One of my most favorite Christmas songs is "I heard the Bells on Christmas Day", which was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. He wrote it on Christmas Day , I think in 1863, during the US Civil War. Longfellow's wife had recently died in a house fire, and then his son had been seriously injured as a soldier in the Union Army, and Longfellow was very depressed when he penned this song, as you might easily guess. This beautiful rendition of the song is by Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, and not only expresses the inspiring story of this song, but also their obvious love for each other. To me, this song is as relevant to us now as it was to those who lived in the Civil War times.