He that overcometh and keepeth my words, I will give power over the nations and I will give him the morning star.' "Let us then take joyfully Christ's Christmas gifts of labors and adversities and crosses to-day, that when he shall appear we may have these great and wonderful gifts at his coming; for if we suffer with him we shall also reign; but if we deny him, he also will deny us." And so it happens that the only record of Christmas Day in the pilgrims' journal is this: "Monday, the 25th, being Christmas Day, we went ashore, some to fell timber, some to saw, some to rive, and some to carry; and so no man rested all that day.

But towards night some, as they were at work, heard a noise of Indians, which caused us all to go to our muskets; but we heard no further, so we came aboard again, leaving some to keep guard.
That night we had a sore storm of wind and rain.

But at night the ship- master caused us to have some beer aboard." So worthily kept they the first Christmas, from which comes all the Christmas cheer of New England to-day.

There is no record how Mary Winslow and Rose Standish and others, with women and children, came ashore and walked about encouraging the builders; and how little Love gathered stores of bright checker-berries and partridge plums, and was made merry in seeing squirrels and wild rabbits; nor how old Margery roasted certain wild geese to a turn at a woodland fire, and conserved wild cranberries with honey for sauce.

In their journals the good pilgrims say they found bushels of strawberries in the meadows in December.