Christ is Born

by John Alexander Chapman

Christus natus est, the Cock
Croweth to the lazy clock.
Christus natus est, he crows;
Christus and the Raven knows,
And the Lambs, as you shall hear.
Loudly croweth Chanticleer,
With an eager, piercing sound,
To the Beasts that lie around;
And they question and reply,
While the Sun mounts up the sky.
Quando? Quando? and again
That's thq Duck who's asking when?
In hac node, the Raven croaks
From the old snow-laden oaks,
Quando? Quando? from beyond
The willows by the frozen pond.
In hac nocte, croaks the Raven
From its bare winter's haven.
Ufa? Ubi? the Bull lows, .
Standing black against the snows;
And the Lambs: In Bethlehem:
It was God who told it them.

Source: Anne Thaxter Eaton, ed., Welcome Christmas! A Garland Of Poems. New York: The Viking Press, 1955.

Christmas Eve

by Frances Frost

The woods were still and the snow was deep,

But there was no creature who could sleep.

The fox and the vixen ran together

Silently through the starry weather,

The buck and the doe and the fawn came drifting

Into the clearing. The rabbit, lifting

His ears, shook white from the twigs he brushed;

The chattering squirrel for once was hushed

As he sat with his paws against his breast,

And the bobcat crouched on the mountain crest.

Safe in the fold the silver sheep

Told the young lambs not to leap.

In the shadowy stable the horses stood

Hearing the quietness in the wood,

And the cattle sighed in the fragrant barn,

Waiting the instant of the morn.

The stars stood at midnight, and tame or wild,

All creatures knelt to worship the Child.

Source: Anne Thaxter Eaton, ed., Welcome Christmas! A Garland Of Poems. New York: The Viking Press, 1955.

Sleet! (Wordless Wednesday)

First Sleet of the Season

A Christmas Carol

Alternate Title: In the Bleak Midwinter

by Christina Rossetti

In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had 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
Thronged 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.

Words: Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894), 1872;
appeared posthumously in
The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti, Poem #426, 1904.

Shipwreck Casserole

2 pounds hamburger, browned
2 onions, sliced
2 - 3 potatoes, sliced
2/3 cup uncooked rice
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 - 16 oz. can kidney beans, drained
1 can tomato soup
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika to taste

Arrange onion slices in the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch pan which has been sprayed with cooking spray. Then layer sliced raw potatoes, browned hamburger, rice, celery, and beans. Pour soup on top. Salt, pepper, and add paprika to the layers as you put them in the pan. You may add water if desired.

Cover with foil and cook in 350 degree oven for 2 hours. (Or turn the heat to 275 or 300 and cook for 3 hours.)

The last time we made this recipe, we were out of tomato soup and substituted 2 cups of diced tomatoes and 1 cup water (we ran the tomatoes and water in the blender for a minute or so to chop the tomatoes a little more). That substitution is reflected in the picture.

The Barn

by Elizabeth Coatsworth

"I am tired of this barn!'' said the colt.
"And every day it snows.
Outside there's no grass any more
And icicles grow on my nose.
I am tired of hearing the cows
Breathing and talking together.
I am sick of these clucking hens.
I hate stables and winter weather!"

"Hush, little colt," said the mare,
"And a story I will tell
Of a barn like this one of ours
And the wonders that there befell.
It was weather much like this
And the beasts stood as we stand now
In the warm good dark of the barn —
A horse and an ass and a cow."

"And sheep?" asked the colt. "Yes, sheep
And a pig and a goat and a hen.
All of the beasts of the barnyard,
The usual servants of men.
And into their midst came a lady
And she was as cold as death,
But the animals leaned above her
And made her warm with their breath.

"There was her baby born
And laid to sleep in the hay,
While music flooded the rafters
And the barn was as light as day.
And angels and kings and shepherds
Came to worship the Babe from afar,
But we looked at Him first of all creatures
By the bright strange light of a star!"

Source: Anne Thaxter Eaton, ed., Welcome Christmas! A Garland Of Poems. New York: The Viking Press, 1955.