The poem that inspired that phrase was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) He wrote it on Christmas Day 1864, during the civil war. His wife Fanny had died just two years earlier and his son Charles, a lieutenant in the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry, had been wounded And yet, he wrote a beautiful and hopeful poem. The stanzas were slightly rearranged in 1872 by John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905) who also added the tune and gave us the carol “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”.

Here are the original words to the poem. You can hear them spoken in this touching video.

Christmas Bells

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!

And 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!

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!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
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.”

Our modern idea of Christmas dates from the early 19th century. Prince Albert, husband of Victoria, popularized the Christmas tree, previously a German custom. The custom crossed the ocean roughly mid 19th century and was first commercialized in 1851 when Catskill farmer Mark Carr hauled two ox sleds of evergreens into New York City and sold them all. By 1900, one in five American families had a Christmas tree.

How did our other customs come about? Click here to watch a video from the History Channel.

The The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a bi-national United States and Canadian organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. As such, they are always the first to spot Santa and track his journeys. You can keep an eye on him here – there is even a google gadget you can download, and a facebook fan club you can join! Track Santa here.

The Quilter’s Night Before Christmas

‘Twas the night before Christmas,
And the quilts were not made.
The threads were all tangled,
the cookies delayed.

.

The stocking weren’t hung,
the pantry was bare.
The poor weary Quilter,
was tearing her hair.

.

Stacks of fat quarters,
tipped over in streams.
Visions of Log Cabins,
had turned into dreams.

.

When what to her wondering eyes should appear,
But a bus full of quilters with all of their gear.
They went straight to work with just a few mutters,
Sorting and stitching and brandishing cutters.

.

The patterns emerged from all of the clutter,
Like magic the fabrics arranged in a flutter.
Log Cabins, Lone Stars, Flying Geese and Bear Tracks -
Each quilt was a beauty – even the backs.

.

Her house how it twinkled,
her quilts how they glowed.
The cookies were baking,
the stockings were sewed.

.

Their work was all done,
so they folded their frames,
And packed up their needles,
without giving their names.

.

They boarded the bus,
and checked the next address.
More quilts to be made,
another quilter in distress.

.

She heard one voice echo,
as they drove out of sight,
Happy quilting to all and
to all a good night!

.

Author Unknown

I am working on the website tonight, putting a whole bunch of fabric on sale for $5 a yard in the desperate hope I won’t have to count it next week:-)) Check out our Sale Fabrics

Local guild members were featured in this video on CNN that follows a quilt from makers to the actual soldier who received it. His plans were to keep it close to him:-))

Visit his blog at http://patricklose.blogspot.com/for more information

This is an interesting line of fabric with a clever panel. You can use the panel to make this charming quilt. The fabric and free pattern is here.

Anita Grossman Solomon was kind enough to proofread my article on Paper Piecing. There is a secret at the end of it – it actually introduces the New Years Day Mystery!

This neighborhood puts all its quilts on the line, even in the winter. From Elizabeth Studios, the same people who brought us the Fruit Ladies

Click here to see more.