"Christmas Bells"

  • Published
  • By Chaplain (Maj.) William Thornton
  • 325th Fighter Wing Chapel
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, one of America's best remembered poets, composed the words to the Christmas carol, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day," on Dec. 25, 1864. This carol was originally a poem entitled, "Christmas Bells," which contained seven verses, two of which referred to the American Civil War, and were later omitted. The remaining five verses were slightly rearranged in 1872, and are best known as the carol. Longfellow's original poem reflects the despair of the war years and the confident hope of peace.

"I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" flowed from tragedy involving Longfellow's wife, Fanny, and a crippling war injury of his son, Charles.

Longfellow married Frances Appleton July 13, 1843 and the two were blessed with the birth of their first child, Charles, June 9, 1844. They eventually had five children.

On April 12, 1861, Confederate General Pierre G. T. Beauregard fired the opening shots of the American Civil War. On July 10 of that year, Fanny was fatally burned in an accident. It is said that, after trimming some of her seven year old daughter's curls, Fanny decided to preserve the clippings in wax. A few drops of the wax fell on her dress and a strong breeze caused the wax to catch fire, wrapping her in flames. She ran into the next room, where Longfellow tried desperately to put out the flames. Finally, he threw his arms around his wife, trying to smother the fire. His own face, arms and hands were burned in the heroic attempt to save his wife's life, but Fanny died the next day. Longfellow could not attend her funeral because of his burns and grief.

On Christmas after Fanny's death Longfellow wrote, "How inexpressibly sad are all holidays." A year after the incident he wrote, "I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace." On Dec. 25, 1862 Longfellow's journal reads, "'A merry Christmas' say the children, but that is no more for me."

On Dec. 1, 1863, Longfellow received word that his son, Charles, a lieutenant in the Army of the Potomac, had been severely wounded in the battle of New Hope Church, Virginia.
Lieutenant Charles Longfellow was shot through the left shoulder. The bullet traveled across his back, nicked his spine and exited under his right shoulder. He barely missed being paralyzed but survived the injury. The Christmas of 1863 had no entry in Longfellow's journal.

Finally, on Christmas Day in1864, he penned the poem, "Christmas Bells." Possibly the reelection of President Abraham Lincoln or the hope for the end of the terrible war may have been the occasion for the poem. The writing of "Christmas Bells," now known as "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" took place as Longfellow sat nursing his son and giving thanks for his survival.

As we sing or read the carol, we are reminded, as was Longfellow, that "God is not dead, nor does He sleep." The Psalmist writes in Psalm 121:4, "Behold, He that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep." Longfellow, in the midst of his grief, loss and misery affirms that "The wrong shall fail, the right prevail."

The song is a message that the Living God is a God of Peace, in which Longfellow proclaims at the end of the carol, "Of peace on Earth, good will to men."
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. And, may the Prince of Peace grant you and your family His peace! "Glory to God in the Highest, and on Earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke 2:14).