Christmas is come and every
Makes room to give him welcome nowE'en want will dry its tears in
And crown him wi' a holly
Tho tramping 'neath a winters skyO'er snow track paths and rhymey
The huswife sets her spining
And bids him welcome wi' her
Each house is swept the day
And windows stuck wi'
The snow is beesom'd from the
And comfort crowns the cottage
Gilt holly wi' its thorny
And yew and box wi' berrys
These deck the unus'd
And pictures hanging by the
Neighbours resume their anual
Wishing wi smiles and spirits
Clad christmass and a happy
To every morning passer
Milk maids their christmass journeys
Accompanyd wi favourd
And childern pace the crumping
To taste their grannys cake
Hung wi the ivys veining
The ash trees round the cottage
Are often stript of branches
The cotters christmass hearth to
He swings and twists his hazel
And lops them off wi sharpend
And oft brings ivy in his
To decorate the chimney
Old winter whipes his ides
And warms his fingers till he
Where cottage hearths are blazing
And labour resteth from his
Wi merry mirth beguiling
Old customs keeping wi the
Friends meet their christmass cheer to
And pass it in a harmless
Old customs O I love the
However simple they may
What ere wi time has sanction
Is welcome and is dear to
Pride grows above
And spurns it from her haughty
And soon the poets song will
The only refuge they can
The shepherd now no more
Since custom doth the chance
Starts up to kiss the giggling
Beneath the branch of
That neath each cottage beam is
Wi pearl-like-berrys shining
The shadow still of what hath
Which fashion yearly fades
And singers too a merry
At early morn wi simple
Yet imitate the angels
And chant their christmass ditty
And mid the storm that dies and
By fits-in humings softly
The music of the village
Ringing round their merry
And when its past a merry
Bedeckt in masks and ribbons
The 'Morrice danse' their sports
And act their winter evening
The clown-turnd-kings for penny
Storm wi the actors strut and
And harlequin a laugh to
Wears his hump back and tinkling
And oft for pence and spicy
Wi winter nosgays pind
The wassail singer tells her
And drawls her christmass carrols
The prentice boy wi ruddy
And ryhme bepowderd dancing
From door to door wi happy
Runs round to claim his 'christmass box'The block behind the fire is
To sanction customs old
And many a faggots bands are
For the old farmers christmass
Where loud tongd gladness joins the
And winter meets the warmth of
Feeling by times the heat too
And rubs his shins and draws
While snows the window panes
The fire curls up a sunny
Where creaming oer the pitchers
The flowering ale is set to
Mirth full of joy as summer
Sits there its pleasures to
While childern tween their parents
Sing scraps of carrols oer by
And some to view the winter
Climb up the window seat wi
Likening the snow to falling
In fancys infant
Laughing wi superstitious
Oer visions wild that youth
Of people pulling geese
And keeping christmass in the
As tho the homstead trees were
In lieu of snow wi dancing
As. tho the sundryd martins
Instead of ides hung the
The childern hail the happy
As if the snow was april
And pleasd as neath the warmth of
Sport oer the water froze to
Thou day of happy sound and
That long wi childish memory
How blest around the cottage hearthI met thee in my boyish
Harping wi raptures dreaming
On presents that thy coming
The welcome sight of little
The christmass gifts of comers round'The wooden horse wi arching
Drawn upon wheels around the
The gilded coach of ginger
And many colord sugar
Gilt coverd books for pictures
Or storys childhood loves to
Wi many a urgent promise
To get tomorrows lesson
And many a thing a minutes
Left broken on the sanded
When we woud leave our play and
Our parents promises for
Tho manhood bids such raptures
And throws such toys away as
Yet memory loves to turn her
And talk such pleasures oer
Around the glowing hearth at
The harmless laugh and winter
Goes round-while parting friends
To toast each other oer their
The cotter oft wi quiet
Will musing oer his bible
While in the dark the lovers
To kiss and toy behind the
The yule cake dotted thick wi
Is on each supper table
And cats look up for falling
Which greedy childern litter
And huswifes sage stuffd seasond
Long hung in chimney nook to
And boiling eldern berry
To drink the christmas eves 'good bye'
