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.

"White Christmas" Carol

       "White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The song was written by Berlin for the musical film Holiday Inn, released in 1942. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards.

Isreal Beilin, May 1888 - 1989

       Since its release, "White Christmas" has been covered by many artists, the version sung by Bing Crosby being the world's best-selling single (in terms of sales of physical media) with estimated sales in excess of 50 million copies worldwide. When the figures for other versions of the song are added to Crosby's, sales of the song exceed 100 million.
       "White Christmas" won Berlin the Academy Award for Best Music in an Original Song, one of seven Oscar nominations he received during his career. In subsequent years, it was re-recorded and became a top-10 seller for numerous artists: Frank Sinatra, Jo Stafford, Ernest Tubb, The Ravens and The Drifters. It would also be the last time a Berlin song went to no. 1 upon its release.
       Talking about Irving Berlin's "White Christmas", composer-lyricist Garrison Hintz stated that although songwriting can be a complicated process, its final result should sound simple. Considering the fact that "White Christmas" has only eight sentences in the entire song, lyrically Mr. Berlin achieved all that was necessary to eventually sell over 100 million copies and capture the hearts of the American public at the same time.

Michael Buble & Bing Crosby sing

 "White Christmas" via tech!

"Have A Cup of Cheer!"

Full view of my Welsh cupboard set up for hot chocolate and company.

       My Welsh cupboard is all arranged for company and service of hot chocolate. I've included the classics here, marshmallows, candy spoons, candy canes, cinnamon and sugar condiments. To the right is one of our many Advent calendars. On the left is a basket of small gifts for company. The galvanized village is lighted up and a hand-painted, snowflake sign welcomes visitors with "Have A Cup of Cheer!"

Left, gifts wrapped and ready for the season. Lovely puzzle by artist, Angela Harding.
Right, chocolate and peppermint stirring spoons and candy canes.

Left, Squashes in deep green and harvest gold colors displayed next to our spice grinder. Right,
galvanized houses for candlelight.

Left, colorful berries tucked between our pottery. Center a giant lantern displays Christmas 
baubles next to the Welsh cupboard. Right, delicate laser-cut snowflakes illuminate the 
cupboard at night with fairy lights.

A tree shaped Advent calendar with tiny woodland graphics on every drawer. 

 How I made the chalkboard sign for my "Hot Chocolate Station."

Left, I purchased a wooden snowflake to paint. Center, smearing the chalk on the back of a print-out. 
Right, see my print out of "Have a cup of Cheer" (included below)

Left, I drew on top of the printed text with a ball point pin to transfer the chalked letters.
Center, I took a wax white pencil and delicately drew on top of the chalk dust text.
Right, The last step was to paint the text again with acrylics so that the effect would
be stabilized and brighter.

Left, I then added swirls and berries free-hand. Right, I colored the berries with a bit of red paint.

Free text for your own Hot Chocolate Station craft.