Saturday, December 6, 2014

Happy Holidays! December 6, 2014 – January 3, 2015


As in the past, I’m going to take a brief  December hiatus 
and will begin posting new prompts again in January.

I send my sincerest thanks to all of you who have visited this blog over the past year, to loyal readers who visit regularly, and to those of you who have taken the time to post comments and poems. Poetry is about sharing, and I'm grateful for the sharing that happens here! I wish you all special blessings of light, love, and peace throughout this joyous season. 

And, as this year comes to a close, I wish all of you 
a New Year filled with abundant good health and much happiness!

Regular posts will resume on Saturday, January 3, 2015, 
so please stay tuned until then.

In the meantime, if you'd like to revisit some previous holiday season prompts, here are two links:



And ... a few of my favorite holiday poems that you might enjoy:

 "A Hymn on the Nativity of My Savior" by Ben Jonson
"The Feast of Lights" by Emma Lazarus
"Are We Done Yet?" by Gail Fishman Gerwin

Visit  Poets.org Christmas Article & Poems for an excellent article on Christmas poems. Also on this site are Christmas poems that you can access by clicking on the titles in the left sidebar.

Happy holidays to all!

In poetry and blogging,
Adele & Chaucey






21 comments:

  1. Happy holidays to you, too, Adele! I'm sure a lot of us will miss your posts this December, but there are lots of old posts to revisit and enjoy until January 3rd.

    Everyone, enjoy this special season!

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    1. Thanks so much, Jamie, and thank you for your weekly comments and observations.

      I wish you peace and joy this Christmas season and throughout the coming year.

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    2. I forgot to mention your beautiful, beautiful Christmas tree and the darling photo of Chaucey in his holiday hat! Absolutely delightful! Thanks so much for sharing with us.

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  2. Thank you, Adele. I wish you and your family a joyous holiday season.

    Amita (Mumbai)

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    1. Thank you, Amita, and all good holiday wishes to you and your family.

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  3. Merry Christmas, Adele! Thanks for all the wonderful prompts throughout the year.

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    1. Thanks, Sandy, and Merry Christmas to you and your family!

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  4. Máire Ó Cathail (Ireland)December 9, 2014 at 7:48 AM

    i hope the blog readers will enjoy this amazing poem by Christina Rossetti. Happy Christmas and a healthy New Year to all of you!

    A Christmas Carol by Christina Rossetti

    Source: The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti, with a Memoir and Notes by William Michael Rossetti (1904), p. 246

    In the bleak mid-winter
    Frosty wind made moan,
    Earth stood hard as iron,
    Water like a stone;
    Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
    Snow on snow,
    In the bleak mid-winter
    Long ago.

    Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
    Nor earth sustain;
    Heaven and earth shall flee away
    When He comes to reign:
    In the bleak mid-winter
    A stable-place sufficed
    The Lord God Almighty
    Jesus Christ.

    Enough for Him, whom cherubim
    Worship night and day,
    A breastful of milk
    And a mangerful of hay;
    Enough for Him, whom angels
    Fall down before,
    The ox and ass and camel
    Which adore.

    Angels and archangels
    May have gathered there,
    Cherubim and seraphim
    Thronged the air,
    But only His mother
    In her maiden bliss
    Worshipped the Beloved
    With a kiss.

    What can I give Him,
    Poor as I am?
    If I were a shepherd
    I would bring a lamb,
    If I were a Wise Man
    I would do my part, –
    Yet what I can I give Him,
    Give my heart.

    Before 1872

    Note: The last stanza is also published separately as "My Gift, From A Christmas Carol" and "A Birthday Gift"

    Note from William Michael Rossetti: "This was first published in Scribner's Monthly, January 1872. It was republished, 1875, in the volume of united poems, being then made to open the series of Devotional Poems." (page 476)

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    1. Gorgeous poem! thanks for sharing it with us.

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    2. Thanks so much, Maire! I love this poem, and I'm grateful that you shared it. Merry Christmas!

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    3. Beautiful, Maire! Thank you for sharing this!

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  5. Thanks for all the seasonal poem samples. The one by Gail Fishman Gerwin is a gem! Happy holidays!

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    1. Thanks, Mike! I'll send your comment along to Gail Gerwin! Happy holidays!

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  6. Dear Mike, Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I truly appreciate it. This "little girl" now has two children of her own. For his second Chanukah, we and the other set of grandparents gave her son a "Thomas-y" train table. We had to light the Chanukah lights on it. He's 13 now. Again, so sweet of you to comment and happy holidays to all who participate on this amazing blog.

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  7. Beautiful tree and such puppy sweetness!

    Thank you, Adele, for the prompts all through the year.

    Merry Christmas, and may 2015 bring you good health and much joy.

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    1. Thanks so much, Carol! All the special joys of the season to you and yours, and a happy, healthy New Year to come.

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  8. Happy holidays, everyone!

    I just noticed that there's another Mandel reading the blog -- Mike, I live in CA, where are you from?

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    1. Hi Rich, It's a common enough name, so I don't think we're related. I live in Nevada. Nice to meet you electronically.

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  9. Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas!

    And thanks, Adele, for all the great prompts.

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