The Spirit of Christmas by Henry van Dyke

Henry van Dyke (1852–1933) was an American author, educator, and clergyman.

This short book, first published in 1905, is a homily on Christmas and is illustrated with Christmas photographs and drawings from about that time.

The book has three short stories on the true meaning of Christmas and two Christmas prayers. The message of this book is as relevant today as it was when it was written.

One of van Dyke's best-known poems is titled "Time Is" (Music and Other Poems, 1904), also known as "For Katrina's Sundial" because it was composed to be an inscription on a sundial in the garden of an estate owned by his friends Spencer and Katrina Trask. The second section of the poem, which was read at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, reads as follows: 

Time is 

Too slow for those who Wait,

Too swift for those who Fear, 

Too long for those who Grieve, 

Too short for those who Rejoice, 

But for those who Love,

Time is not.