Christmas Broadcast 1977
Published
My hope this Christmas is that the Christian spirit of reconciliation may burn as strongly in our hearts during the coming year.
In her Christmas Broadcast of 1977 The Queen recalled the year's celebrations for her Silver Jubilee. The Queen also expresses hope for reconciliation in Northern Ireland, which she had visited in August for the first time in 11 years.
I shall never forget the scene outside Buckingham Palace on Jubilee Day. The cheerful crowd was symbolic of the hundreds of thousands of people who greeted us wherever we went in this Jubilee Year - in twelve Commonwealth countries and thirty-six counties in the United Kingdom.
But I believe it also revealed to the world that we can be a united people. It showed that all the artificial barriers which divide man from man and family from family can be broken down.
The street parties and village fĂȘtes, the presents, the flowers from the children, the mile upon mile of decorated streets and houses; these things suggest that the real value and pleasure of the celebration was that we all shared in it together.
Last Christmas I said that my wish for 1977 was that it should be a year of reconciliation. You have shown by the way in which you have celebrated the Jubilee that this was not an impossible dream. Thank you all for your response.
Nowhere is reconciliation more desperately needed than in Northern Ireland. That is why I was particularly pleased to go there. No one dared to promise an early end to the troubles but there is no doubt that people of goodwill in Northern Ireland were greatly heartened by the chance they had to share the celebrations with the rest of the nation and Commonwealth.
Many people in all parts of the world have demonstrated this goodwill in a practical way by giving to the Silver Jubilee Appeal. The results of their kindness will be appreciated by young people - and by those they are able to help - for many years to come.
The great resurgence of community spirit which has marked the celebrations has shown the value of the Christian ideal of loving our neighbours. If we can keep this spirit alive, life will become better for all of us.
The Jubilee celebrations in London started with a Service of Thanksgiving in St. Paul's Cathedral. To me this was a thanksgiving for all the good things for which our Commonwealth stands - the comradeship and co-operation it inspires and the friendship and tolerance it encourages. These are the qualities needed by all mankind.
The evening before the Service I lit one small flame at Windsor and a chain of bonfires spread throughout Britain and on across the world to New Zealand and Australia.
My hope this Christmas is that the Christian spirit of reconciliation may burn as strongly in our hearts during the coming year.
God bless you and a very happy Christmas to you all.
Related content
A speech by The Queen on her Golden Jubilee
I hope that these celebrations will remind us of our shared heritage and what it means to be a united people, enjoying the support of families, friends and neighbours around...
The death of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, 8 April 2002
I thank you for the support you are giving me and my family as we come to terms with her death and the void she has left in our midst.
Christmas Broadcast 2001
For Christmas marks a moment to pause, to reflect and believe in the possibilities of rebirth and renewal.
Christmas Broadcast 2000
By any measure this Millennium year has been an unforgettable one.
Christmas Broadcast 1999
This December we are looking back not just on one year, but on a hundred years and a thousand years.
Christmas Broadcast 1998
Though we each lead different lives, the experience of growing older, and the joys and emotions which it brings, are familiar to us all.
A speech by The Queen on her Golden Wedding Anniversary
He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years.
A speech by The Queen following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales
May those who died rest in peace and may we, each and every one of us, thank God for someone who made many, many people happy.
Christmas Broadcast 1996
I remember my own childhood Christmases here, with my father and mother, and a great family gathering, and now I delight in seeing my children and grandchildren enjoying the...
Christmas Broadcast 1995
But I cannot think of any Christmas of my reign when the message of the angels has been more apt.
Christmas Broadcast 1954
So, our Commonwealth hearth becomes more precious than ever before by the contrast between its homely security and the storm which sometimes seems to be brewing outside, in...
Christmas Broadcast 1994
To see British and Russian veterans standing together, in memory of the sacrifices of their comrades-in-arms, was a moving experience.
Christmas Broadcast 1992
I first came here for Christmas as a grandchild. Nowadays, my grandchildren come here for the same family festival.
A speech by The Queen on the 40th Anniversary of her succession (Annus horribilis speech)
1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure.
Christmas Broadcast 1991
I am constantly amazed by the generosity of donors and subscribers, great and small, who give so willingly and often towards the enjoyment of others.
Christmas Broadcast 1990
I hope that all of us lucky enough to be able to enjoy such gatherings this Christmas will take time to count our blessings.
Christmas Broadcast 1989
Unlike all the other planets in the solar system, earth shimmers green and blue in the sunlight and looks a very pleasant place to live.
Christmas Broadcast 1988
May the Christmas story encourage you, for it is a message of hope every year, not for a few, but for all.
A speech by The Queen to mark Australia's bicentenary
More than ten thousand men and women can take great pride in the parts they have played in the creation of this symbol of Australian unity and democracy.
Christmas Broadcast 1987
I hope we will all help each other to have a happy Christmas and, when the New Year comes, resolve to work for tolerance and understanding between all people.
Christmas Broadcast 1986
There are many serious and threatening problems in this country and in the world but they will never be solved until there is peace in our homes and love in our hearts.
Christmas Broadcast 1985
These success stories are often pushed into the background but they are the guarantee of our future.
Christmas Broadcast 1984
But friendship, whether we are talking of continents or next door neighbours, should not need strife as its forerunner.
Christmas Broadcast 1983
I hope that Christmas will remind us all that it is not how we communicate but what we communicate with each other that really matters.
Christmas Broadcast 1982
Throughout history, seamen all over the world have shared a common experience and there is a special sense of brotherhood between merchant and naval seamen, fishermen...
Christmas Broadcast 1981
All around us we see these acts of selflessness, people putting the life of someone else before their own.
Christmas Broadcast 1980
I come across examples of unselfish service in all walks of life and in many unexpected places.
Christmas Broadcast 1979
Today we celebrate the birth of the child who transformed history and gave us a great faith.
Christmas Broadcast 1978
My grandfather, King George V, started the tradition of the Christmas Day Broadcasts back in 1932.
A speech by The Queen to Parliament on her Silver Jubilee
Perhaps this Jubilee is a time to remind ourselves of the benefits which union has conferred, at home and in our international dealings, on the inhabitants of all parts of...
Christmas Broadcast 1976
Remember that good spreads outwards and every little does help.
Christmas Broadcast 1973
I believe that Christmas should remind us that the qualities of the human spirit are more important than material gain.
Christmas Broadcast 1971
The Christmas message is really one for all seasons and not just for one day of the year.
Christmas Broadcast 1970
Never before has there been a group of independent nations linked in this way by their common history and continuing affection.
Christmas Broadcast 1969
In a short time the 1960s will be over but not out of our memories. Historians will record them as the decade in which men first reached out beyond our own planet and set foot...
Christmas Broadcast 1968
At times it is almost hidden by the merry making and tinsel, but the essential message of Christmas is still that we all belong to the great brotherhood of man.
Christmas Broadcast 1967
Let there be no doubt that Britain is faced with formidable problems, but let there also be no doubt she will overcome them.
Christmas Broadcast 1966
The devotion of nuns and nurses, the care of mothers and wives, the service of teachers, and the conviction of reformers are the real and enduring presents which women have...
Christmas Broadcast 1965
A new army is on the march which holds out the brightest hopes for all mankind.
Christmas Broadcast 1964
You young people are needed; there is a great task ahead of you - the building of a new world.
Christmas Broadcast 1963
We know the reward is peace on earth, goodwill toward men, but we cannot win it without determination and concerted effort.
Christmas Broadcast 1962
Year by year, our families change and grow up. So does our Commonwealth family.
Christmas Broadcast 1961
For that child was to show that there is nothing in heaven and earth that cannot be achieved by faith and by love and service to one's neighbour.
Christmas Broadcast 1960
Although the contribution which any one person can make is small, it is real and important.