A CHRISTMAS CAROL
When Christ was born in Bethlehem,
’Twas night but seemed the noon of day:
The star whose light
Was pure and bright,
Shone with unwav’ring ray;
But one bright star,
One glorious star
Guided the Eastern Magi from afar.
Then peace was spread throughout the land;
The lion fed beside the lamb;
And with the kid,
To pastures led,
The spotted leopard fed
In peace, in peace
The calf and bear,
The wolf and lamb reposed together there.
As shepherds watched their flocks by night,
An angel brighter than the sun
Appeared in air,
And gently said,
“Fear not, be not afraid,
Behold, behold,
Beneath your eyes,
Earth has become a smiling Paradise.”
Translated from the Neapolitan
THE GOLDEN CAROL
(Of Melchior, Balthazar, and Caspar, the Three Kings)
We saw the light shine out a-far,
On Christmas in the morning.
And straight we knew Christ’s Star it was,
Bright beaming in the morning.
Then did we fall on bended knee,
On Christmas in the morning,
And prais’d the Lord, who’d let us see
His glory at its dawning.
Oh! every thought be of His Name,
On Christmas in the morning,
Who bore for us both grief and shame,
Afflictions sharpest scorning.
And may we die (when death shall come),
On Christmas in the morning,
And see in heav’n, our glorious home,
The Star of Christmas morning.
Old Carol