{"product_id":"2940013649507","title":"THE FEAST OF ST. FRIEND","description":"CHAPTER\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   I. THE FACT\u003cbr\u003e  II. THE REASON\u003cbr\u003e III. THE SOLSTICE AND GOODWILL\u003cbr\u003e  IV. THE APPOSITENESS OF CHRISTMAS\u003cbr\u003e   V. DEFENCE OF FEASTING\u003cbr\u003e  VI. TO REVITALIZE THE FESTIVAL\u003cbr\u003e VII. THE GIFT OF ONESELF\u003cbr\u003eVIII. THE FEAST OF ST. FRIEND\u003cbr\u003e  IX. THE REACTION\u003cbr\u003e   X. ON THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eONE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTHE FACT\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSomething has happened to Christmas, or to our hearts; or to both. In\u003cbr\u003eorder to be convinced of this it is only necessary to compare the\u003cbr\u003epresent with the past. In the old days of not so long ago the festival\u003cbr\u003ebegan to excite us in November. For weeks the house rustled with\u003cbr\u003echarming and thrilling secrets, and with the furtive noises of paper\u003cbr\u003eparcels being wrapped and unwrapped; the house was a whispering gallery.\u003cbr\u003eThe tension of expectancy increased to such a point that there was a\u003cbr\u003epositive danger of the cord snapping before it ought to snap. On the\u003cbr\u003eEve we went to bed with no hope of settled sleep. We knew that we should\u003cbr\u003ebe wakened and kept awake by the waits singing in the cold; and we were\u003cbr\u003eglad to be kept awake so. On the supreme day we came downstairs hiding\u003cbr\u003edelicious yawns, and cordially pretending that we had never been more\u003cbr\u003efit. The day was different from other days; it had a unique romantic\u003cbr\u003equality, tonic, curative of all ills. On that day even the tooth-ache\u003cbr\u003evanished, retiring far into the wilderness with the spiteful word, the\u003cbr\u003evenomous thought, and the unlovely gesture. We sang with gusto\u003cbr\u003e\"Christians awake, salute the happy morn.\" We did salute the happy morn.\u003cbr\u003eAnd when all the parcels were definitely unpacked, and the secrets of\u003cbr\u003eall hearts disclosed, we spent the rest of the happy morn in waiting,\u003cbr\u003ecandidly greedy, for the first of the great meals. And then we ate, and\u003cbr\u003ewe drank, and we ate again; with no thought of nutrition, nor of\u003cbr\u003ereasonableness, nor of the morrow, nor of dyspepsia. We ate and drank\u003cbr\u003ewithout fear and without shame, in the sheer, abandoned ecstasy of\u003cbr\u003ecelebration. And by means of motley paper headgear, fit only for a\u003cbr\u003ecarnival, we disguised ourselves in the most absurd fashions, and yet\u003cbr\u003edid not make ourselves seriously ridiculous; for ridicule is in the\u003cbr\u003evision, not in what is seen. And we danced and sang and larked, until we\u003cbr\u003ecould no more. And finally we chanted a song of ceremony, and separated;\u003cbr\u003eending the day as we had commenced it, with salvoes of good wishes. And\u003cbr\u003ethe next morning we were indisposed and enfeebled; and we did not care;\u003cbr\u003ewe suffered gladly; we had our pain's worth, and more. This was the\u003cbr\u003epast.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47172267344112,"sku":"2940013649507","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013649507_p0.jpg?v=1763583743","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013649507","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}