“The march led toward the East, and as we marched, my eye quickly picked out a bright star shining down near the Eastern horizon. At once I remembered another Star that likewise shone so brightly on Christmas Eve. But now things seemed so different. Danger and death apparently were lurking behind every house as we passed.
“And then it happened—but not as we expected it. For, coming clearly and crisply from a group of buildings we were passing was the sound, not of machine guns or rifles, but the sweet and lovely strains of a blessed Christmas carol.
“The effect was electric. We all felt it. I looked at my buddy, who was a hard boiled sergeant. He caught his lip in his teeth and with tears coursing down his cheeks, he marched on unashamed.”
Well, there you have it. With the spirit of good will moving in the hearts of men, the Christmas spirit overcomes the rattle of the machine gun. It is wonderful to contemplate what effect the Christmas spirit has even on souls hardened by men at war.
More familiar, of course, are the homey evidences of the Christmas spirit ... the smell of balsam boughs and turkey roasting; the sight of the bright red berries on a wreath of holly; the soft caress of a falling snowflake on a moonlit Christmas Eve; the unforgettable taste of that red and white peppermint candy cane; and above all, the sweet notes of Christmas carols falling on the ear—all these things bring to us the spirit of Christmas at home.
But something deeper than all of that is there, because Christmas reminds us of the song of the angels, of “Peace on Earth among Men of Good Will.”
So similar is the spirit of Scouting, which grows out of such vivid experiences as these: The smell of woodfire with bacon broiling above it; the call of the loon over the lake on a quiet night; the sight of a great bird soaring over pines on a mountain top; the comforting feel of your buddy’s shoulder as you hike along a woodland trail at night; the unforgettable taste of wild strawberries gathered to augment the Patrol’s menu.
These things have a part, it is true, in the spirit of Scouting, but there is something far deeper, as we all know. For Scouting, like Christmas, is a thing of the spirit.
“Happyfying”
No season is happier than the Christmas season, and the secret of that happiness lies in what our founder, Baden-Powell, called “happyfying.” It is the philosophy of the old song, “I want to be happy, but I can’t be happy, ’till I make you happy, too.”