AA MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL
        The Holiday Season is upon us once again.  Later this month we will celebrate the Birth of our Savior, the Prince of Peace, the Great Captain of our Salvation.  As Knights Templar we have dedicated ourselves to His service, joining with millions of believers throughout the world in following and promoting His teachings.  We look forward to the celebration of Christmas which brings to our immediate attention the beauty of His birth among us.  It is a time full of wonder and joy for all of us, a time that invites our participation in many Yuletide events designed to commemorate His arrival.  Each of us holds an awesome responsibility to follow carefully in His footsteps by promoting brotherly love, relief, and truth in all of our undertakings throughout each day of each year.  
At Christmas we have the special opportunity of truly enjoying the beauty of the most pleasant and meaningful holiday of them all.  Although each year Christmas seems to come about so quickly, and to leave us just as quickly, we still have many opportunities for showing our true feelings about this special Holiday and its full meaning.  Several years ago when your Editor was traveling to many locations throughout our Country he was both pleased and often astonished at how many people even in truly isolated locations were carrying the spirit of Christmas into their homes by displaying candles in their windows and decorations on their lawns.  In Door County of rural northern Wisconsin, the peninsula surrounded by Lake Michigan where there are more cows than people, even the most isolated farmhouses were decorated, some with candles even in their barns.  Several shipyards in this location would close down their operations so that their workers might enjoy Christmas with their families.  One shipyard regularly gave a turkey to each and every employee for their Christmas dinner, a practice carried out for many years.   Here in New Hampshire the spirit of the Season is amply indicated by decorations in nearly every home, and carols are often sung by small groups strolling through neighborhoods and nursing homes.  It is both a festive and important holiday for many, and one that is approached with much anticipation.
Our Fraternity has events designed to support the Christmas season, particularly within our Commanderies of Knights Templar.  Special services are conducted in several of our Commanderies, usually during the afternoon of the Sunday before Christmas.  In recent years these special services have seen diminishing numbers of attendees, for whatever reason.  It is a busy time for all of us, and perhaps other things simply get in the way.  For example, usually three or four other Commanderies hold their services on the same afternoon and at the same hour, impeding those who might otherwise wish to attend the services at nearby Commanderies.  We surely hope that a few changes might entice our Guests as well as our own Sir Knights and their families to attend with us and enjoy this special occasion.
At this writing we have learned about only one Christmas Observance planned for this year, and so we will provide a few details about it.  At DeWitt Clinton Commandery here in Portsmouth we traditionally arrange for a formal program with dedicated speakers and selected Christmas messages.  A nicely decorated cross-shaped table holds a beautiful array of poinsettias and holly berries, which are given away after the service along with a red carnation to each Lady present.  Our participating Officers are attired in full Knights Templar uniforms.  The Christmas message is recited and several Christmas carols are sung.  Often we have a special speaker from the local Clergy.  Refreshments follow the service.  It is a most enjoyable occasion, and an effective approach to Christmas a few days away.   
This year we are making a change in the timing of the program in hopes that it will allow more Sir Knights, their families and Guests, to come and join us in celebrating the Birth of our beloved Jesus.  The program will be held on our regular meeting night on Monday, December 17, 2007.  We will begin with a complimentary dinner at 6:30 PM.  After dinner we will move to our Asylum and hold our annual Christmas Observance.  We have invited several distinguished Guests to attend and participate in the Observance by delivering their own personal message for the occasion.  Invited Guests include the following:
Most Excellent Companion William J. Morrison, the Most Excellent Grand High Priest of the Grand Chapter Royal Arch Masons of New Hampshire;
Most Illustrious Companion Nathaniel H. Sawyer, the Most Illustrious Grand Master of the Grand Council of Cryptic Masons of New Hampshire;
Right Eminent Sir Knight Allen L. Ilsley, the Right Eminent Grand Commander of the Grand Commandery Knights Templar of New Hampshire;
Illustrious Brother Richard W. Elliot, the Illustrious Deputy for New Hampshire of the Supreme Council, 33o Degree, Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, Northern Masonic Jurisdiction, United States of America;
Most Worshipful Brother Robert G. Hatfield, the Most Worshipful Grand Master of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New Hampshire.
The Observance will include our Annual Knights Templar Memorial Service honoring those Fraters of our own Jurisdiction who have gone to their eternal reward during the past year.  Many Christmas Carols will be sung, and a Charity Offering will be invited to support the Knights Templar Eye Foundation.  It promises to be a most pleasant and inspiring evening, and an eminently suitable prelude to the arrival of Christmas just a few days hence.
While we all must enter the busy world of shopping and preparation for the big day, it is most important that we keep in our minds a clear and full understanding of what we celebrate on the superb Holiday that we call Christmas.  It is a time when we offer our most profound appreciation for the arrival of our Beloved Savior some two thousand and seven years ago under modest circumstances in a place called Bethlehem of Judea.  While He was with us for only 33 years, we cherish His immeasurable contributions to humanity and His boundless teachings that we strive to follow during every day of our lives.  We hope to see many of our Sir Knights and their Guests at one or more of our Christmas Observances, a fitting tribute to the Prince of Peace.                                   RAR