A letter “To the Women of Germany and Austria” was a public
message for peace signed by 101 British women suffragists at the end of 1914 as
the first Christmas of World War 1 approached.
Emily Hobhouse authored the Open Christmas Letter and
circulated it for signatures. For now I
leave you to read more at the Wikipedia page on the Letter … and I will draft
my post about Emily next year.
The paragraph titled “Message” is worth reading …
 |
| Emily Hobhouse (1860 - 1926) |
One hundred and one years ago life was not much different ... wars were going on ... the genders were not treated equally ... food was scarce ... peoples from all over the world helped (and hindered) each other, ideas were sewn to improve the world ... and so it goes.
Déjà vu blogfest – I am afraid I failed … but I had a look at
my posts – and you are all so generous in your support, and your thoughtful
comments … that I felt you'd all come by and read with elegant sufficiency! ...
 |
| A hedgehog igloo |
… except perhaps the Hedgehog and Harvest Mouse post earlier
this month … with now the added question when cometh winter? … and how will flora and
fauna adapt to these warm conditions …
… today is the shortest day of the year - tomorrow the light
increases (yeah) in the northern hemisphere … becoming apparent in the middle
of January.
 |
| Winter Cyclamen |
So for now a very happy Christmas to one and all … and as
Emily and her fellow suffragists from the UK, America, Germany, Austria, South
Africa, India, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, France, and many more
sympathisers wished …
… “Is it not our mission to preserve life?”
… today with our knowledge broader, I would add … we need to
cherish all life … from a humble bee, to an innocent insect, to creeping, clambering plants, to
the elephantidae …
… the only surviving family of the order Proboscidea … and
back to the chongolo – the renowned African millipede …
Remember others … smile lots … think of the planet as you go
about your Christmassy days and each of the 365 to follow as 2016 approaches …
Happy Christmas and/or Happy Holidays ...
Hilary Melton-Butcher
Positive Letters Inspirational Stories
56 comments:
Happy Christmas to you too, my friend. At one point in time when I was much, much younger, I thought that the world and its peoples would come to understand the futility of war and of hurting each other. Sending lots of love your way. We can, after all, only do what we are capable of, and for me, caring for my friends is one of those things. Hugs, Inger
We certainly do need to cherish all of life! Wishing you a very Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas to you. I always try to live in the moment, knowing that it is a good thing to appreciate the people and things in my life.
Happy Christmas to you, Hilary. I go into 2016 hopeful that more people will elect for peace for all.
preserve and cherish all life. A very fitting post as we close out 2015 and look to 2016. Thanks - the mission continues anon
Brightest wishes at the Solstice Hilary, and happy Christmas. Here's to a 2016 where the seeds of peace are not only planted by mature into full grown forests.
A wonderful Christmas to you too, Hilary. As for cherishing life, I sincerely hope the coming year will see a more focused attempt to cherish all life - there has been far too much tragedy this last year and too many reports of wasted life, both animal and human. As John Lennon said...All we need is love, love is all we need... Have a blessed week and a great New Year!
It's nice to know the days will soon start lengthening and spring is on the way.
Happy Christmas to you - and Hardwick!
I didn't know about that letter, so you've filled a gap in my knowledge. I'm certainly getting to like Emily very much! have a wonderful Christmas and New Year.
Anabel's Travel Blog
Merry Christmas, Hilary. I love this mission of peace and love of all creatures great and small. Sadly, we appear to live on the war planet, and I wonder why...
@ Inger - I must say I agree .. and I thought after the Millennium, before the Financial Crash, the world was on a better footing .. seemingly not so. Thanks so much for all your support - and exactly, we can only do what we can do within our own ambit ... with love and hugs back to you ..
@ Sherry - glad you think like I do .. cherishing life as a whole ...
@ Linda - many thanks - yes living in the moment is a good idea, know that each and every moment is so important to our life as a whole.
@ Susan - let's hope more will join us and elect for peace ...
@ Joanne - as you say - the mission must continue - to preserve and cherish life, and one and all ...
@ Deborah - Thank you for the Solstice wishes ... and so true let's sow those seeds of peace, which we can help grow into those forests of love, blessings and goodwill for all in the future ...
@ Val - thank you for your thoughts. Yes it would be good if the world could cherish itself and all its occupants ... and I did think about the John Lennon song ... it nearly got in to the post - and now it has ...
"All we Need is Love", Love is All we Need ..."
@ Patsy - isn't it good about the lengthening days, with Spring on its way ...
@ Anabel - I'm glad I could highlight Emily's Open Christmas Letter ... and so good to know you're liking Emily a lot! More next year ...
@ Monti - if only we could breed this Mission of Peace and Love of all Creatures great and small .. I agree it would be just amazing ... I really don't know why we live on the War Planet in this day and age ...
Thanks to you all - so good to know you're with me in this journey of love and peace for the world ... Happy Christmas and have a lovely time ... Hilary
It seems cherishing life is hard for some. We mustn't give up hope.
Thanks for the blitz, and a very Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Happy Christmas, Hilary. Yes, it's amazing how much has not changed in the past 100 years. Our day-to-day lives and connectedness have been altered by technology, but in the grand scheme of things human nature is still the same.
Emily Hobhouse was one fascinating woman. And how beautiful she was. I wish everyone would take to heart the need to cherish life. What a wonderful planet we'd have.
Enjoy your holidays, Hilary. May 2016 bring you joy.
We need more Emily Hobhouses. Except that I think, I believe, I hope that she still exists.
Worldwide.
Happy holidays to you and yours.
Hope you have a wonderful Christmas Hilary. Would like to see some white stuff here.
Yup, much as I don't like creepy crawlies, I agree with Cherish all Life.
Have yourself a very Merry Christmas! Enjoy the moments of life as life is actually very brief and the journey towards light slowly begins.
You'd think we would have made more progress in 101 years. Considering how much has changed in technology, it's a really sad statement on humanity that so little social change has happened.
Your posts are so encouraging, inspiring and educational all the time.
I would like to make it my mission to save lives. I wish I could do something to save human, animals and plants alike. I am praying for the day when no one hurts any one or any thing. I wish that we have peace on this planet of ours. I agree with Dianne here, it is a shame that we have not changed much when it comes to making peace. May God grant human beings some common sense and some respect for life.
I hope that all is well with you. I hope that you get to enjoy the Holidays and get every thing you have wished for. Amen
I hope that in the coming year more of the world will cherish life and uphold peace.
@ Mary - yes cherishing does seem to be quite difficult for some. I think I failed on the blitz too ... but my thoughts are with you all ...
@ Ian - exactly ... some things have changed, yet when we look back not much has in our social relationships ... lots of technology yes, but as you say we need to think of others.
@ Lee - thanks re Emily ... she was extraordinarily attractive wasn't she. She was for the underdog, the people who deserved to be treated better ... and our lives and thus planet would be considerably improved.
@ EC - we do need more people like Emily ... and we do have them - they are amongst us. We just hear too much negative ... the positives and positive people should be brought out more.
@ Jo - I most definitely don't want the white stuff - well too much of it ... though we need frost and some cold. Everything is interlinked somewhere in the chain of life - so as you say we need to cherish it.
@ Truedessa - yes our moments of life are very brief and now with the Solstice change our journey towards light does move slowly forward ...
@ Dianne - oh gosh I wish the world had learnt about life ... humans need to evolve to look at what effect their actions will have to others, rather than the selfish approach.
@ Munir - thank you so much. Each day we can do a little for some aspect of life ...all the threads lead to a better existence. Dianne said it right didn't she ... and as you say we need common sense and more respect for life.
@ Beste - I would hope so ... and believe we can change ... at least we can start in our own backyard.
Thanks so much everyone ... it's wonderful being amongst a group of appreciative and supportive carers of life ...
Have very happy Christmases and festive seasons ... Hilary
Great post Hilary - found the previous one fascinating too. So - thank you for all your posts and for popping over to comment on my humble efforts as you do. Have a wonderful Christmas and all that's good for 2016.
Happy Winter and Happy Christmas to you, Hilary!
Déjà vu is very true in all respects ! even with the weather ! I remember sometimes in the 70th we had 18°C at Christmas Eve !
A very Merry Christmas to you, Hilary. I enjoyed reading the message from all those years ago. History is there for us to learn from, yet much of the same continues. Maybe if we keep talking about it. Maybe will make tiny steps ahead. Very much enjoyed reading your post. My very best for the New Year.
Happy Short Solstice, Merry Christmas, and a very happy New Year, Hilary. It's been wonderful following your blog. I can't wait to see and read where you go next.
@ Mike - thanks for your comment ... am glad the posts interested you and that generally you've enjoyed them. It's a pleasure coming over - your humble efforts are not humble at all - I'd like to emulate them!
@ Liza - Happy Winter - well I'm waiting with baited breath for that ... we haven't had any yet.
@ Gattina - the weather is being very strange ... but I don't remember as warm a Christmas time as this ... but I could have been in South Africa by then.
@ Silvia - thankyou - I'm glad you appreciated Emily's message - we don't seem to learn do we. Let's hope the Maybe and the baby steps will lead us to peace. Something needs to happen ...
@ Joylene - yes we're into longer days ... it feels apparent, yet can't be for a couple of weeks or so ... but it's so 'warm'. Thanks so much ... and yes I need to finish the West Country .. then we've the A-Z and then - who knows!
Cheers to you - I really appreciate your visits and wish you all a very happy Christmas and New Year. Hilary
We often take so much for granted in this world and fail to recognize our need to help all around us to continue with happiness and prosperity. I hope you have a lovely holiday.
Happy Christmas, Hilary
Sorry your entry failed in the deja vu blogfest. Sounds intriguing though. Emily Hobhouse sounds like a very passionate and courageous woman.
Thanks for the lovely Christmas letter and card. x
Merry Christmas to you! I hope you have a wonderful holiday.
It was a great year. I met a lot of cool blogger friends. Found a lot of cool blogs to read.
Looking forward to what 2016 has to offer. :)
Happy Christmas, Hilary! Wishing you all the best in the year to come xox
@ Steve - yes we all wander along in our lanes, without considering those we pass along the way - who could do with some cheer, some help, some compassion - let's encourage peace and thoughtfulness now and on into the New Year.
@ Madeleine - the blogfest is for posts that didn't get much traffic - and I'm so lucky my posts tend to get a fair number of comments, which delights me. I'll get to Emily next year .. passionate and courageous - yes.
@ Jean - many thanks ... I'm looking forward to the change!
@ Jeffrey - that's great .. our blogging friends are quite extraordinary and then there's their writing and knowledge we glean from them. I love it!
@ Deniz - many thanks for popping in ... have fun with your Emily and hubby.
Thanks so much everyone - have Happy Christmases, Boxing Day and the holiday break ... cheers and love to you all - Hilary
Wishing you a Merry Christmas! Hope your day is filled with lots of happiness and laughter. :)
~Jess
Hi Jess - good to see you and you too have an excellent Christmas day and festive season ... with as you say ... lots of laughter and happiness - cheers Hilary
A lovely Christmas to you, Hilary!
Sigh. Mankind has never been kind as a whole. It seems to be in our nature to destroy ourselves.
When the bees go, Man may well go into oblivion as well. Most are unaware of how necessary bees are for our survival.
Happiest of New Years. :-)
Wishing the Happiest Christmases to you, Hillary and a blessed year in 2016. Health and busy-making.
There's a song in South Pacific 'Cock-eyed optimist':
I've heard the Human race
Is falling on its face
And hasn't very far to go.
But every whippoorwill
Is selling me his bill
And telling me it just ain't so!
I could say life is just a bowl of jell-lo
And appear more intelligent and smart.
But I'm stuck like a dope with a thing called hope
And I can't get it out of my heart.
Whenever I think people are as rotten as they come, something happens to make me realizae that that isn't quite the case.
Happy Christmas!
And a very Merry Christmas to you too Hilary. May 2016 bring new adventures in your quest for knowledge - and we'll benefit because I'm sure there'll be many more of your fascinating blog post in the new year! :)
Hilary, It's fascinating that Emily Hobhouse's message still rings true today. It's such a pleasure to see the world through your eyes, Hilary. You continue to educate and inspire in everything you write. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year!
Julie
@ Diana - love the poem .. thanks for posting and yes, most people are kind and thoughtful and full of love ... we all do live with hope ... we will put action into that hope in the coming days and on into 2016.
@ Judy - thank you so much ... yes blog posts ahead! Appreciate that you look forward to more of my posts and ideas ...
@ Julie - yes I had to post Emily's message ... and it's wonderful you enjoy being here and reading some of my thoughts, and take on life.
Merry Christmas ... and health and happiness to us all - cheers Hilary
Beautiful, Hilary! Happy Christmas!
Happy Christmas, Hilary. You are an inspiration in so many ways, especially your happy spirit. Inger said it best.
Hi Hilary,
Such a thoughtful post and I had this strange sensation that I read it before and commented before....of course, nothing to do with deja vu.
Yes, so right, we must protect and cherish all life. Understand that we must be a part of, not against, nature's balance.
Hope your holiday season is a splendid, peaceful one. Thank you for your ongoing kindness, Hilary.
Gary
Beautiful. Merry Christmas to you. (We are on the long days here in the Southern Hemisphere.
Lovely Hilary thank you - I read Emily Hobhouse's letter and the response from the German women - and who can disagree about our mission being to preserve life? - and, as you say, to preserve ALL life.
I must look up 'chongolo' - I thought it was shongololo, with your tiny feet ...
So, two days after Christmas and the day after Boxing Day, I send you warm greetings from South Africa. Lovely drenching rains last night for which we are so grateful.
@ Lynn - thank you ...
@ Nat - so good to see you here ... and wonderful word -thank you so much. Inger is a wise woman ...
@ Gary - possibly a similar one - we tend to use the same phrases don't we - and deja vu has been all over the blogoshpere. Exactly understanding we must be a part of nature's balance - so wise too ..
@ Rhonda - I know lucky you being the long days ... still we're on the increasing daylight trend now.
@ Susan - you had lovely rains - that's such good news .. I gather it's been really really dry.
I must read Emily's letter again and all the responses - those women knew what life was about and what was needed.
Preservation of life - our life and nature's life ...
I was going to post a photo of a shongololo (chongololo) but forgot that bit ... and then the spelling - the 'ch' was what came up!
Thanks to you all - it's great having comments to come home to ...
Warm greetings to all of you - nearly welcoming 2016 ... cheers for now - Hilary
It's inconceivable, and more than a little frustrating that we are still faced with some of the same challenges that were around more a century ago. You'd think we would have figured out how to solve some of those problems by now.
Still, rather than dwell on our shortcomings, we can look to the future, and hope for better. We can DO better. One of us at a time. Happy New Year, Hilary! (Cheers!!!)
Your genuine heart is showing, and that's a good thing. Merry Christmas to you. And Hardwick is a beauty! :)
Some good thoughts here Hilary. Hope you had a good Christmas and best wishes for the New Year.
the hedgehog igloo is precious! :) hoping 2016 will bring blessings to you!
Great to see woman writing for peace. They are a great example That should
happen these days as well. I hope you had a nice christmas. Now up to the new Year Hope it will be a good one
@ Susan - it is unbelievable isn't it .. that things are relatively the same as 100 years ago - so cogently set out in Emily's letter, though it mostly pertains to war.
We definitely CAN DO BETTER ... each of us ... one step at a time and we need to look to the future and think of those following us ...
@ Rosey - Hardwick is special .. and thanks re my heart - the good things we need to practise ...
@ Jenny - lovely to see you - despite the floods up in your part of the world - I sincerely hope life is kind in the next few days ...
@ Theresa - I loved the look of the hedgehog igloo - thought it was fun ...
@ Marja - yes Emily spent a lot of time in Holland and Belgium in World War One days ... and the women showed compassion and heart to all ... it makes interesting historical reading ...
Cheers to you all - and here's to 2016 .. Hilary
I totally agree that we need to cherish all life - animals and humans...even plants! Happy new year! :)
Hi Becca - lovely to see you .. and excellent to know you agree - we need to cherish all life, animals, humans and plants - yes!
Happy New Year to you and your family - cheers Hilary
Hi Hilary,
Really good message and as usual, your pieces of writing are full of positive vibes and wise words!! :)
Thank you,
Sai :)
Thanks Sai for visiting and leaving a comment: glad you enjoy the positivity - cheers Hilary
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