Reflect on our collection of Christmas Eve poems. Christmas Eve is a night that changed the world many years ago. It is a time when we reflect on the significance of this night when God's love was demonstrated through the birth of Jesus.
As children eagerly countdown to this cherished evening, the air fills with anticipation and excitement. Through Christmas Eve poems, we capture the essence of this special night, embracing the joy, wonder, and blessings that encompass a miracle that we are reminded of each year.
At midnight in the church a hush falls and we hear
Only a gentle rustling, like the sound
He heard as near His bed the golden straw
Rustled as the cattle gathered round.
Then through the hush the white-robed choir begins
The song of joy, the same the angels then
Sang o'er the plains near Bethlehem, of joy,
Of hope, of peace on earth, good will to men.
And then across the cold, clear air the bells
Proclaim to all the town that Christ is born;
Chiming as even the heavens must have chimed
The night the stars stood still to greet the morn.
And in the hush, and through the song, and with
The bells my heart lifts up, and this I know . . .
The ancient tidings of great joy are still
As thrilling as they were so long ago.
A peace transcends throughout the earth
As the world remembers Jesus' birth.
"Glory to God" is the praise you hear
As Christmas Day draws near.
And as you go to sleep this night
Remember the star that shone so bright
And the glory that the shepherds found
When Jesus they found, He needed no crown.
He came into this world to save us all
We just need to listen and answer His call.
So this Christmas Eve look to the sky
And give thanks to God on high.
Rejoice in God alway.
With stars in Heaven rejoice,
Ere dawn of Christ's own day
Lift up each little voice.
Look up with glad, pure eye,
And count those lamps on high.
Nay, who may count them? On our gaze
They from their deeps come out in ever widening maze.
Ye babes, to Jesus dear.
Rejoice in Him alway.
Ye whom He bade draw near,
O'er whom He loved to pray.
Wake, and lift up the head.
Each in his quiet bed.
Listen! His voice the night wind brings:
He in your cradle lies. He in our carol sings.
Christmas Eve
Poet: Catherine Baker
They had the silences, those men defending
From thieves and beasts the helpless, trusting sheep
The shepherds knew, when flocks were fast asleep,
The quietness of stars through heaven’s depths wending.
God had a secret for those watchers tending
The folds on windy plain and hillside steep,
(For ears that would not hear a word too deep)
The good news of the son whom he was sending.
O God, we hear the world’s dark death knell ringing,
Herods would blind all eyes that seek the Child,
Mars’ underlings scheming, greedy, defiled,
To insane torment flesh and blood are flinging.
Father, tonight our spirits would be winging
To seek the silences of starlit hill
Or plain—come as our hearts grow wisely still
And reassure us with the angels’ singing.
Tomorrow morn she'll wake to see
The trinkets on her Christmas tree,
And find beside her little bed,
Where tenderly and soft of tread
Old Santa Claus has walked to leave
The toys that she might still believe.
Her stocking by the chimney place
Gives to the room a touch of grace
More beautiful than works of art
And velvet draperies can impart.
Here is a symbol of a trust
Richer than wisdom thick with dust.
I see it through the half-swung door,
And smile to think long years before
I, too, on Christmas Eve was young
And eagerly a stocking hung
Beside the chimney just as she,
Ere knowledge stole my faith from me.
Upstairs about her bed there seems
The peace of childhood's lovely dreams,
And I, grown old, almost forget
The truths with which I am beset.
Upon this blessed Christmas Eve
I, too, in Santa Claus believe.