A "QUOTABLE" CHRISTMAS by Cheryl Pierson

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Hi everyone! Christmas always brings back wonderful memories of home and family, doesn’t it? One of the things I remember so well about my dad was how he could remember and call forth the perfect quote for just about anything and everything.   He always made Christmas a very special time of year around our house and was a true practical joker. He was a super-intelligent man with an IQ off the scale (I didn’t get that from him, sadly<G>) and as an adult I understand why he was able to remember so many things and be able to say them at just the right time–as a child, it was a mystical thing. One of the things I’ve come to appreciate with adulthood is how hard my dad worked to provide for us. He loved to read and was an eloquent writer–I think if he could have made a living at it, he’d have given it a try himself. Thinking about him and his love for quotes prompted me to go in search of some heartwarming Christmas quotes.

I found some great quotes, published in ABOUT.COM, and wanted to share them with you.  Here’s a picture of my dear mom, El Wanda, and dad, Fred,  when they were young newlyweds, back in 1944. 

 

Edna Ferber, Roast Beef Medium Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.
Bess Streeter Aldrich, Song of Years Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart… filled it, too, with melody that would last forever.
Lenora Mattingly Weber, Extension Christmas is for children. But it is for grownups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide-bound hearts.
Louisa May Alcott The rooms were very still while the pages were softly turned and the winter sunshine crept in to touch the bright heads and serious faces with a Christmas greeting.
Charles N. Barnard The perfect Christmas tree? All Christmas trees are perfect!
Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol But I am sure that I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round… as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely.
W. J. Tucker, Pulpit Preaching For centuries men have kept an appointment with Christmas. Christmas means fellowship, feasting, giving and receiving, a time of good cheer, home.
Mary Ellen Chase Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.
Dr. Seuss And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?
G. K. Chesterton When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time.  Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?
Dale Evans Christmas, my child, is love in action.
Andy Rooney One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.
Hugh Downs Something about an old-fashioned Christmas is hard to forget.
Freya Stark Christmas is not an eternal event at all, but a piece of one’s home that one carries in one’s heart.
Marjorie Holmes At Christmas, all roads lead home.

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and that many of these quotes make your heart glad this Christmas season! Thanks so much for being a regular part of our lives here at Petticoats and Pistols!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A GOODNIGHT!

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A native Oklahoman, I've been influenced by the west all my life. I love to write short stories and novels in the historical western and western romance genres, as well as contemporary romantic suspense! Check my Amazon author page to see my work: http://www.amazon.com/author/cherylpierson
I live in Oklahoma City with my husband of 40 years. I love to hear from readers and other authors--you can contact me here: fabkat_edit@yahoo.com
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30 thoughts on “A &quot;QUOTABLE&quot; CHRISTMAS by Cheryl Pierson”

  1. Love the quotes and can remember my dad quoting Dale Evans when he would say, “Christmas my child is love in action.”
    He always found a way to give each of us something we really wanted. Even though he never said it we knew we were loved.

  3. Cheryl, you brought a smile to my face this morning. Like yours, my dad was scary-smart and a quotation machine…except he quoted long passages from classic literature and poems. (“The Cremation of Sam McGee” and “The Charge of the Light Brigade” were favorites.) He was also an irredeemable practical joker and the biggest kid in the house at Christmas.

    Thanks for sharing your memories and these marvelous seasonal quotes. 🙂

  5. Cheryl, what a wonderful picture of your mom and dad. They’re beautiful and look so much in love. I’m sure you miss your dad something awful. I do mine even though he’s been gone since 1983. Great Christmas quotes too. My favorite is the Dr. Seuss one. His books always bring a smile and pieces of wisdom to boot.

    Wishing you and your family the best Christmas ever!

  6. To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world.”
    ~ Calvin Coolidge

  8. What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace.”
    ~ Agnes M. Pahro

  9. I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world.”
    ~ Norman Vincent Peale

  10. And what happened, then?
    Well, in Whoville they say –
    that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.
    And then – the true meaning of Christmas came through,
    and the Grinch found the strength of *ten* Grinches, plus two!
    ~ Dr Seuss

  15. Connie, my dad rarely said “I love you” to us either, but he was very affectionate, and always had time to talk when we had something on our minds. Very logical, and my sisters and I have joked forever about how much he reminded us of Mr. Spock on Star Trek. LOL He always saw we got something we wanted too, along with the necessities that everyone gets–socks, underwear, clothing, those things kids take so for granted. Have a very Merry Christmas!
    Cheryl

  16. Thanks, Winnie–my mom had started experimenting with “colorizing” photos (you can tell by the ruby red of her lipstick!) LOL She and my dad had gone to school together from elementary on up through high school. In this picture, they were probably both about 22–they look much older by today’s standards, I think. But both grew up during the Dustbowl here in Oklahoma, through the Depression. I always envy them, having a shared past that went back to early days, knowing the same people, etc. Their senior class had 12 people in it! But they both had graduated and gone on to other things, then decided to get married. I think they always knew, whether there had been 10 other people or 1000 in their graduating class, they were meant to be together.
    MERRY CHRISTMAS!
    Cheryl

  17. Kathleen, I believe we are twins, separated at birth. My dad’s favorite poem was The Cremation of Sam McGee, which he quoted by heart. At night when he read to me, I begged for that poem AND THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE! MG, that is just too weird, isn’t it? He loved poetry and had a fantastic memory–I often wonder what he could have done in another time, another place, with all his abilities. When he read or recited poetry, he could make it come alive, even to a young child–and he’d always take time to explain if I didn’t understand something. He loved Annabelle Lee, and so many, many others. But Robert Service’s poems were favorites, and I was enthralled by, “The Northern Lights have seen queer sights but the queerest they ever did see…Was the night on the marge of Lake LeBarge that I cremated Sam McGee…”
    MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!
    Cheryl

  18. Mary, I love all these quotes! There are so many, many more out there, too, all of them just wonderful. This one you posted from Norman Vincent Peale really spoke to me:
    I truly believe that if we keep telling the Christmas story, singing the Christmas songs, and living the Christmas spirit, we can bring joy and happiness and peace to this world.”
    ~ Norman Vincent Peale
    I remember how my mom sang Christmas songs whenever she wanted to–she said they’re so beautiful, why should we only play them or sing them one time a year?

    I’ve always loved that picture of them–so young and full of hope and love for each other, just knowing they were going to make it in a world where there was a World War raging, my dad was not in the best of health, and everything was in upheaval. Thanks so much for all your quotes–they’re all so good!
    Merry Christmas, Mary!
    Cheryl

  19. Hi Linda,
    This truly is kind of a tough time of the year for me–I lost my dad on the 23rd of December, 2007, and my mom just three weeks later on Jan. 12, 2008. Like you, there’s not a day goes by that I don’t think of them. But it’s a really wonderful time of year, too, because I have so many good memories of the times we had in years past, and my parents took TONS of pictures. My dad had one of those old 8mm movie cameras, and there are a lot of old movies of us stumbling into the living room on Christmas morning with our hands over our eyes because of that huge light bar he had. LOL

    I love Dr. Seuss, too. What a great imagination he had, and as you say, some good pieces of wisdom that come along with the story and rhymes.

    You and yours have a wonderful MERRY CHRISTMAS, Linda!
    Cheryl

  20. Hi Char!

    I have to admit I love quotes, too–but as I’ve gotten older, I’m terrible at remembering them. The one I try to always remember to live by is this one, so I know it by heart: ” To the world you may be one person, but to one person, you may be the world.” That is so true, and it’s easy to forget sometimes–how much what we say and do may mean to another person, even the little things.

    Your dad sounds wonderful, Char. There are a lot of great dads out there in the world, for sure!

    Hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas!
    Cheryl

  21. Hi anon1001,

    I loved that too. I had trouble making up my mind which one to use, but finally decided on that one–loved the colors in it so much.

    Merry Christmas!
    Cheryl

  22. Merry Christmas to you too, Colleen! Hope it’s a good one for you and that 2013 is the best year yet!
    Cheryl

  23. Great picture of your Mom and Dad. I envy your Dad’s ability to remember and call forth the perfect quote for any occasion. I’m more of the stumble over my own tongue type. 🙂

    Love all the quotes, Cheryl. All great reminders of what the season is all about.

    Merry Christmas!
    Kirsten

  24. Hey, Kirsten! I still marvel at the fantastic memory he had. I’m like you, the stumble over my own tongue type. LOL Have a wonderful Christmas, Kirsten!
    Cheryl

  28. Thanks, Elizabeth. They truly were meant for each other. Have a wonderful Christmas! I hope 2013 is a fantastic year for you!
    Hugs,
    Cheryl

  29. Thank you for a nice selection of quotes. As I told my children when they found out that “Santa wasn’t real,” Santa represents the spirit of Christmas and that is real. I still believe and hope to show it by the way I celebrate the Season.

    Merry Christmas, Cheryl, and have a great 2013.

  30. Thank you, Patricia! I still believe, too, and like you, I hope to show it in any way possible. I’ve often thought how differently people seem to act during the holidays–more smiles, greetings, helpfulness–wouldn’t it be nice if that could be the “norm” all year through? Maybe that will be my New Year’s resolution–try to do something “in the spirit of Christmas” at least once a day all year long.

    Merry Christmas to you, too! I hope 2013 is a wonderful year for you!
    Cheryl

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