[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 32, Number 50 (Monday, December 16, 1996)]
[Page 2489]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Message on the Observance of Christmas 1996

December 11, 1996

    Warm greetings to everyone celebrating Christmas.
    Each year during this blessed season, the world pauses to look back 
across the centuries to the birth of a Child. This Child was born to 
poor but loving parents in the small town of Bethlehem--born into a 
world where few noticed His coming, except for some simple shepherds and 
a few wise men. He was the Son of God and the King of Kings, but He 
chose to come among us as servant and Savior.
    Though two thousand years have passed since Jesus first walked the 
earth, much remains the same. Today's world is still caught up in the 
challenges and cares of everyday existence, and too often we crowd God 
into the background of our experience. Too often we still ignore His 
loving presence in our lives and the precious gifts of peace and hope 
that He so freely offers to us all. And today, as on that first 
Christmas morning, He still reveals himself to the loving, the wise, and 
the simple of heart.
    As we gather with family and friends again this year to celebrate 
Christmas, let us welcome God wholeheartedly into our daily lives. Let 
us learn to recognize Him not only in the faces of our loved ones, but 
also in the faces of those who, like Jesus, are familiar with poverty, 
hardship, and rejection. And let us be inspired by His example to serve 
one another with generous hearts and open hands. In this way we will 
approach the dawn of a new century and a new millennium confident in 
God's abundant grace and strengthened by His timeless promise of 
salvation.
    Hillary joins me in praying that the peace and joy of this holiday 
season will remain with you throughout the coming year. Merry Christmas, 
and God bless you.
                                                  Bill Clinton