I liked the way we used to do,
when cattle was plenty and folks was few.
The people gathered frum far and near, and
they barbequed a big fat steer.
The kids tried stayin’ awake because,
they reckoned they might ketch Santa Claus.
Next mornin’ you’d wake ’em up to see,
what he’d been and put on the Christmas tree.

It was Christmas then fer the rich and pore,
and every ranch was an open door.
The waddy that came on a company hoss
was treated the same as the owner or boss.
Nobody seemed to have a care,
you was in among frieds or you wasn’t there.
For every feller in them days knew
to behave hisself as a man should do.
           …
I like to recall the Christmas night.
The tops of the mountains capped with white.
The stars so bright they seemed to blaze,
and the foothills swum in a silver haze.
Them good old days is past and gone.
The time and the world and the change goes on.
And you cain’t do things like you used to do
when cattle was plenty and folks was few.”
–Bruce Kiskaddon

I like Kiskaddon, especially in this Christmas poem.  Remember the way it was when you were a kid?  Those Christmas days of the past sometimes get hazy.  I can remember, going shopping on a brisk, snowy day and everyone you met would say “Merry Christmas.”  We had those stereotypical “Silver Bells” types of days.  It didn’t matter your social status on Christmas. 
But time does bring change, and often not for the better.  Craziness is all around and even on Christmas it is harder to keep it out of your mind.  However, if you begin to notice a change in your heart, go watch “A Christmas Carol”, and if you can’t say “God Bless Us Everyone” then it might be time for a dose of figgy-pudding.

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth
To touch their harps of gold:
‘Peace on the earth, good will to men,
From heav’n’s all gracious King!’
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.”
–Edmund Sears

It must have been a clear night; a night with no clouds to block the stars.  I cannot imagine it being cloudy when that horde of angels appeared with their announcement.  If it were cloudy then possibly the shepherds might have thought they saw movement in the clouds, or a phantom, but they rushed immediately when they heard the message to where the newborn King lay.
From what I have read, Sears was struggling with the situation of the world.  He saw only poverty, lost and helpless people, poor, and slaves.  He felt that he could not write about the “Light of the world” when the world seemed very dark.  All he could think about were the slums.

          “Yet with the woes of sin and strife
           The world hath suffered long;
           Beneath the angel-strain have rolled
           Two thousand years of wrong;
           And man, at war with man, hears not
           The love song which they bring:
           Oh hush the noise, ye men of strife,
           And hear the angels sing!”

This was written in 1849, years before the horrible Civil War that would take so many lives.  It also became one of the most popular songs of World War I, sung by American troops during the Christmas season in France.  Sears struggled when writing because of the condition of man, yet then it came to him–the only way that man is to look up to heaven.  Then take the words and put them in their hearts and celebrate Christmas by reaching out to others. 

          “And ye, beneath life’s crushing load
           Whose forms are bending low,
           Who toil along the climbing way
           With painful steps and slow,
           Look now! for glad and golden hours
           Come swiftly on the wing:
           O rest beside the weary road
           And hear the angels sing.”

There are two more verses and they send forth the same message. Take heart if you are weary.  Take heart if you sorrow and are suffering.  Take heart if you fear the touch of a warn-torn world.  And then LOOK UP!

I dreamed it was Christmas Eve, and while waiting for a green light I noticed the manger scene on the church lawn.  It’s all so overwhelming this Christmas business, I thought.  The shopping and singing and partying and gift-wrapping and Santa Claus and Jesus.  I feel wonderful then guilty then joyful then confused.  God help me, I thought.  And the light changed, and the baby in the manger smiled.”
–Joe Hickman

     “O star of wonder, star of night,
      Star with royal beauty bright,
         Westward leading,
         still proceeding,
      Guide us to thy perfect light.”
               –J.H. Hopkins

“Now why did that dratted Star appear?  It is taking months away from my work at the palace and this is the season when they have that wonderful BBQ and brisket.  Follow the Star, sure God willing and if the creeks don’t rise, and here the Tigris is flooding.  God, whose side are you on?”
Can you just imagine the Wise Men on their journey?  It was not an overnight business trip but it took planning and time had to be put aside for such a trip.  They had to lay the pleasures of their homeland aside.  Supplies had to be purchased and gifts made ready to take to the newborn King.  Possibly one of their camels became lamed along the way; there was also rivers to cross, the harshness of the desert and ruggedness of the mountains in their way.  Put yourself back in that time of history and think of the burdens of such a trip.  Add to it the fact that these men were used to comfort, now they are riding all day long on a camel and sleeping underneath the stars, just because they had to follow the Star.
All too often we see the Christmas story glossed over.  Seldom do we take time to ponder the reality of the events involved.  The Magi, used to a pampered life, has put it aside for what?  Following a Star.  So intrigued were they with this spectacle in the sky that they put aside their normal life for a span of time to find the newborn king.
Now look at us.  Does the Star still get our attention or have we become blasé?  Take a glance at your Christmas tree.  Look at the lights.  For just one minute imagine the light from the Star.  See, that light was not just something that was reflected in their eyes; it went into their souls and lit something in their heart.  Does the glance at the tree warm something in your soul or is it put up just for a season?
Go outside and look up at the heavens.  Look at the stars and find the Big Dipper.  Those are the same stars the Wise Men saw, save one.  Imagine now, a new one appears; there is something in the sky that has not been seen before.  There was the Star that led the way to the One who is the “light of men.”  God has now come down to man, to redeem him, to reconcile him back to Himself.  Allow that same wonder and light to illumine your heart.  Be thrilled with the Star that guides to the King as those Wise Men were guided ages ago.

“For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth.”
–Philippians 2:9-10 (NASB)

The message of Christmas is that the visible material world is bound to the invisible spiritual world.”
–unknown

     “God rest ye merry gentlemen,
      Let nothing you dismay
      Remember Christ our Savior
      Was born on Christmas day,
      To save us all from Satan’s pow’r
      When we were gone astray.”
               –unknown

The old battle-hardened and scared veterans have always amazed me.  Those that live their training; those that walk with confidence through life knowing the dangers, and yet are willing to face them.  Those men who have seen the many faces of war, fought the good fight, and still continue on. They were individuals always on the alert, ready, willing and able to take on come what may.
These men are the type who would not be afraid to say “Merry Christmas” in the stores and in public.  Political correctness may have its place (mostly in the garbage can) but it is never correct to dismiss the idea of the heavenly Father sending His Son.  We can indeed be “Merry” because of that.
The hymn above had a very different meaning in times past.  It was not part of jocular attitudes that pervade society today.  The jesting, folly, and frivolousness about with songs of jollity and fantasy.  Few, even churches, sing the hymns of Christmas with their depth of meaning concerning the Incarnation of our Lord.  “Frosty the Snowman” is better known than “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” 
Let’s take a moment to look deeper into the meaning of these few words.  A “merry” person was one who was “great” and “mighty.”  “Rest” meant being kept well.  So the first line means, “Be kept well you mighty men” or “God keep and make you mighty.”  A strong army is a merry army. “Gentlemen” were people who took appropriate action.  The first part of this song is speaking of a mighty person who takes the appropriate action.
Now the words, “Let nothing you dismay.”  Look at the sentinel on his post at the 38th parallel.  His lips turning blue from the biting cold; fingers are numb as he holds his weapon.  The biting cold, tension as tight as a wire, yet he continues on with his rifle slung on his shoulder performing his duty–“let nothing you dismay.”  Picture the soldier walking down the street in a village looking diligently for any threat of danger.  His senses coiled, he is on the alert.  The next step could mean disaster, the next person he meets could be rigged with explosives.  He may only have seconds in which to make his decision to react or not.  The heat of the desert is stifling, the mud of the jungle is frustrating, the cold of the mountains is numbing–“let nothing you dismay.”
When God makes one a “mighty gentleman” there is little that can bring dismay to him.  The world may be full of evil and that could bring dismay and despair to some, but the angels shouted that night that a Savior is come, be not dismayed.  This mighty gentleman is the person who wakens each morning in enemy territory and smiles as he prepares for the day. He knows this world is a battlefield and as he marches out to face the enemy he no longer fears, but because of Christ coming to earth, he is of merriment.
Who can better say, “Have a Merry [happy] Christmas” than the one who has confidence in his walk on this earth?

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.”
–2 Corinthians 9:15 (HCSB)