ,the question has
 always been a matter of dispute1 even  
among those  who might presumably be    
best fitted to know4 ,he may have been  
born  the #bdth or the #bfth1 or even   
the #bgth or #bhth4 ,indeed1 for all we 
know he may have been born on any day of
 our month of ,december1 so  that we    
have a right to build the palace of     
,christmas on any day of  the month1 for
 every day is equally eligible for      
consecration1 and in  order to be sure  
that we have the right day1 why not     
allow ,christmas  to cover the entire   
month8 ,the ancients were so fearful of 
slighting  one of the gods that after   
they had erected altars to all the gods 
whose names they knew1 they sometimes   
erected an altar to the unknown  god1 in
 this way being sure of not omitting    
from the scope of their  reverence any  
god who had a right to be included4 ,why
 not make sure  of having the right day 
in ,december by building the ,christmas 

palace  upon them all8 ,thirty-one      
foundation stones instead of one would  
support a really royal structure1 and   
surely a palace filling the  dimensions 
of a month would be none too large for  
the commemoration  of the most          
stupendous event in human history--the  
birth of ,jesus4    ,by thus expanding  
,christmas we should not get into such a
 pet and  fury as some of us now do4 ,we
 should have time to think about the    
meaning of this great event for which   
,christmas stands1 and we should  also  
become more accustomed to the exercise  
of the ,christmas virtues4  ,as things  
now are we have scarcely time enough to 
bring the ,christmas  graces to fullest 
bloom4 ,one day is quite too short4 ,to 
entertain  and nourish beautiful and    
charitable thoughts1 to kindle and      
foster  kind and forgiving feelings1 to 
set the heart singing and the spirit    
adoring1 for all this a single day is   
hardly long enough4 ,if we  should think
 such thoughts every day for a week and 

a month1 our  minds would get accustomed
 to these high altitudes and would not  
sink  back so readily to lower and      
unworthy levels of mental and emotional 
conduct4 ,if we should go right on for a
 month forgiving our enemies  and       
breathing charity for all1 we might get 
so habituated to these  heavenly        
feelings as never again to be willing to
 give them up4 ,a  month is none too    
large as a foundation on which to build 
a mansion  spacious enough fitly to     
commemorate the coming of our ,lord4    
,not only would it be better for        
ourselves if in some such way           
,christmas might be expanded1 but hosts 
of our brothers and sisters  would be   
gladdened by the change4 ,with an entire
 month at one's  disposal in which to do
 one's ,christmas shopping and to tie up
 one's  ,christmas packages and to plan 
for one's ,christmas dinner1 the burden 
of preparation would not fall so        
suddenly or with such crushing  force   
upon those who minister to us1 and many 

who are now unable to  rejoice in the   
,christmas celebration would be found   
joyfully singing  the ,christmas song4  
,much of the congestion and the crowding
 of the  present would be rendered      
impossible1 and ,christmas would become 
what it ought to be1--a time of         
universal exultation1 a season of       
world-wide gratitude and love4    ,but  
when one gets thus far he discovers that
 he must go farther4 ,why  confine      
,christmas1 some one says1 to the month 
of ,december8 ,no one  can be certain   
that ,jesus was born in ,december4 ,the 
,new ,testament  does not say so1 nor   
does the ,new ,testament contain any    
evidence by  which any particular month 
of the year can be proved to be the     
month  of ,jesus' birth4 ,plausible     
arguments have been adduced to prove    
that  his birthday came in ,september4  
,october also has put in its claim4     
,there are only a few of the twelve     
months which have not stood up and      
demanded recognition and honor as the   

month of the year in which the  ,king of
 ,glory came4 ,months hitherto silent   
will no doubt speak later  on4    ,it is
 evidently not ,god's will that we      
should know in what season  of the year 
,jesus came4 ,not one of his apostles   
felt inspired to  give information upon 
that interesting but unimportant point4 
,god  has hidden the key to that secret1
 and nobody knows where to find  it4    
,this is the ,lord's doing1 and it ought
 to have a meaning for our  eyes4 ,if we
 do not know the month of ,jesus' birth 
and if ,god has so  fixed things that   
such knowledge is forever beyond our    
reach1 why  not build the ,christmas    
palace upon the month of ,january as    
well as  upon the month of ,december8 ,a
 two months' ,christmas would be better 
than a one month ,christmas1 and as it  
is impossible to draw the line  at the  
end of ,january and say thus far shall  
,christmas extend and  no farther1 why  
not take in ,february1 ,march and       
,april2 yes1 ,may1  ,june and ,july1    

also ,august1 ,september1 ,october and  
,november8 ,are we  justified in leaving
 out any of the months of the year8 ,do 
we not  call it the year of our ,lord8  
,why not then let him have the whole of 
it as a suitable memorial of his birth8 
,a ,christmas a year long--that  would  
not be too protracted4 ,christmas all   
the time--that would be  ideal4 ,always 
extending merry greetings1 always       
wishing others  well1 always generous in
 our giving1 always humming the angels' 
song1 always seeking and praising the   
,king--is not that the sort of          
,christmas which this world of ours most
 needs8    ,certainly it is the kind of 
,christmas most pleasing to the heart of
  ,christ4 ,i imagined ,i heard him     
saying1 as he beheld the ,christmas     
which our civilization had produced3 8,i
 hate your ,christmas1 ,i am  weary of  
it1 because so many of my children are  
fatigued4 ,it is an  abomination unto me
 because it has rolled a crushing weight
 on so  many hearts4 ,away with it4 ,it 

is too small4 ,build me a more spacious 
,christmas4 ,extend the walls of it1    
until like the ,new ,jerusalem it  shall
 lie four-square1 with three gates on   
each side1 so capacious  and hospitable 
that the populations of the earth can   
bring their  glory into it4 ,let the    
,christmas season be coterminous with   
the  limits of the year40    ,now when  
,i heard him say this ,i asked myself   
the question1 ,who is  sufficient for   
this thing8 ,who can build this stately 
,christmas ample  enough to fill a year8
 ,to make one day bright and            
glorious--even this  is sometimes hard4 
,we brush away our tears1 we crush down 
in our  hearts the dark and fearsome    
feelings1 saying1 8,this is ,christmas  
,day4 ,i must to-day be cheery1 to-day  
,i must wear a smiling face2 but        
to-morrow ,i will pick up again my      
burden1 to-morrow ,i will cry again4    
,for the sake of the children ,i will   
pretend that ,i am happy--only for  a   
day40 ,it is by no means easy to make an

 ideal ,christmas even one  day long4   
,many a time the ,christmas crystal     
palace has been shattered  to fragments 
by stones hurled by the hands of the    
heart's foes4 ,to  build a palace       
covering the extensive area of a year1  
planting a  column on each one of the   
three hundred and sixty-five pieces of  
that  strange mosaic which men call     
,time1 swinging over all a dome full of 
the light and glory of ,god's face--this
 is an enterprise as difficult  as it is
 stupendous1 but one from which no true 
follower of ,jesus  ought to shrink4    
,when ,i saw that the old ,christmas had
 been really outgrown and  realized that
 a new ,christmas must be speedily      
constructed1 ,i set  out at once in     
search of architects and builders       
competent for so  vast an undertaking4  
,who1 ,i said1 can build a ,christmas   
great enough  to satisfy and bless a    
world8 ,who can take the walls of our   
little  ,christmas and by some magic    
power extend them until they reach      

around  the borders of a year8 ,so ,i   
pondered and ,i was greatly troubled1   
because ,i knew not where to go4 ,where1
 ,i asked1 shall wisdom be found8       
,first of all ,i went to the learned    
men1 the men who know what the  past has
 been and what the present is4 ,i       
knocked at the doors of  all the        
universities1 beginning with the oldest 
and ending with  the youngest1 but in no
 one of them could ,i find builders for 
this  new and gigantic work4 ,i then    
turned to the market-place where men  of
 practical genius are wont to           
congregate4 ,i mingled with the         
captains of industry2 ,i glanced down   
the lines of merchants1 bankers1        
manufacturers1 the men who are doing the
 largest things in our day  and         
generation1 and ,i said in a loud voice1
 8,can any of you gentlemen  build the  
world a larger ,christmas80 and not one 
voice replied1 8,i  can40    ,thereupon 
,i went to the palaces of kings1 where  
live the great and  mighty of the earth1

 and when ,i noticed the glitter of the 
crowns and  the gorgeousness of the     
sceptres ,i felt encouraged1 for ,i     
said3 8,here  is a royal thing to be    
attempted1 and surely royal heads and   
hearts  shall prove equal to the task40 
,but1 alas1 at the door of every royal  
palace the same word was given3 8,no one
 here has skill or power  sufficient to 
build a larger ,christmas40    ,not yet 
hopeless ,i turned to the parliaments of
 the world and  looked into the august  
faces of lords and senators1 of generals
 and  princes1--men who have carved     
their names in the body of the life of  
their time1 and ,i said pleadingly3     
8,can you1 or any men you know1  come   
and erect for the world a larger        
,christmas80 and my question  brought   
nothing but silence for an answer4    ,i
 then stole into the study of the       
philosophers and glided into the  groves
 where walk the poets2 ,i passed from   
court to court where  learned judges    
sit2 ,i entered boldly into the camp    

where army  and navy leaders study plans
 for the conquest of the world1 and     
everywhere ,i asked the same baffling   
question3 8,can you erect for  mankind a
 more spacious and more fitting         
,christmas80 and in every  place the    
same answer was returned3 8,strength and
 wisdom equal to so  great a task do not
 dwell with us40    ,illustration3 ,and 
my question brought nothing but silence 
for on  answer    ,and then ,i turned to
 the aged4 ,wherever there was a gray   
head ,i  paused and put once more my    
question4 ,wherever ,i could find a man 
of  experience1 of achievement1 of      
earthly wisdom1 of renowned skill1  of  
acknowledged genius1 there ,i propounded
 my interrogation1 ever  receiving the  
same disappointing reply4 ,and when ,i  
had travelled  round the world and could
 find nowhere any man or woman1 high or 
low1  rich or poor1 great or humble1    
mighty or feeble1 who could give me     
what ,i sought1 all at once ,i          
remembered that ,christmas is the one   

celebration of all the jubilees known in
 human history which cannot  be carried 
on without the presence of children4 ,i 
began to reflect  upon the fact that    
,christmas is the one holiday which     
cannot be  separated from the brightness
 of a child's eyes or the music of a    
child's laughter4    ,i fell to         
pondering the fact that when old folks  
think of ,christmas  they think of the  
days when they were young4 ,when their  
children  are grown and have gone far   
away from home1 the parents refresh     
their hearts by thinking of the time    
when there was a ,christmas tree  in the
 nursery and the glad shout of children 
exulting over their  treasures filled   
all the house4 ,and ,i remembered also  
that husbands  and wives who have no    
children find their hearts going out    
toward  other people's children at      
,christmas time4 ,and when ,i saw in my 
mind's eye the whole world gathered     
together for the celebration of         
,christmas and beheld a little child in 

the centre1 ,i began to think  of the   
day when in ,capernaum ,jesus set a     
child in the midst of twelve  men1      
saying3 8,of such is the kingdom of     
heaven40 ,and when this all  flashed    
upon me ,i started out at once in search
 of a child4 8,to him  undoubtedly10 ,i 
said1 8has ,god committed the secret of 
,christmas4 ,he  can tell me where the  
,christmas builders can be found40    ,i
 went1 ,i asked1 and great was my       
reward4 ,through a child's eyes ,i      
looked into the child heart1 and there  
standing radiant and beautiful  were    
seven angels1--the angels which are the 
builders of ,christmas4  ,these are     
their names3 ,wonder1 ,humility1 ,trust1
 ,simplicity1 ,purity1  ,joy1 and       
,affection4 ,by these the first         
,christmas was constructed1 and  without
 these no genuine ,christmas can be     
built4 ,these are strong  angels1 they  
dig deep and they mount high4 ,they can 
build a ,christmas  covering the year4  
,christmas is glorious because it is the

 creation of a child4 ,man is  not the  
architect of it4 ,it is not a creation  
of human ingenuity or  wisdom4 ,it was  
built in the first place by a baby1 and 
the glitter  of it was simply the       
reflection of the light of a baby's     
eyes4 ,the  kings of the earth have     
often taken council together1 but they  
have  never conceived anything so       
beautiful as ,christmas4 ,for a marvel  
so  stupendous ,god fell back upon a    
child4 ,children are the magicians  of  
the earth4 ,their wizardry surpasses    
that of magic4 ,the scope and  power of 
their necromancy1 who can measure8      
,there was nothing in the world like    
,christmas till ,jesus came4 ,on the    
day of his birth ,god called the nations
 together and set a little  child in    
their midst4 ,from the beginning a      
full-grown man had stood  at the centre1
 but the circle gathered round him had  
never been  joyous4 ,sometimes the      
central man had been a general and      
sometimes  a king1 occasionally he had  

been a scholar and frequently a saint2  
but no matter who he was the circle was 
not enchanted and the heart  refused to 
sing4 ,but as soon as a child was placed
 at the centre1  humanity began to      
organize itself in unprecedented ways   
and to  move forward along original     
lines4 ,it began to sing a new song4    
,the  world had for ages been despondent
 and hopeless1 and no potentate or      
miracle-worker1 however mighty1 had been
 able to lift it out of its  dark mood4 
,but when ,god took a child and set him 
in the midst1 then  was the world's     
mouth filled with laughter1 and all     
things became new4    ,this is the      
difference then between the ancient     
world and the modern1  the first had an 
adult at the centre1 the latter has a   
child4 ,out of  the child heart--and the
 child heart is the ,christ heart--are  
coming  the forces for the rebuilding of
 the world4 ,the problem of existence   
is the task of keeping the child in us  
alive1 the heart that wonders1  trusts  

and loves4    ,christmas is not a day1  
it is a mood4 ,it is independent of     
days4  ,we celebrate it on ,friday1     
,saturday1 ,sunday1 any day of the week4
  ,christmas is indifferent to days4 ,it
 has nothing to do with the  almanac4   
,it has nothing to do with place4 ,it is
 as independent  of geography as it is  
of chronology4 ,it has no relation to   
human  government or even to race or    
blood4 ,it is an institution which can  
be set up on any soil and under the     
folds of any flag4 ,christmas is  a     
spiritual creation and belongs to the   
kingdom of the heart4 ,it is            
constructed by the angels of the heart  
of a child4 ,if it then be a  mood1 it  
can be extended over a week1 a month1 a 
year1 a lifetime4 ,it  can be built upon
 time1 upon eternity4 ,if you confine it
 to a day1  you miss the meaning of it4 
,if you try to cram it into twenty-four 
hours1 you crush it and lose the essence
 of it4 ,the ,christmas spirit  is the  
only spirit by which men and women      

really live4 ,the ,saviour of  the world
 has said3 ,you cannot enter the kingdom
 of heaven--and that  is his name for   
,christmas--except you become      8,as 
a ,little ,child40