The gloom of the world is but a shadow. Behind it, yet within our reach, is joy. There is radiance and glory in the darkness, could we but see; and to see, we have only to look.
And so, at this Christmas time, I greet you; not quite as the world sends greetings, but with profound esteem, and with the prayer that for you, now and forever, the day breaks and the shadows flee away.
Fra Giovanni Giocondo
A Letter to Contessina Allagia Dela Aldobrandeschi,
Written Christmas Eve 1513
Happy Christmas!