In an era when Christmas spirit is often expressed by watching festive movies – and there is no shortage to choose from, classic or modern – the much older traditions of poetry and literature can be forgotten. Hollywood is arguably one of the United States’ greatest exports, but this year we at Liberty Nation wondered, why not take a look at another variety of local artist – the great American poet and writer?

Thus, LN presents three pieces of American verse, along with a glittery sprinkling of seasonal quotes from some of this nation’s finest wits. As the Christmas season rolls into a new year as uncertain as any that one may remember, perhaps it’s time for a new mission to bring a hint of sparkle into our lives: MAPA – Make America Poetic Again. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy these festive verses and wish a merry Christmas to all.

Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas.

~ Calvin Coolidge

Christmas Morn

by Libbie C. Baer

How sad, how glad,

The Christmas morn!

Some say, “To-day

Dear Christ was born,

And hope and mirth

Flood all the earth;

Who would be sad

This Christmas morn.”

How glad, how sad,

The Christmas morn!

“To-day,” some say

Dear Christ was born,

But oh! He died;

Was crucified!

Who could be glad

This Christmas morn!

Or glad, or sad,

This Christmas morn,

To some will come

A joy new-born.

The fleeting breath

To some bring death,—

How glad, how sad

This Christmas morn.

Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.

~ Washington Irving

The Christmas Wreath

by Anna de Brémont

Oh! Christmas wreath upon the wall,

Within thine ivied space

I see the years beyond recall,

Amid thy leaves I trace

The shadows of a happy past,

When all the world was bright,

And love its magic splendour cast

O’er morn and noon and night.

Oh! Christmas wreath upon the wall,

’Neath memory’s tender spell

A wondrous charm doth o’er thee fall,

And round thy beauty dwell.

Thine ivy hath the satiny sheen

Of tresses I’ve caressed,

Thy holly’s crimson gleam I’ve seen

On lips I oft have pressed.

Oh! Christmas wreath upon the wall,

A mist steals o’er my sight.

Dear hallow’d wreath, these tears are all

The pledge I now can plight

To those loved ones whose spirit eyes

Shine down the flight of time;

Around God’s throne their voices rise

To swell the Christmas Chime!

Christmas isn’t a season. It’s a feeling.

~ Edna Ferber

Christmas in the Heart

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

The snow lies deep upon the ground,

And winter’s brightness all around

Decks bravely out the forest sere,

With jewels of the brave old year.

The coasting crowd upon the hill

With some new spirit seems to thrill;

And all the temple bells achime.

Ring out the glee of Christmas time.

In happy homes the brown oak-bough

Vies with the red-gemmed holly now;

And here and there, like pearls, there show

The berries of the mistletoe.

A sprig upon the chandelier

Says to the maidens, “Come not here!”

Even the pauper of the earth

Some kindly gift has cheered to mirth!

Within his chamber, dim and cold,

There sits a grasping miser old.

He has no thought save one of gain,—

To grind and gather and grasp and drain.

A peal of bells, a merry shout

Assail his ear: he gazes out

Upon a world to him all gray,

And snarls, “Why, this is Christmas Day!”

No, man of ice,—for shame, for shame!

For “Christmas Day” is no mere name.

No, not for you this ringing cheer,

This festal season of the year.

And not for you the chime of bells

From holy temple rolls and swells.

In day and deed he has no part—

Who holds not Christmas in his heart!

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.

~ Roy L. Smith