CHRISTMAS GREETINGS, COMPTROLLER'S
OFFICE CAROL CONCERT

ANNAPOLIS

December 22, 1959

This occasion for many years has been for me a high point in the
Christmas season. It is always a joy and a delight to meet here with
friends and fellow employees to sing the old carols of Christmas.

The first Christmas carol, we know, was sung by the heavenly hosts
proclaiming the birth of our Lord. "Glory be to God in the highest, "
they sang. "And on earth, peace, good will toward men. "

The Christmas story—the story of the birth of Jesus—is a story of
men and angels rejoicing. And so, the Christmas season today, when we
commemorate this the greatest of our Christian miracles, is a time for
merriment and rejoicing—for peace, charity and good fellowship.

Joy and peace are the themes of the first Christmas story, told to us in
simplicity in the Gospels. The angel who bore the heavenly message
told the shepherds to have no fear, that he brought to them and to all
mankind "good tidings of great joy. " The message was that the
infant Jesus, who lay with his holy mother in the Bethlehem stable, had
brought peace on earth, good will toward men. And so, we must for-
ever commemorate this occurrence with gladness in our hearts, with
peace in our souls, with a feeling of love and kindness for our fellow-
men everywhere.

Christmas is no time to be gloomy, cold-hearted or cynical. It is a
time for mirth and merrymaking. Shakespeare called it a "hallowed"
and "gracious" time, and Washington Irving described it as a season
"for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial fire of charity
in the heart. " And so, on this Christmas of the year 1959, while we
exchange gifts and good wishes among members of our families and our
friends and entertain hopes of a better future for ourselves and every-
one else, let us resolve to do all within our power to bring about peace
on earth and good will among men. Let us pray that the spirit of
Christmas—of peace on earth, joy and brotherhood—will abide with us,
so that the significance of Christ's birth will not be lost to man and
that peace may prevail in this troubled world.

To you here, and to people everywhere, I extend my best wishes for
a happy, healthy holiday. A merry Christmas to you and to those near
and dear to you.

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