I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

We are coming to the end of 2025, and I can’t believe we are almost at 2026. Looking back, it has been a roller coaster, some seasons rushing by, and others moving slower than molasses in winter. I have had struggles this year, maybe you have to, and we are not the only ones. Many have gone through trials, but how they faced them is how they are distinguished from each other. 

This is a season to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, no matter what has happened. If God brings us to it, He can bring us through it, and it is up to us to have a positive attitude towards our situation. 

American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, lived from 1807-1882. He suffered through several tragedies; his wife died, and his son was shot during the Civil War (he did survive). On December 25th, 1864, Longfellow heard the church bells ring out their annual message of “peace on earth, goodwill to men,” but to Longfellow, they did not match the real world. The world he knew was in conflict, and his country was tearing itself apart. Something inside of Longfellow changed; he went to go write a poem that would move him from despair to hope; it was titled I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.

In 1872, John Baptist’s Calkin put the poem to music. The fourth and fifth verses were excluded because they are focused on the Civil War. 

I heard the bells on Christmas Day

Their old, familiar carols play, 

And wild and sweet

The words repeat

Of peace on earth, goodwill 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, goodwill 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, goodwill 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, goodwill 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, goodwill 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, goodwill 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, goodwill to men."

Habakkuk questioned God, yet he still chose to rejoice. “ O Lord, how long shall I cry, and Thou wilt not hear! Even cry out unto Thee of violence, and Thou wilt not save!  Why dost Thou show me iniquity, and cause me to behold grievance? For spoiling and violence are before me: and there are that raise up strife and contention.  Therefore the law is slack, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth.” (Habakkuk 1:2-4) “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (Habakkuk 3:18)

Like him, Longfellow sees unfairness in the world, but he still acknowledges God’s authority and power. God is always there, He is a living God. As Longfellow put it “God is not dead, nor doth He sleep.”

Why should we rejoice in a season like this? You may have different reasons, and there’s no right one to have, but I can give you some for you. We have a God in heaven who is graceful, merciful, and powerful. There is Jesus who came down to earth, to save us all. He is God, He did not have to come down and be born of a virgin, or die on the cross, but He chose to do so, and this is something we can absolutely celebrate all year round and not just in December. 

If you have been having a bad year, you have a new year to start over. That’s not the only chance you have; there are new weeks, new days, even. “The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail, with peace on earth, goodwill to men.”(Prevail means to succeed; become dominant; win out.) So no matter what yesterday looked like, today is an opportunity to choose better, do better, and move forward with hope. If we keep choosing what is right, even in small ways, peace and goodwill can begin with us. 

Merry Christmas!