Christmas
By Fred W. Workman

Hear the bells ringing their notes of joy,
From east to west they are pealing;
Over the hearts and minds of all
Their message of peace is stealing.

Now what makes the Christmas joy so great,
The thrill that makes life worth living?
The charm that seems of itself alone?
'Tis giving, my friend, just giving.

Pleasure so often fails to respond
However much we prepare it;
Happiness comes from within, you know,
It grows and grows if you share it.

For it's not what we ourselves receive
That lends such a thrill to living;
It's what comes out of our hearts in love
The wish, and the love we're giving.

So let the Angels' "Peace and Goodwill"
That earliest Christmas giving;
Grow in our hearts to flowers of love,
And sweeten our hearts and our living.



This poem was published in the Bristol, England 
newspaper about 1939.  A copy was pasted in Clara 
Quesnell's scrapbook.  Clara was Fred's niece.
Eventually, Clara's grandson inherited the scrapbook.  
He didn't know who "F.W." Workman might have been.
But he saved the scrapbook.

In 1999 thanks to internet genealogy, he and his third
cousin, Linda W. Hansen, met -- and this copy of Fred's 
poem came home to America by photocopy.