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christmas poem
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Am looking for a Nativity poem for children, which includes the stable animals, angels, shepherds and kings. Any suggestions please? I have looked at the lyrics of well-known carols.
Answers
I love John Betjeman's Advent but there are none of the usual Christmas things in it, but there is a real feeling of Christmas, that amidst all the fuss and tinsel something wonderful happened
14:36 Sun 20th Nov 2011
for older children:
On the Morning of Christ's Nativity
Christmas Poem by John Milton
I
On the Morning of Christ's Nativity
This is the month, and this the happy morn
Wherein the Son of Heav'n's eternal King,
Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born,
Our great redemption from above did bring;
For so the holy sages once did sing,
That he our deadly forfeit should release,
And with his Father work us a perpetual peace.
II
That glorious Form, that Light unsufferable,
And that far-beaming blaze of Majesty,
Wherewith he wont at Heav'n's high council-table,
To sit the midst of Trinal Unity,
He laid aside, and here with us to be,
Forsook the courts of everlasting day,
And chose with us a darksome house of mortal clay.
III
Say Heav'nly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein
Afford a present to the Infant God?
Hast thou no verse, no hymn, or solemn strain,
To welcome him to this his new abode,
Now while the heav'n, by the Sun's team untrod,
Hath took no print of the approaching light,
And all the spangled host keep watch in squadrons bright?
IV
See how from far upon the eastern road
The star-led wizards haste with odours sweet:
O run, prevent them with thy humble ode,
And lay it lowly at his blessed feet;
Have thou the honour first thy Lord to greet,
And join thy voice unto the angel quire,
From out his secret altar touched with hallowed fire.
On the Morning of Christ's Nativity
Christmas Poem by John Milton
I
On the Morning of Christ's Nativity
This is the month, and this the happy morn
Wherein the Son of Heav'n's eternal King,
Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born,
Our great redemption from above did bring;
For so the holy sages once did sing,
That he our deadly forfeit should release,
And with his Father work us a perpetual peace.
II
That glorious Form, that Light unsufferable,
And that far-beaming blaze of Majesty,
Wherewith he wont at Heav'n's high council-table,
To sit the midst of Trinal Unity,
He laid aside, and here with us to be,
Forsook the courts of everlasting day,
And chose with us a darksome house of mortal clay.
III
Say Heav'nly Muse, shall not thy sacred vein
Afford a present to the Infant God?
Hast thou no verse, no hymn, or solemn strain,
To welcome him to this his new abode,
Now while the heav'n, by the Sun's team untrod,
Hath took no print of the approaching light,
And all the spangled host keep watch in squadrons bright?
IV
See how from far upon the eastern road
The star-led wizards haste with odours sweet:
O run, prevent them with thy humble ode,
And lay it lowly at his blessed feet;
Have thou the honour first thy Lord to greet,
And join thy voice unto the angel quire,
From out his secret altar touched with hallowed fire.
Or (easier to learn)
Nativity
Christmas Poem by John Donne
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His well-belov'd imprisonment,
There He hath made Himself to His intent
Weak enough, now into the world to come;
But O, for thee, for Him, hath the inn no room?
Yet lay Him in this stall, and from the Orient,
Stars and wise men will travel to prevent
The effect of Herod's jealous general doom.
Seest thou, my soul, with thy faith's eyes, how He
Which fills all place, yet none holds Him, doth lie?
Was not His pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee?
Kiss Him, and with Him into Egypt go,
With His kind mother, who partakes thy woe.
Nativity
Christmas Poem by John Donne
Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His well-belov'd imprisonment,
There He hath made Himself to His intent
Weak enough, now into the world to come;
But O, for thee, for Him, hath the inn no room?
Yet lay Him in this stall, and from the Orient,
Stars and wise men will travel to prevent
The effect of Herod's jealous general doom.
Seest thou, my soul, with thy faith's eyes, how He
Which fills all place, yet none holds Him, doth lie?
Was not His pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee?
Kiss Him, and with Him into Egypt go,
With His kind mother, who partakes thy woe.
There might be something suitable on this site
http://www.apples4the...ligious/poems-rhymes/
http://www.apples4the...ligious/poems-rhymes/
Once upon a time,
A long, long time ago.
Begins the story of a baby,
That most of you should know.
His daddy's name was Joseph,
And Mary was His mom,
This babe was very special
He was God's only Son.
Some angels came from heaven,
And they began to sing.
To the shepherds in the fields below,
"Glad tidings do we bring!"
A bright star lit the heavens,
To light the magi's way,
To the baby in the manger
Who was born on Christmas day.
And all who gathered round Him,
Rejoiced and praised His birth.
For the babe, the King, named Jesus,
Is our Saviour here on earth!
A long, long time ago.
Begins the story of a baby,
That most of you should know.
His daddy's name was Joseph,
And Mary was His mom,
This babe was very special
He was God's only Son.
Some angels came from heaven,
And they began to sing.
To the shepherds in the fields below,
"Glad tidings do we bring!"
A bright star lit the heavens,
To light the magi's way,
To the baby in the manger
Who was born on Christmas day.
And all who gathered round Him,
Rejoiced and praised His birth.
For the babe, the King, named Jesus,
Is our Saviour here on earth!
You have all been working hard. Some good thoughts. What I thought of doing is trying to find a poetry verse about each 'character' in the Nativity e.g shepherds, oxen, innkeeper, angels, kings, Mary, Joseph, Jesus as a stable tableau is built up, with the children dressed according to their appropriate parts.
Hi Bazzard here are a couple I found so far
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!"
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!"
Or this one:
A SHEPHERD BOY
My Brothers and I were tending our flocks,
on a clear and peaceful night.
When up in the sky, a star appeared,
it's brilliance strong and bright.
As we gazed upon this glorious star,
an Angel of God appeared.
And spoke these words in the glory of God,
there is nothing to be feared.
I bring good tidings, the Angel said,
good tidings filled with joy.
For on this day a child is born,
yes, a precious baby boy.
A Saviour is born upon this day,
your Saviour, Christ the Lord.
In the city of David, you will find,
this child to be adored.
Then our Angel was suddenly not alone,
but was joined by his Heavenly kin.
Glory to God in the highest, they sang,
peace on earth, good will to men.
Then the Angels of God were gone away,
the ones that God had sent.
Filled with excitement, we gathered our flocks,
and to Bethlehem we went.
We told everyone we passed that night,
even telling a total stranger.
Til we found Joseph and Mary, his wife,
and the Christ child in a manger.
Around the child stood three wise men,
of this we all concur.
They praised the child and gave him gifts,
of frankincense, gold and myrrh.
Then as they departed back to their lands,
Mary spoke to me so mild.
Please come closer, don't be afraid,
come close and see the child.
I knelt before the manger bed,
and in awe my silence fell.
As a feeling swept straight through my soul,
no words could ever tell.
I took the child's little, tiny hand,
and I kissed his finger tips.
And with each kiss, his precious touch,
brought praises to my lips.
The Saviour child looked in my eyes,
and I knew that moment's worth.
My lips had touched, my eyes had seen,
the Saviour of this earth.
We had no gifts to offer the King,
and my sadness slowly grew.
Then Joseph said, with a loving voice,
“He is Heaven's gift to you”.
My Brothers and I, then took our leave,
and we spread the word around.
We told everyone the things we saw,
we told everyone in town.
But no one we told believed our words,
and the witness that we bare.
They laughed at us and called us mad,
and no one seemed to care.
But we Brothers know the things we saw,
and the child who we adored.
And how the Angels came to us,
proclaiming Christ the Lord.
My life will never be the same,
my heart so filled with joy.
It humbles me, that the Father God,
chose me, A Shepherd Boy.
A SHEPHERD BOY
My Brothers and I were tending our flocks,
on a clear and peaceful night.
When up in the sky, a star appeared,
it's brilliance strong and bright.
As we gazed upon this glorious star,
an Angel of God appeared.
And spoke these words in the glory of God,
there is nothing to be feared.
I bring good tidings, the Angel said,
good tidings filled with joy.
For on this day a child is born,
yes, a precious baby boy.
A Saviour is born upon this day,
your Saviour, Christ the Lord.
In the city of David, you will find,
this child to be adored.
Then our Angel was suddenly not alone,
but was joined by his Heavenly kin.
Glory to God in the highest, they sang,
peace on earth, good will to men.
Then the Angels of God were gone away,
the ones that God had sent.
Filled with excitement, we gathered our flocks,
and to Bethlehem we went.
We told everyone we passed that night,
even telling a total stranger.
Til we found Joseph and Mary, his wife,
and the Christ child in a manger.
Around the child stood three wise men,
of this we all concur.
They praised the child and gave him gifts,
of frankincense, gold and myrrh.
Then as they departed back to their lands,
Mary spoke to me so mild.
Please come closer, don't be afraid,
come close and see the child.
I knelt before the manger bed,
and in awe my silence fell.
As a feeling swept straight through my soul,
no words could ever tell.
I took the child's little, tiny hand,
and I kissed his finger tips.
And with each kiss, his precious touch,
brought praises to my lips.
The Saviour child looked in my eyes,
and I knew that moment's worth.
My lips had touched, my eyes had seen,
the Saviour of this earth.
We had no gifts to offer the King,
and my sadness slowly grew.
Then Joseph said, with a loving voice,
“He is Heaven's gift to you”.
My Brothers and I, then took our leave,
and we spread the word around.
We told everyone the things we saw,
we told everyone in town.
But no one we told believed our words,
and the witness that we bare.
They laughed at us and called us mad,
and no one seemed to care.
But we Brothers know the things we saw,
and the child who we adored.
And how the Angels came to us,
proclaiming Christ the Lord.
My life will never be the same,
my heart so filled with joy.
It humbles me, that the Father God,
chose me, A Shepherd Boy.
I've just remembered something that my daughter's school did for Christmas. It was called the Littlest Angel. If I remember rightly while not a poem it did involve just about every child in the school (very small school)
Basically the story was that God sent all of his Angels down to Earth to find a suitable place for his Son to be born, and different angels went all over the world looking for the best place, the last and littlest angel had fallen asleep in a stable and God thought that since a stable was good enough for his littlest angel to sleep in, it would be good enough for the birth of his Son. I'm sure the text must be available somewhere. It was really lovely to see, and a different way to tell the story of the nativity. I hope you find something suitable soon.
Basically the story was that God sent all of his Angels down to Earth to find a suitable place for his Son to be born, and different angels went all over the world looking for the best place, the last and littlest angel had fallen asleep in a stable and God thought that since a stable was good enough for his littlest angel to sleep in, it would be good enough for the birth of his Son. I'm sure the text must be available somewhere. It was really lovely to see, and a different way to tell the story of the nativity. I hope you find something suitable soon.
We did this poem in our Primary department, with each child holding up a letter in a line which eventually spelt the word CHRISTMAS
C is for the Christ Child who is full of love and light
H is for the Heavens that were bright that Christmas night
R is for the Radiance of the star that led the way
I is for the humble Inn where the little baby lay
S is for the Shepherds who saw the shining star
T is for the Tidings the angels told afar
M is for the Magi with their gifts of myrrh and gold
A is for the Angels who were awesome to behold
S is for the Saviour who was born to save all men
And this spells out the CHRISTMAS which we celebrate again.
C is for the Christ Child who is full of love and light
H is for the Heavens that were bright that Christmas night
R is for the Radiance of the star that led the way
I is for the humble Inn where the little baby lay
S is for the Shepherds who saw the shining star
T is for the Tidings the angels told afar
M is for the Magi with their gifts of myrrh and gold
A is for the Angels who were awesome to behold
S is for the Saviour who was born to save all men
And this spells out the CHRISTMAS which we celebrate again.
This is something I've made up and could be read out by each character interspersed with narration if needed, hope it helps.
Mary- "You're having a baby" the angel said
"And it will be God's"; nodding his head
"You'll call him Jesus" he added then
I'd have preferred John, Peter or Ben
Here comes Joseph; I'll tell him now!
Joseph- She's having a baby? I wonder how?
It's God's only son? And we can't call him Ben?"
How can we do this, where and when?
So may questions; I'm really scared!
I suppose we best start getting prepared!
Donkey- I'm just a donkey, no noble steed
I'm not a particularly brilliant breed
But I'm carrying such a precious load
So I'll keep on going along the road
Kings- We've seen a star, a wonderous sight!
never has there been one so bright!
It means peace on earth; something great
We'll follow it and discover our fate!
Shepherds- An angel appeared; said there's a child
One so wonderful, meek and mild
Into Bethlehem we will go;
Ah but no!
The sheep; we can't leave them behind!
Come with us sheep, the baby won't mind!
Inn Keeper- It's a room you want? SOrry but no,
We were filled up ages ago
There's a stable at the back, none too shabby
It'll be better than nought if you're having the babby!
Don't mind the ox; he's a friendly fellow
But by gosh he can't half bellow!
Ox- A friendly fellow; that's me alright
And I feel something special's happening tonight
This lady and man are doing God proud
So I'll be calm and quiet not noisy and loud!
Mary- Jesus is here; my little boy
I can tell he's going to be such a joy!
He's asleep in his mager; a makeshift bed
I'll gently kiss him upon the head
My sweet lovely son; what a wonderful thing
And I've God to thank fo the happiness that you bring!
Mary- "You're having a baby" the angel said
"And it will be God's"; nodding his head
"You'll call him Jesus" he added then
I'd have preferred John, Peter or Ben
Here comes Joseph; I'll tell him now!
Joseph- She's having a baby? I wonder how?
It's God's only son? And we can't call him Ben?"
How can we do this, where and when?
So may questions; I'm really scared!
I suppose we best start getting prepared!
Donkey- I'm just a donkey, no noble steed
I'm not a particularly brilliant breed
But I'm carrying such a precious load
So I'll keep on going along the road
Kings- We've seen a star, a wonderous sight!
never has there been one so bright!
It means peace on earth; something great
We'll follow it and discover our fate!
Shepherds- An angel appeared; said there's a child
One so wonderful, meek and mild
Into Bethlehem we will go;
Ah but no!
The sheep; we can't leave them behind!
Come with us sheep, the baby won't mind!
Inn Keeper- It's a room you want? SOrry but no,
We were filled up ages ago
There's a stable at the back, none too shabby
It'll be better than nought if you're having the babby!
Don't mind the ox; he's a friendly fellow
But by gosh he can't half bellow!
Ox- A friendly fellow; that's me alright
And I feel something special's happening tonight
This lady and man are doing God proud
So I'll be calm and quiet not noisy and loud!
Mary- Jesus is here; my little boy
I can tell he's going to be such a joy!
He's asleep in his mager; a makeshift bed
I'll gently kiss him upon the head
My sweet lovely son; what a wonderful thing
And I've God to thank fo the happiness that you bring!
I wasn't completeley happy with the kings and shepherds verses so heres alternatives:
Shepherds- We were in the field, tending our flock
When an angel appeared at around nine o' clock
We dropped to our knees and bowed our heads
But "Be not afraid" the angel said
He told of a baby; in a manger asleep
So off we went taking with us; the sheep!
Kings- We're following a star so glimmering and bright
We saw it whilst watching the heavens one night
We'll travel on camels to see the new king
Oh what a special and brilliant thing!
We've brought some gifts; as is the custom we're told
Of frankinscence, myrhh and plenty of gold!
Also; realised I missed the angel so here we go (this could be used if the angel were to narrate the story)-
Here's a story; I'm sure you all know
Of a baby who was born long, long ago
I am the angel; sent from above
To tell you a story of peace and of love,
It's the very first Christmas, oh what a joy!
The story of Jesus; that sweet little boy!
Shepherds- We were in the field, tending our flock
When an angel appeared at around nine o' clock
We dropped to our knees and bowed our heads
But "Be not afraid" the angel said
He told of a baby; in a manger asleep
So off we went taking with us; the sheep!
Kings- We're following a star so glimmering and bright
We saw it whilst watching the heavens one night
We'll travel on camels to see the new king
Oh what a special and brilliant thing!
We've brought some gifts; as is the custom we're told
Of frankinscence, myrhh and plenty of gold!
Also; realised I missed the angel so here we go (this could be used if the angel were to narrate the story)-
Here's a story; I'm sure you all know
Of a baby who was born long, long ago
I am the angel; sent from above
To tell you a story of peace and of love,
It's the very first Christmas, oh what a joy!
The story of Jesus; that sweet little boy!
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