Christmas is the season to be jolly. A time to spend with family and friends. A time to cut down an evergreen tree and decorate it with glittery tinsel. A time to celebrate the birth of Jesus. A time to exchange gifts. A time for angelic voices to belt out Carols. A time to mail cards. And a time to savour turkey, dressing, and maybe lumpy mashed potatoes.

But for many there’s not much to be jolly about. Christmas can be such a lonely time. Parents and children are estranged, or a loved one has died. I don’t mean to put a damper on Christmas but that’s the reality. The thought of spending Christmas without loved ones by their side, rips open wounds they thought had healed, and reminds them of the pain too great to bear.

“My Friends at Christmas” is a poem I received from a dear widow friend of mine who took the time to think of me. Thanks Trudy.

Why not invite someone over for Christmas dinner or tuck this poem inside a card to brighten someone’s Christmas?

My Friends at Christmas

Author Unknown

There are a lot of friends I have

All written in a book,

And every year at Christmas time

I go and take a look.

That is when I realize

These names are just a part

Not of the book they’re written in

But in my very heart.

Each name stands for someone

Who has crossed my path sometime,

And in that meeting they’ve become

The rhythm of the rhyme.

I really feel I am composed

Of each remembered name,

A little bit of each of you

Will e’er with me remain.

And while you may not be aware

Of any special link,

Just meeting you has shaped my life

Much more than you can think.

For once you’ve met somebody

The years cannot erase,

The memory of a pleasant word

Or of a friendly face.

So never think my Christmas cards

Are just a mere routine,

Of names upon a Christmas list

Forgotten in between.

For when I send a Christmas card

That is addressed to you,

It is because you’re on that list

Of friends I am indebted to.

For you are an example

Of friends that I have met

And you happen to be one of those

I prefer not to forget.

And whether I have known you

For many years or few,

In some way you have had a part

In shaping things I do.

And every year when Christmas comes

I realize a new,

A special gift that life can give

Is having friends like you.

So may the spirit of Christmas

That forever and ever endures,

Leave its richest blessings

In the hearts of You and Yours.