[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 17]
[EX]
[Page 23597]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 23597]]

                          TRIBUTE TO CHRISTMAS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB SCHAFFER

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 29, 2001

  Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, Christmas during wartime is an unsettling 
conflict in vision and emotion for Americans. A peace-loving nation, 
the United States has always been resolved in the face of tyranny to 
crush the purveyors of terror and to vanquish the enemies of freedom; 
and with firm reliance upon the protection of Divine Providence. 
Celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace is a testimony to 
authentic liberty, and invigorates the spirit of a nation whose motto 
boldly stands ``in God we trust.''
  America will prevail, because it always has, because it must, and 
because it is right.
  President Franklin Roosevelt asked, ``how can we pause, even for a 
day, even for Christmas Day, in our urgent labor of arming a decent 
humanity against the enemies which beset it?'' Today, Americans 
confront the same question. The answer is, of course, the same, and so 
the outcome will be.
  The nation's first Christmas occurred amidst the Revolutionary War. 
With the Continental Army poised to turn the momentum of the war, 
General George Washington conceived a daring tactic which would unfold 
on the Eve of Christmas 1776. Under cover of darkness and well after 
the Hessian mercenaries had consumed their Holiday feast (and drink), 
Washington led his troops across the Delaware River to defeat the 
heavy, surprised, and more numerous Hessian mercenaries who held 
Trenton, NJ.
  A few months prior to the famous attack, Washington wrote, ``the time 
is now near at hand which must probably determine whether Americans are 
to be freemen or slaves; whether they are to have any property they can 
call their own; whether their houses and farms are to be pillaged and 
destroyed, and themselves consigned to a state of wretchedness from 
which no human efforts will deliver them. The fate of unborn millions 
will now depend, under God, on the courage of this army. Our cruel and 
unrelenting enemy leaves us only the choice of brave resistance, or the 
most abject submission. We have, therefore, to resolve to conquer or 
die.''
  In 1862, entering the second year of the Civil War, President Abraham 
Lincoln inspired his countrymen through the Christmas season. Before 
Congress, he delivered a stirring speech: ``the dogmas of the quiet 
past are inadequate to the stormy present,'' Lincoln said. ``The 
occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise to the 
occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew. We 
must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country.''
  Roosevelt's address following the Japanese attack upon Pearl Harbor 
urged Americans to take inspiration from the sacred Holiday. ``Our 
strongest weapon in this war is that conviction of the dignity and 
brotherhood of man which Christmas Day signifies--more than any other 
day or any other symbol. Against enemies who preach the principles of 
hate and practice them, we set our faith in human love and in God's 
care for us and all men everywhere,'' he said. ``It is in that spirit, 
and with particular thoughtfulness of those our sons and brothers, who 
serve in our armed forces on land and sea, near and far--those who 
serve for us and endure for us--that we light our Christmas candles now 
across the continent from one coast to the other on this Christmas 
Eve.''
  From the Christmas Eve crossing of the Delaware, to the Christmases 
observed in Civil War camps, the trenches of World War I, and the 
forests of Belgium during WWII, Americans have always been willing to 
fight to secure their nation and restore peace.
  American men and women presently deployed in Afghanistan, the Middle 
East, Bosnia, Korea, throughout the world and here at home, are 
emblematic of the sacrifice and dedication of the proud American 
soldiers who preceded them. The cause of freedom, liberty and valor 
serves to summon the courage of those who stand in harm's way, but even 
more does the spirit of Christmas confirm the hope and blessing that is 
God's gift to America. The way to victory was shown to the world by a 
child whose birthday is revered around the world. America's trust in 
God will lead us to victory again.

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