I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day
(Christmas Hymn)
(Written by Hymcharts Team)
“Peace seems impossible when suffering surrounds us. The Christmas bells ring out their message of hope, yet our hearts often struggle to believe. Such was the case for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow when he penned one of Christianity’s most poignant Christmas carols – a hymn born from the depths of personal tragedy and national strife.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was already one of America’s most celebrated poets when tragedy began to shape his greatest hymn. Born in 1807, he had built both a successful career and a loving family in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His colonial mansion, which had served as General Washington’s headquarters during the Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1776, was home to him, his beloved wife Fanny Elizabeth Appleton, and their six children. Together they raised Charles (their eldest, born June 9, 1844), Ernest, and four daughters—though one daughter had tragically died in infancy. But neither literary acclaim nor historical surroundings could shield him from the storms approaching.
The first blow came in July 1861. Fanny was sealing envelopes with hot wax when her dress caught fire. Henry, awakened from a nap, rushed to help. He desperately tried to extinguish the flames, first with a rug and then with his own body, but the damage was already done. Fanny died the next morning, July 10, 1861. Henry’s burns were so severe he couldn’t even attend his wife’s funeral. The physical scars forced him to grow a beard – an image that would become his trademark – but the emotional scars ran far deeper. At times, his grief was so overwhelming that he feared being sent to an asylum. He would write in his journal, “I can make no record of these days. Better leave them wrapped in silence. Perhaps someday God will give me peace.””
As if personal loss wasn’t enough, the nation was tearing itself apart in Civil War. Then in March 1863, Longfellow’s oldest son Charles – “Charley” to his family – quietly slipped away from home at age eighteen, boarding a train bound for Washington, D.C. to join the Union Army. He traveled over 400 miles down the eastern seaboard, initially seeking to enlist as a private with the 1st Massachusetts Artillery… “(To be continued…)
Sometimes we may not understand why certain things happen in our life. But I am glad that Jesus promised us His peace which is a peace beyond understanding. It’s a peace which will keep our hearts, our faith, our trust in Jesus strong and steady!