Page 18 - Leisure Living Magazine Holiday 2016

Christmas 1941
Continued from page 17
years, to rejoice in the birth of Christ?”
“These are natural...questions,” he said. “And even as we ask these questions, we know the answer. There is another preparation demanded of this nation beyond and beside the preparation of weapons and materials of war... the preparation of our hearts; the arming of our
hearts.”
“Our strongest weapon in this war is that
conviction of the dignity and brotherhood of man which Christmas Day signifies – more than any other day or any other symbol.”
After his speech, FDR brought Churchill to the microphone. It was an extraordinary moment – a foreign leader addressing America from the White House on Christmas Eve.
Churchill said that although he was far from his country and his family, “I cannot truthfully say that I feel far from home. Whether it be the ties of blood on my mother’s side, or the friendships I have developed here over many years..., or the commanding sentiment of comradeship in the common cause of great peoples who speak the same language, who kneel at the same altars, and to a very large extent, pursue the same ideals, I cannot feel myself a stranger here in the center and at the summit of the United States.”
He acknowledged that this “is a strange Christmas Eve. Almost the whole world is locked in deadly struggle, and, with the most terrible weapons which science can devise, the nations advance upon each other. Ill would it be for us this Christmastide if we were not sure that no greed for the land or wealth of any other people, no vulgar ambition, no morbid lust for material gain at the expense of others, had led us to the
field.”
“Here, in the midst of war, raging and roaring
over all the lands and seas, creeping nearer to our hearts and home, here, amid all the tumult, we have tonight the peace of the spirit in each cottage home and in every generous heart.”
Churchill knew – as did most Americans – that dark days were ahead, and that victory would come at a terrible price.
Indeed, this night would be the last time FDR would light the National Christmas Tree. The ceremony would be suspended, and the tree would not be lit again until Christmas 1945, when President Truman – having taken office in April 1945 when FDR passed away – would preside over the ceremony.
But on Christmas Eve 1941 – even if all was not right with the world – Churchill recognized the need for a respite of peace before the tempest of war. And so he concluded his remarks with a timeless message that resonates still.
He urged everyone “for this night at least,” to cast aside “the cares and dangers which beset us, and make for the children an evening of happiness in a world of storm. Here, then, for one night only, each home throughout the English- speaking world should be a brightly-lighted island of happiness and peace.”
“Let the children have their night of fun and laughter. Let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let us grown-ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasure before we turn again to the stern task and the formidable years that lie before us, resolved that, by our sacrifice and daring, these same children shall not be robbed of their inheritance or denied their right to live in a free and decent world.”
“And so, in God’s mercy, a happy Christmas to you all.”
Holidaysat Hayes
Hayes Train Special:
Nov. 25 - Jan. 8
Paper Snowflake Workshop for all ages: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. Dec. 17 Sleigh rides:
1 - 4 p.m. Dec. 26-31
Train Clinic:
1 - 4 p.m. Jan. 7
Details at rbhayes.org. Spiegel Grove, Fremont, Ohio
18 |LeisureLiving Holiday 2016
www.LeisureLivingMagazine.com