the million copy christmas classic, now redesigned and updated
Norman Rockwell’s
carols, stories, poems & recollections
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Ch r i s tm a s B o o k
consulting editor
Molly Rockwell
A bram s , N e w Y o r k
Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Book
A
Carol for Children OGDEN NASH
God rest you merry, Innocents, Let nothing you dismay, Let nothing wound an eager heart Upon this Christmas day. Yours be the genial holly wreaths, The stockings and the tree; An aged world to you bequeaths Its own forgotten glee. Soon, soon enough come crueler gifts, The anger and the tears; Between you now there sparsely drifts A handful yet of years. Oh, dimly, dimly glows the star Through the electric throng; The bidding in temple and bazaar Drowns out the silver song. The ancient altars smoke afresh, The ancient idols stir; Faint in the reek of burning flesh Sink frankincense and myrrh.
Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Book j 29
Gaspar, Balthazar, Melchior! Where are your offerings now? What greetings to the Prince of War, His darkly branded brow? Two ultimate laws alone we know, The ledger and the sword— So far away, so long ago, We lost the infant Lord. Only the children clasp His hand; His voice speaks low to them, And still for them the shining band Wings over Bethlehem. God rest you merry, Innocents, While Innocence endures. A sweeter Christmas than we to ours May you bequeath to yours.
Norman Rockwell’s Christmas Book j 30
Y es, Virginia,
There Is a Santa Claus F ra n c is P . C hur c h
Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says “If you see it in The Sun it’s so.” Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? V irgi n ia O ’ H a n lo n
N orman Rockwell’s Christmas Book j 190
Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge. Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus! It would be as dreary as if there were no Virginias. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence. We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished. Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies! You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove? Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see. No Santa Claus! Thank God, he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood. — T h e N e w Yo r k S u n , S eptem b er 2 1 , 1 8 9 7
F annie Merritt Farmer’s Christmas Dinner
From The Original Boston Cooking School Cookbook (1896)
Menu Clam and Oyster Soup Bread Sticks Olives Celery Salted Pecans Roast Goose with Potato Stuffing Apple Sauce Cream of Lima Beans Duchess Potatoes Dressed Lettuce with Cheese Straws Mince, Apple, and Squash Pies Frozen Pudding Vanilla Wafers Crackers Cheese Café Noir
h 213 h
DUCHESS POTATOES To two cups hot riced potatoes add two tablespoons butter, one-half teaspoon salt, and yolks of three eggs slightly beaten. Shape, using pastry bag and tube, in form of baskets, pyramids, crowns, leaves, roses, etc. Brush over with beaten egg diluted with one teaspoon water, and brown in a hot oven.
LETTUCE Lettuce is obtainable all the year, and is especially valuable during the winter and spring, when other green vegetables in market command a high price. Although containing but little nutriment, it is useful for the large quantity of water and potash salts that it contains, and assists in stimulating the appetite. Curly lettuce is of less value than Tennis Ball, but makes an effective garnish. Lettuce should be separated by removing leaves from stalk (discarding wilted outer leaves), washed, kept in cold water until crisp, drained, and so placed on a towel that water may drop from leaves. A bag made from white mosquito netting is useful for drying lettuce. Wash lettuce leaves, place in bag, and hang in lower part of icebox to drain. Wire baskets are used for the same purpose. Arrange lettuce for serving in nearly its original shape. Serve with French Dressing.
N orman Rockwell’s Christmas Book j 215