'We need a little Christmas'

Preface / Introduction

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Table of Contents
1. How to keep Christmas well in your heart throughout the year
2. 'We need a little Christmas.' Why I'm working hard right this minute to make Christmas 2011 the
best ever.

'We Need a Little Christmas'

How to keep Christmas well in your heart throughout the year
by Dr. Jeffrey Lant
"and it was always said of Ebenezer Scrooge, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man
alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim
observed, God bless Us, Every One!"
The words, of course, are from Charles Dickens' masterful "A Christmas Carol" published in 1843, a
present the world gratefully rediscovers each and every year. They remind us that Christmas, to be
Christmas, must be about magic and memories, remembering both those who are with us and
(especially) those who are not.. Christmas this year, as every year, began for me by unpacking my
little electrified tree. It is battered now and bears its many bruises proudly if carefully.
All at once, I give way to memories insistent, vivid, one tumbling over another. The box opens and
recollections of one year of my life after another pour out. First, I remember the day my
grandmother gave me this marvelous present and how she solemnly told me to take good care of it,
as she had done.
I agreed to do so, little knowing the significance or the power of what I promised. Now I know, for
this year I am older than she was when she gave it to me... and I now ponder who, in due course, I
must present this tree to and who will keep the faith of generations with me. You see, I have arrived
at the stage of life when Christmas is far more about who I shall give to... rather than who will give
to me.
It cheers
My little tree (circa 1935), just 16 inches tall, literally bubbles with colorful cheer. It is called a
bubbler because its bulbs not only light up and glow... but one after another they bubble, except
(some days) the one at the very top which, eccentrically,often fails to bubble at all. Moreover, when
one bulb goes out.... they all go out which means a patient review of all. However, I wouldn't have it
any other way. Age means appreciating even flaws, for they, too, are a part of the whole.
Because I am an historian and like many such have a tendency to collect and keep for a lifetime, I
have been designated by my extended family as the "keeper", the one it is safe to leave with the
mementoes we all agree are important, but which no one but me wants to take care of. Once the
bubbler tree is set up, other boxes must be opened... and they can only be opened when there is
sufficient time to pause, remember, reflect, and again and again be seized by their heart-tugging
memories. One cannot rush this process for the memories will not be denied. They are forever
bittersweet... featuring as they do those loved and gone before. Yes, one must have sufficient time
for them for the memories that cascade at this time of the year are always vivid, poignant, rich... with
new meanings that come as I age.
I smile, for instance, at a styrofoam bell given to me (as to all class members) by Mrs. Eigenbraugh,
my third grade teacher. This ornament, a liberty bell, features my teacher in a stately formal pose.
She looks at me as the dedicated prairie teacher she was. The autograph reads simply "Mrs.
Eigenbraugh, 1955."
I am older now than Mrs. Eigenbraugh was then... and I clearly see her at her desk dutifully,
carefully signing each gift in her copperplate hand. She no doubt paid for these herself... and gave
them as a small memento of her and the season... little thinking that I, a half century later, should be
so moved at her gift... or her conscientious generosity. Do teachers give as much today?
Just one left

http://www.LizsWorldprofit.com Copyright Elizabeth English - 2012 4 of 9


I was born in 1947 to young parents who had, in those post war years, few dollars and sky-high
aspirations, with days and energy to spare. Like everyone else in the neighborhood they had a young
child, part of that baby boomer wave. For him, they bought a box of colored glass ornaments which I
broke one by one by getting in my petal powered red car, pushing it backwards across the living
room... then running car into Christmas tree... full speed ahead. No one seemed to mind. We were
young, and we all had time and youth to spend without care.
Now I hold that glass ball in my hand, of faded purple hue. It, along with my father and I, are the
survivors of this tale. And now this glass ornament, once so little valued that we all laughed every
time I, with my running feet and determined glint, scored a direct hit... now this glass, I say, is
precious and deeply valued as a memento of youth, both my parents and my own, and of the
beautiful dark-haired woman whose carefree laughter and love are as clear in this ornament as if it
were a crystal ball. She told me to take good care of this for there could never be another... I have
and I will. And in time I shall ask of another what she asked of me: to remember.... and to take good
care. For I am entitled to that as well., having well and truly kept the promise.
Remember and reconnect
Each year about this time, I set out to reconnect with someone from my past with whom I have lost
touch, the way one does. Sometimes I succeed in this task; sometimes I don't. When I do... I make a
point of writing them a memorable letter... about how important they are to me... and how well and
what I remember. Such letters in a lifetime are rare to write and rarer still to receive. I am pleased to
say they always stimulate a similar letter in response. That letter is always amongst my best
Christmas presents. As such I place it carefully among my other treasured gifts and mementos and
savor them as, each year, I take them out and let memory hold sway. Thus, with the help of my
dearly beloved, I keep Christmas in my heart all year long, like the better, reformed, wiser Ebenezer
Scrooge.
And so I say to you: God bless us everyone and every loving memory of yore. They make us what
we are and remind us, lovingly, of where we have been and the people who have helped us along the
way in so very many ways.
Merry Christmas!



'We need a little Christmas.' Why I'm working hard right this
minute to make Christmas 2011 the best ever.
By Dr. Jeffrey Lant
Author's program note. I was young then, blessed with that overflowing feeling of high animal
spirits and joy to the world. It was 1967, I was in New York City for the first time, about to sail to
Europe on the SS Aurelia ... The future seemed boundless, was boundless, and I had only good
wishes and to spare for everyone, everywhere.
The only snare was that I couldn't get tickets for "Mame" (music and lyrics by Jerry Herman); the hit
musical based on one of my mother's favorite books, "Auntie Mame" by Patrick Dennis (1955).
Bummer. But not down hearted I somehow managed to get a program and discovered when Angela
Lansbury, the star, the toast of Broadway, was likely to leave the Winter Garden Theatre. .. and just
where I could stand for the best chance of getting her autograph.
I well recall the moment she came out the stage door, she was smaller than she appeared on stage...
and I remember how the collar of her coat brushed against my cheek... and her scent as she bent
down to autograph the program, a little crushed in my hand. It was lush, seductive, delicious... And I
was happy...
I have that program still, in good condition, too, a reminder when the song I've chosen for today's
theme music -- "We need a little Christmas" -- was just a peppy, high-stepping, belt-it-out number,
not an absolute need for all of us. Start, however, by going to any search engine... get the tune... then
let 'er rip... it's going to get your blood going, your feet tapping, and maybe even bring a tear to your
eye, you sentimental softie you...
"For I've grown a little leaner, Grown a little colder, Grown a little sadder, Grown a little older!"
These words pretty much sum up events since that magic moment at the door of the Winter Garden
Theatre -- and I don't merely mean for you and me, either. I mean for America and for our deeply
troubled world. And that is why I am already at work to ensure this Christmas in this year of general
dismay and gloom is the best ever. We need it -- for the good of home, hearth, soul, and, yes, the
economy.
I began this week.
It is September 25, 2011 as I write, and my dear and valued helpers, Aime Joseph and his soothing
wife Mercedes, have commenced Operation Christmas. We started with a herculean task meant to
occur twice each year but often "forgotten" -- polishing the silver. It is arduous, it is wearying, it is
dull... and it is a necessary deed in creating the "wow factor" that is such an essential part of
Christmas for me and mine.
The question is, why have we started so early... just what are we doing it for?
Over the last few years I have noticed the inception and development of an invidious trend in me
and many others: scaling back, pruning, diminishing the high festival of Christmas. This is a very
bad thing... and this year I decided to take constructive action before I bear an even closer
approximation to Ebenezer Scrooge. This called for drastic action... and my better self answered the
call.
Unmarried, no (known) children. Katie Segal made a fortune on "Married with Children"(1987) in
which she played the ultimate suburban vulgarian wife, Peg. She thought the holiday was for maxing
out her credit cards and causing pain to her hapless bills-paying husband. It was funny... because, of



course, we weren't like Peg, no way. But we are... and not, I hasten to add, because we enjoy the
consumer aspect of the event.
I have always thought the sanctimonious folks who decry the blatant commercialism of Christmas
and seek to revert to prior usages, pure and holy, misread the original text and allowed themselves to
be hoodwinked by Puritans. Now, lest you think I am anti-Puritan, be aware I am of Puritan heritage
myself. And it pains me to admit, the Puritans got Christmas all wrong and missed its message.
The culprit in the matter was Oliver Cromwell, a man who, saying enough is enough, helped King
Charles I to eternity in 1649 through the simple expedient (as Charles told his horrified children) by
separating His Majesty's head from His Majesty's body. The Lord Protector, more powerful than
most kings, then lead an effort to root out all vestiges of the traditional high-living English
Christmas. And so for 10 years (until his successor son Richard got kicked out in 1659) Cromwell
and company worked to make everyone just as miserable and gloomy at Christmas as possible. That
was the right and proper thing to do.
For instance, zealous Puritans, rigid, unbending, inflexible, muffed the matter of the Three Wise
Men, princes of the Orient. Each, if you'll recall, brought the Christ child very expensive gifts. These
included gold (imagine if they'd held it), frankincense and myhrr. Unless these royalties just
happened to have some extra gifts in their treasure trove (possible, but unlikely) each had to make a
trip to the bazaar (which is what people called malls in those days) to scrutinize what was available
and mull over their options.
This is exactly what the non-kingly people do nowadays at Christmas, parking their cars (easier to
handle than malodorous camels which spit), returning over and over to get just the right gift, the gift
that will say loudly and clearly, "I care." So, where's the problem? Christmas, in short, has had a
pronounced commercial aspect from the first moment. People should get over it and get on with the
real business of the event: love!
Whether you consider the matter from the vantage point of God to man -- "For God so loved the
world that he gave his only begotten son" (John 3:16) ---
... or from the vantage point of human relations, the fact is that Christmas is the prime event of every
year based on, all about, and dedicated to love. And we humans after this storm-tossed year should
embrace the event and enjoy it for what it is: a chance to love one another, be kind to each other,
embrace our diversity, and give the embedded rancors of our deeply fissured planet a rest... even if
we know, as we do, they'll be back in the new year. Even a little solace helps. We need it, we must
have it, and we deserve it.
And because I have been, shall we say, neglectful both about giving and taking love, I have a huge
love deficit to make up for... and so Christmas 2011 must be done right in every nuance and detail...
and this takes time, care, and thoughtfulness.
Cleaning the silver is just the beginning.
And then like the score says, "Candles in the window/Carols at the spinet."
And gifts for all... and not merely anything grabbed at the eleventh hour Christmas Eve either... for
the gift must be as special as the beloved who gets it...
All this takes time... meticulous attention to detail... and, most of all, love...
And it is this love, in short supply in years past, suppressed, which is the most important thing of
all... This year will be different, for this year that love will flow without stint... as a resolute
declaration to everyone, everywhere that this is a place where humanity is made welcome and where



we know the true meaning of Christmas... and mean to have it! Share it! And renew it...
Knowing this, can you wonder why I am starting so early here? The wonder is that you have not
commenced early, for your need is pressing, too.



Resource
About The Author Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small and
home-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY and
receive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Fr. Lant is a well known
speaker, consultant and author of 18 best-selling business books.
Republished with author's permission by Elizabeth English http://LizsWorldprofit.com.


'We need a little Christmas'

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'We need a little Christmas'