It was a custom
in the family to decorate the hall on Christmas eve, and the children
had been making wreaths and festoons of cedar, and having any amount
of fun. They were now having a merry time over Ikey's suggestion to
hang a holly wreath above the Big Front Door. From the top of the
ladder Carl began:
"'Twas the night before Christmas,"
and the others chimed in:
"and all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse."
A moment later Aunt Zelie's quiet was invaded.
"Nothing makes me feel more like Christmas than that old rhyme," she
said, as the laughing children gathered around her.
"Talk to us about Christmas, Auntie, please," said Louise.
"Could you possibly talk about anything else?" she asked. "What is it
that makes this such a happy time?"
"Why," answered Carl, "it is because it is such fun to give presents
to people, and know you are sure to get a lot yourself."
"Yes, it is because every one tries to make some one else happy. Why
do we keep Christ's birthday in this way?"
"Because he came to make us happy, I suppose," said Bess.
"Don't you wish you could have heard the angels sing? I like that part
of the story best where the shepherds are out in the fields," said
Louise.
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