Peace

 Peace
by Cecile Joyce Keenan

At Bethlehem the Star shines bright
above the Stable door;
By every road the Wise Men come
who never came before;
The kings, with all their Caravan,
keep watch upon the hill,
While Jesus sleeps on Mary's breast
--and all the guns are still!

The plunder of the world is heaped
about the manger-bed,
Behold! the gifts the Wise Men
brought are stained an awful red.
Poor Mary's face is white and
drawn, and Joseph's grim and
set--
For older hearts, tho' slow to learn,
are slower to forget!

But lo, the Star at Bethlehem above
the Stable door
Shines with a glory in its light that
never shone before!
The haggard hosts of shattered men
out on the battle plain
Have caught the slogan of the skies,
and fling it back again.

"Peace-Peace on Earth!" with
shaken hearts, across the world
they come,
No panoply of war is theirs, no flag,
no rolling drum;
But all are cloaked in spotless
white-the garment fo His
love--
And "Peace" their bursting throats
now sing, and "Peace" the
choirs above!

At Bethlehem the Star shines bright
above the Stable door,
By every road the Wise Men come
who never came before;
The Kings, with all their Caravan,
keep watch upon the hill,
While Jesus sleeps on Mary's
breast--and all the guns are
still!

They hung pine boughs and wreaths . . .

Description of Coloring Pages: pine boughs, light pole or outdoor lantern, Christmas wreath with bells, children from the 1950s hanging outdoor Christmas decorations, mail box at front door, front porch or front stoop, dressed for chilly weather, decorating the house for Christmas, decorating the Churchyard for Christmas, giant Christmas tree, church building, spotlight, steeple bell

We've Yuletide greens by the score;
Wreath and bells deck the door.
And if our house could talk today,
"Merry Christmas," it would say!

 

At Christmas time when we celebrate,
The churchyard tree we decorate.
And then we add a big spotlight,
So folks can see it day or night.

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

My Retro Ornament Collection

        Below are photographs of retro ornaments in our family collection. This selection is made up of designs that are still relatively easy to find in flee markets and thrift shops. Most of them come from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 1970s.

Santa here is very jolly and cartoon like. He is a small blow mold ornament.

Here is another Santa made from entirely different materials: felt and sequins.

A puppy with a felt Santa hat, felt body and pom-pom head and facial features.

Here is a sweet looking circus clown. He is from an era in which children were not afraid of such things.

A nursery rhyme ornament, Little Bo Peep? If so this is the worst looking lamb
I have ever seen! Perhaps it is a squashed duck or goose? (I can't tell)

A Christmas mouse in his pajamas carrying a present and tiny tree.
His head is made from foam and felt. His body is made from chenille stems.

A little blow mold angel with flocked skirt and paper tin wings is decorated with lace and sequins.

Mother Goose riding a goose! She is also a blow mold with shaped hair and arms attached.
She is in excellent condition, given her age.

This year I acquired a drum blow mold ornament depicting children on a sled.

 

 

Jumping-jack figures, each has four limbs that move! Left is a little girl and right a teddy bear.

They followed a star . . .

text, "They followed a star..."

Description of Coloring Pages: shepherds, flock, star, manger, Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, manger, distant village, donkey and stable

text, "She laid him in a manger."

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

• To find even more coloring of Christmas themes...

        Now Mary and Joseph escaped to Egypt to hide baby Jesus from King Herod, who wanted to kill the baby to prevent Jesus from coming into power. (We read this in Matthew 2:13-23)

Here is a man of the desert, with sun, pyramids, palm trees.

       You can learn to draw a desert scene using simple circles and lines to show you just where things go in our picture of Egypt.

Printable Bauble Frames for Photographs

        Cut the oval centers away to replace with photographs of family, friends or even pets. Trace around the printed bauble on top of thin cardboard to cut a sturdy backing. Punch a tiny hole at the top of the bauble frame with a pin and thread a fine wire or twin through it and knot. Now you can hang the bauble up on your Christmas tree to remember loved ones... Merry Christmas to All!

Printable bauble frame in blue.

Printable bauble frame in green.

Printable bauble frame in red.