Christmas Bells

It may be surprising to some when they discover that the author of such classics as “Hiawatha” and “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” is also the author of the beloved Christmas carol, “Christmas Bells.”

The words for this familiar song were written in 1864 on Christmas Day. Henry Wordsworth Longfellow sat in his home on that day and he was overwhelmed with sorrow.

It is a fact that the Christmas holiday in our country is marked by a spike in suicides. Even beyond that sad fact is the fact that there are millions of people who experience depression, sadness, loneliness and a sense of hopelessness during the holiday season. Many are mourning the loss of friends and loved ones. Some are bedeviled by the uncertainty of the future and many are frustrated and disturbed by the madness of the day to day events in the news.

For Longfellow, the Civil War was still being fought. Lee would not surrender for another four months. But Lt. Charles Longfellow’s war had already come to an end because of a bullet that ripped into his spine.

And so, on that Christmas Day, Charles Longfellow’s father sat and wrote, “I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth, goodwill to men.”

For Longfellow, and indeed for many today, given the condition of our world, our society, so many of our homes and personal lives … words like “peace” can seem to mock us and make us rather cynical.

“And in despair I bowed my head,” Longfellow continued. ” ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said. ‘For hate is strong and mocks the song of peace on earth, goodwill to men.’ ”

Just a few years earlier Longfellow’s wife, Fanny, was sitting by a window melting some sealing wax when a sudden breeze blew some burning oil to set her dress afire. She was quickly engulfed in flames.

As she cried out in fear and pain, Longfellow grabbed a blanket and tried in vain to smother the blaze, burning his own face and hands, but to no avail. Fanny was killed and Longfellow’s grief was so great he couldn’t attend her funeral.

If ever there was a time that would try a man’s faith, it was that long-ago Christmas morning when those joyous bells jolted his reverie, commanding his attention.

In the midst of his sad contemplations, Longfellow’s faith was stirred by the meaning of the sound of the bells of the town’s churches as it reached his ears on that Christmas Day. IN response he took his pen and added this verse:

“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep, ‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; the wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, goodwill to men.’”

This is not merely a sentimental Christmas carol. It is a message of hope for all the ages.

The madness and discordant tides of our world and society may make us weep and groan in awful anticipation of “what’s coming next”! But those things will only last for a time. One day, the one who was born in Bethlehem as a babe will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. That will be a day of joy … joy inspired by a peace that will never again be disrupted … not for all eternity.

The important message of Christmas is that there is an aspect of that peace available to each and every one of us today. It is attained by trusting the Christ of Bethlehem as your Savior and receiving the forgiveness of sin and eternal life. Want to know more? Drop me a note and I’ll be happy to share more with you!

Listen to the song …