Very gay they were with snow and sleigh-bells, holly-boughs, and garlands, below, and Christmas sunshine in the winter sky above. All faces shone, all voices had a cheery ring, and everybody stepped briskly on errands of good-will. – Louisa May Alcott, “Seamstress,” Work: A Story of Experience, 1873

There are some people who want to throw their arms round you simply because it is Christmas there are other people who want to strangle you simply because it is Christmas. – Robert Staughton Lynd