In The Bleak Midwinter
In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow has fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter,
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty
Jesus Christ.
Enough for Him whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Throng’d the air,
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss,
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,—
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.
Christina Rossetti (1830 – 1894)
What Happens in Vegas
Nowell: Masters in this Hall
Masters in this Hall, hear ye news to-day
Brought from over sea – and ever I you pray;
Chorus:
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell! Nowell, sing we clear
Holpen are all folk on earth, born is God’s son so dear:
Nowell, Nowell, Nowell! Nowell, sing we loud
God to-day hath poor folk raised, and cast a-down the proud . . .
Going o’er the hills, through the milk-white snow
Heard the ewes bleat while the wind did blow
Chorus
Then to Bethlem town we went two by two,
And in a sorry place, heard the oxen low
Chorus
Therein did we see a sweet and goodly maid
And a fair old man; upon the straw she lay
Chorus
This is Christ the Lord — Masters be ye glad!
Christmas is come in, and no folk should be sad
Caspar David Friedrich: Monastery Ruins in the Snow (1818)
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