In the flood of the holidays, amid the glittering shop windows, the brightly colored greeting cards, and the long, boisterous evening parties — in the midst of the merriment and these varied displays of joy at mankind's salvation through the coming of the Redeemer — we wanted to know what Christmas inspires among us! And this is Christmas as it is seen by:

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1 — Zakaa al-Asaad: a girl of seven.

"Christmas is the feast of beautiful presents, the feast of chocolate and sugared almonds and sweets, the feast of the beautiful tree full of ornaments, the feast of the 'good' children who honored or obeyed their parents — so the Child Jesus told Papa Noël about them and sent them presents with him, out of his love for them!!"

2 — Andrée Moussa: a student.

Christmas? Is Christmas anything but beautiful days, all of them school holiday? Memories of merriment, waiting for Papa Noël... (Between you and me, I play his part now among the children of the family, so now I laugh at my anxiety when I used to wait for him as a child!)... This beautiful feeling — the feeling of giving,

and the spirit that lies in giving — lends Christmas a special aspect that sets it apart from all the other feasts. God gave us His Son to bear our sins for us, and yet we still flounder in them, forever forgetting that greatest gift — salvation.

3 — Miss Amal Khoury: a student at Beirut College for Women.

Whenever I think of Christmas I think of the shining tree, and the fire sending warmth into bodies, and the Christmas carols stirring reverence in the hearts of men, reminding them of the first glad tidings of peace

on earth — that peace we still need, and to obtain which we need to follow the teachings of the newborn

Child. As for the deep, powerful feeling Christmas inspires, it is hard to put into words: it is emotion, it is thought, it is reverence.

4 — Mr. Ghassan Tueni: deputy in the Chamber of Deputies.

Christmas often reminds me of my childhood — the parties, and the family life on Christmas Eve; these are

in truth among the most beautiful memories a man returns to, for the peace of mind they inspire.

On the public plane, Christmas moves me to wonder about the greatest miracle in history, the miracle of God's becoming man. Those who believe — whether in the humanity of God or in the divinity