HOLiDAY TiDiNGS, O CHRISTMAS TREE, from "Christmas Poems" and the Gospel of Matthew

Christmas Poems
Selected by Myra Cohn Livingston
Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman

Christmas Poems, back cover

As a young child I loved the Christmas holiday and especially the Christmas tree.  I enjoyed decorating it with all our family ornaments and then I would spend hours with my little sister playing pretend games with the ornaments, rearranging them, and telling the stories and legends that were part of the season's tradition.  Every few days, my sister and I would also have to rearrange the gifts that collected under the tree.  But, for me, the tree itself was the main event at Christmastime.

I tell you this here because of the enchanting illustrations that Trina created for this volume of Christmas poetry.  They capture that same playful reverence for the objects and spirit of the season---the tree, the ornaments, the symbols, the wonder of the baby Jesus in a manger. Trina gets right down into the tree and plays with it in these pictures, just as I remember doing those many years ago.


Here then are a few excerpts from this wonderful book of verse, as well as some other holiday literature, to help bring in the magic of this beautiful season.


                                                Merry Christmas, 2013
                                                              from Leon Archibald

from Christmas Morning



Christmas bells, awake and ring
Your carol of long ago,
Awake O wintry sun and fling
Your beams across the snow!


                                 Harry Behn








Christmas Is Coming


Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat,
Please to put a penny in an old man's hat;
If you haven't got a penny, a ha'penny will do,
If you haven't got a ha'penny, God bless you.


                                  Traditional, English








There Came Wise Men from the East



Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea
in the days of Herod the king,
behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Saying,
Where is he that is born King of the Jews?
for we have seen his star in the east,
and are come to worship him.

And, lo,
the star, which they saw in the east,
went before them,
till it came and stood over where the young child was.

When they saw the star, 
they rejoiced with exceeding great joy,

And when they were come into the house,
they saw the young child with Mary his mother,
and fell down, and worshipped him;
and when they had opened their treasures,
they presented unto him gifts;
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.


                              Matthew 2: 1-2, 9-11   The Bible, King James Version







from Christmas Prayer
(To be read very slowly out loud)



But let peace, though it fade by the minute,
Be in it--this room where we are;
Let the Saint from his chimney assemble
The symbols of tree, of bright star;

Of Christmas at dawn in a stocking,
Unlocking remembered delight
As it was.  Praise Him, born in a stable,
At table: praise God.  Bless this night.


                                           David McCord









from Kaleidoscope




Sheep and ox guard manger
       Magi offer gifts.
            Down through white
            silent night
                   slow
                   snow

                                        sifts.




                                                      X. J. Kennedy

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are thy branches!
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are thy branches!
Through summer sun and winter snow
In beauty green will always grow.

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
How lovely are thy branches!

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,

Thy candles shine out brightly!
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Thy candles shine out brightly!
Each bough doth hold its tiny light,
That makes each toy to sparkle bright.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree,
Thy candles shine out brightly!

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
Thou tree most fair and lovely!
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
Thou tree most fair and lovely!
Thou dost proclaim the Savior’s birth,
Good will to men and peace on earth.
O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree!
Thou tree most fair and lovely.

O Tannenbaum. First verse is traditional German, and sometimes attributed to August Zarnack, 1820; second verse by Ernst Gebhard Anschutz, 1824; other verse: unknown. Verse selection and arrangement by L.A.

Trina Schart Hyman

Trina Schart Hyman was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1985 for her illustrations in Saint George and the Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges. Her edition of Little Red Riding Hood --which had always been one of her favorite stories--was one of the 1984 Caldecott Honor Books. Trina passed away in November of 2004 after a long battle with cancer.  

I had invited Trina to illustrate a collection of Christmas tales to be publish by Little Simon in the mid-80s; but I moved to Putnam Young Readers Group and began working in publicity, so, unfortunately, the project did not go forward.

Myra Cohn Livingston was the recipient of the 1980 Excellence in Poetry Award from the National Council of Teachers of English. She has received critical acclaim for her poetry and her many anthologies. Myra Cohn Livingston was born in Omaha, Nebraska in 1926, and lived in Texas and California. For over twenty years she taught at the University of California at Los Angeles. She was living in Beverly Hills, CA when she passed away in 1996.

Except for the biblical quote and the carol, all of these poems and poetic excerpts appeared in Christmas Poems, Holiday House, New York, 1984. "Kaleidoscope," and "Christmas Prayer" were specially commissioned for the book.

Christmas Poems is out of print.  My favorite source for used books online is Better World Books

_________________________________________
Here are more holiday tomes, and a poster, with illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman:

Limited edition poster with illustrations from the book-- for info go to www.booksofwondershop.com

And one more for Hanukkah!

_____________
HOLiDAY TiDiNGS is a continuing series of articles for this blog that will focus on poetry and other literature written for or appropriate to a specific holiday.