Wednesday, December 05, 2007

i heard the bells on Christmas Day


after hearing of the latest mall shooting, i thought of this Christmas song ....



I HEARD THE BELLS ON CHRISTMAS DAY

(Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th' unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

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, good will to men."

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

10 comments:

Mimi said...

beautiful Christmas Carol...
wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have Peace On Earth??
love the picture too...

Mimi said...

beautiful Christmas Carol...
wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have Peace On Earth??
love the picture too...

Mari said...

I love that carol. Very fitting after todays news.

Cathy said...

That is a pretty song to post after the tragedy today. It is so very sad what happened. I love your picture.

Felisol said...

Dear Saija,
Strindberg said "I feel sorry for the humans."
Guess i do so too. Sorry and filled to the brim with whys.
We know of so many fighting bravely against pains, cancer, illness never giving up on God's wonderful gift of life.
On the other end of the of the scale these meaningless murders and tragic deaths caused by drug victims, mentally ill, abused and tortured souls.
I just don't see the light here.
Yet I know you're right:

"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, good will to men."
Thanks for finding these words of comfort.
From Felisol

Maggie Ann said...

Hello Saija! Yes, we got about 6 inchs of snow yesterday...it was so beautiful to watch it coming down so softly and oh the beauty of it all. I haven't been able to post as often with all we have going on here. Thanks for leaving me a comment anyway! You're a good friend...=) We are further ahead this year with Christmas preperations than ever before! Hurray! Hope you are cozy and how's the library work coming along? That sure sounds like the ideal job. We have a guy in our library working and I must say I feel more comfortable with all ladies helping out. Maybe I'm terribly old-fashioned? grin. *hugs* to you!

Ramblins of a middle-aged goddess said...

What a tragedy that was!! This song does tell it like it is.
I have not had a great day. i had to take our cat Simon and have him put down!! I hated to have to do it but he had bit me so much and so many other things were going on that i had to do it. i feel so bad about it. We still have Annie though..

Sandy

Saija said...

mimi ... the picture is an old christmas card, from finland ... blessings on your weekend!

mari ... that news is always so sad, yet somehow it becomes twice as bad when it happens during this season of peace ... ((hugs))

cathy ... may the rest of the season hold joy for those who look to HIM! blessings!

felisol ... that verse makes me tear up ... it speaks so powerfully of our God who feels these kinds of things so much deeper than we do ... may your weekend hold joy ...

maggie ann ... i am loving the library work ... and the patrons who come in just bless my heart! it is very cold here, and i haven't gotten into the city since the fall - i still need a few things for Christmas - but if it doesn't happen, well that's ok too ... :o) ... blessings on ya!

Sandy ... ((hugs)) i am so sorry about Simon, i hope that Annie gives you guys extra loving to help ... hope you get some rest on the weekend!

Terry said...

Yes that was way too bad about the mall shooting Saija and now just today there were several people killed in a church shooting. The days are getting darker and darker and here with the Christmas season, God is giving people yet another message of salvation...if ONLY they will accept it.
What a beautiful song!!...Love Terry

Amrita said...

THere is an old song...I heard the bells on Christmas Day...we sang it in our Christmas cantata