‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the land
Every creature was stirring, as Caesar had planned;
A census was taken in which every soul
In the Empire of Rome must be placed on the roll.
Up from Galilee, out of Nazareth came
A pair which was Joseph and Mary be name;
To their city of birth which is called Bethlehem
They came as descendants of King David’s stem.
There the days were accomplished that she should give birth
To a son who would reign as King o’er the earth.
She brought forth her first-born, and with her own hands
She wrapped the sweet Child in soft swaddling bands;
In a manger so lowly this life did begin,
Since there was no room for them in the inn.

In the country the shepherds abode in the field,
Keeping watch o’er their flock as in silence they kneeled
In the shadows of night, with their rods and their staves,
Having just settled down in the warmth of the caves,
When out of the sky there shone a great light
That filled the men’s hearts with a terrible fright.
They sprang from the ground with a leap and a dash
To see what was causing this unearthly flash.
‘Twas the glory of God shining down on the ground
With a halo of radiance on the sheep all around.
When, what to their questioning eyes should draw near,
But the angel of God with a message: “Don’t fear!
For behold! I bring you good tidings of joy,
For all men and women, for each girl and boy;
For to you is born a Saviour this day,
In the city of David, as prophets did say.”

Then suddenly with the bright angel appeared
A heavenly host, praising God as they cheered:
“To God in the highest may glory abound,
On earth peace, and good will to men all around.”
Near at hand, far beyond, on the left, on the right,
The heavenly seraphs were poised in their flight.
Then as snowflakes before the fierce storm winds do fly,
Passing o’er the wide fields, soar up to the sky,
So up into heaven the angels they flew
Having given their message so wondrously new.
Then the shepherds declared with faces aglow:
“To the village of Bethlehem quickly let’s go,
And see this great thing which has come to pass,
Which the Lord in this night has made known unto us.”

There they found Joseph and Mary so mild,
And in the rough manger the dear little Child.
So when they had seen Him they made known abroad
The message as told by the angel of God.
The people they wondered at that which they heard
As told by the shepherds in angelic word;
But Mary, who knew all these things from the start,
Kept pondering this great event in her heart.
The shepherds returned giving glory and praise
To the God of their fathers, the Ancient of Days:

“To god in the highest may glory abound,
On earth peace, and good will to men all around.”

(You can find this wonderful story in the Bible in the book written
by Matthew 1:18-25, 2:1-23, and the book written by Luke 2:1-52