President Bush spoke to the nation Sunday night about the war on terrorism. As he closed and wished everyone a Merry Christmas, he chose the words from this Christmas Carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," which was written during the Civil War on Christmas Day, December 25, 1864. This sparked my curiosity, and I found the story behind the song online (the writer gives permission to copy for all to read.)
President Bush ended the speech last night with the last lines of the poem by Longfellow, which he called "Christmas Bells" -
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!"Here is the story behind the writing of the carol, written by Tom Stewart of
www.what saith the scripture.comOne of America's best known poets, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882), contributed to the wealth of carols sung each Christmas season, when he composed the words to "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" on December 25th 1864. The carol was originally a poem, "Christmas Bells," containing seven stanzas. Two stanzas were omitted, which contained references to the American Civil War, thus giving us the carol in its present form. The poem gave birth to the carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," and the remaining five stanzas were slightly rearranged in 1872 by John Baptiste Calkin (1827-1905), who also gave us the memorable tune. When Longfellow penned the words to his poem, America was still months away from Lee's surrender to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9th 1865; and, his poem reflected the prior years of the war's despair, while ending with a confident hope of triumphant peace.
As with any composition that touches the heart of the hearer, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" flowed from the experience of Longfellow-- involving the tragic death of his wife Fanny and the crippling injury of his son Charles from war wounds. Henry married Frances Appleton on July 13th 1843, and they settled down in the historic Craigie House overlooking the Charles River in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They were blessed with the birth of their first child, Charles, on June 9th 1844, and eventually, the Longfellow household numbered five children-- Charles, Ernest, Alice, Edith, and Allegra. Alice, the Longfellows' third child and first daughter, was delivered, while her mother was under the anesthetic influence of ether-- the first in North America.
Tragedy struck both the nation and the Longfellow family in 1861. Confederate Gen. Pierre G. T. Beauregard fired the opening salvos of the American Civil War on April 12th, and Fanny Longfellow was fatally burned in an accident in the library of Craigie House on July 10th. The day before the accident, Fanny Longfellow recorded in her journal: "We are all sighing for the good sea breeze instead of this stifling land one filled with dust. Poor Allegra is very droopy with heat, and Edie has to get her hair in a net to free her neck from the weight." After trimming some of seven year old Edith's beautiful curls, Fanny decided to preserve the clippings in sealing wax. Melting a bar of sealing wax with a candle, a few drops fell unnoticed upon her dress. The longed for sea breeze gusted through the window, igniting the light material of Fanny's dress-- immediately wrapping her in flames. In her attempt to protect Edith and Allegra, she ran to Henry's study in the next room, where Henry frantically attempted to extinguish the flames with a nearby, but undersized throw rug. Failing to stop the fire with the rug, he tried to smother the flames by throwing his arms around Frances-- severely burning his face, arms, and hands. Fanny Longfellow died the next morning. Too ill from his burns and grief, Henry did not attend her funeral. (Incidentally, the trademark full beard of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow arose from his inability to shave after this tragedy.)
The first Christmas after Fanny's death, Longfellow wrote, "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays." A year after the incident, he wrote, "I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace." Longfellow's journal entry for December 25th 1862 reads: "'A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me." Almost a year later, Longfellow received word that his oldest son Charles, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been severely wounded with a bullet passing under his shoulder blades and taking off one of the spinal processes. The Christmas of 1863 was silent in Longfellow's journal. Finally, on Christmas Day of 1864, he wrote the words of the poem, "Christmas Bells." The reelection of Abraham Lincoln or the possible end of the terrible war may have been the occasion for the poem. Lt. Charles Longfellow did not die that Christmas, but lived. So, contrary to popular belief, the occasion of writing that much loved Christmas carol was not due to Charles' death.
Longfellow's Christmas bells loudly proclaimed, "God is not dead." Even more, the bells announced, "Nor doth He sleep." God's Truth, Power, and Justice are affirmed, when Longfellow wrote: "The wrong shall fail, the right prevail." The message that the Living God is a God of Peace is proclaimed in the close of the carol: "Of peace on Earth, good will to men."
"Christmas Bells"
(The original poem, complete with all seven stanzas)
"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!"
The other two photos are from Greenville, SC. Some people will be without power for a few days. We heard from April in Greenville that BJU has power on campus, but most of the city was without power this morning.
We have not been able to contact Josh and Janelle in Greenville(photo from downtown yesterday). Mom and Dad had power in Cowpens, while my cousins who live a few minutes away did not. Weather predictions call for snow in the Carolinas possibly Saturday night or Sunday. This could be a major storm before it is over.
a good physical contest, but Duke wins 97-66
JJ Reddick scores another 3 pointer
The Dukies pulled off an amazing win at the end to win 77-75. And the crowd went wild!!! Check at the Duke photo gallery from the game at www.goduke.com and the AP Photo gallery as well.
Josh and Janelle will be moving to Pennsylvania in December. It finally is sinking in that we are not going to see them as often as we could when they were in South Carolina, only 5-1/2 hours away. Josh will become the Assistant Pastor at Hope Baptist Church in Hanover Pa.
This is the church where Janelle’s dad is the Pastor. Pastor Harris and family have been at Hope for about 5 years and now the church has grown so that he needs an assistant. The church “called” Josh and Janelle to come this past summer and after much prayer they have accepted the call.
She was supposed to make a gingerbread house, but looks like she was too busy eating it.
Natalie has fun at Grandma Johnson's house 
She's not the baby anymore!! 
"Mmm-good!!"
Photo from the Duke and Memphis NIT chanpionship game on Friday, 11/25/05. Duke won this close game by a score 70-67.
We enjoyed the summer vacation in Mountain View and Horsheshoe Bend, Arkansas
This photo was taken almost a year ago, when my family was all together for the holidays - Josh, Janelle, and April
Birthdays are always fun, especially when you can celebrate three at one time! You can see Josh and April take after grandpa!
When we were in Arkansas last month, a lot of the Baggett family joined together for dinner at the Catfish Kitchen Restaurant. 
This photo was taken on vacation, doing what we do best - eating!!
such as when a son graduates, and graduates, and graduates...
such as sons who still compete against each other, to see who can stand in 32 degree water the longest
such as a son and his wife enjoying each other
such as a family meal on a Sunday afternoon
such as a family vacation with a mother, wife and granddaughter
