Christmas Carols: I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day

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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 the 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!

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the lyrics to this carol on Christmas day in 1863, listening to the bells while nursing his son back to health from injuries sustained in the Civil War. I thought about this carol, trying to process the horrific events of this week.


I talked to my husband, and we cried.

I called my mom, and we cried.

I called my sisters, and we cried.

I stopped talking about it, because there were no words. There still aren't.


I kept thinking, "But this is Christmastime!"


And almost forgetting: This is Christmastime.


This is the season of

 and the season of FAITH.

This is the season when we celebrate that

and we will be together again because this precious Savior was born in Bethlehem all those years ago.


So I choose to celebrate hope and faith in Christmas this year. Some moments, the lights seem a little more dim than usual, and maybe the decorations seem a little less beautiful. But the true meaning of Christmas has never felt quite as important.


The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, with peace on earth, good will to men.




We wish you peace this Christmas season.

(All printables in this post are free to use as you wish.)