The Night Before Christmas: The Real Story

Twas the Night Before Christmas

(The “real” story)

Twas the night before Christmas,

And all through the stable,

Not an animal was sleeping,

None of them were able.

Something special was ahead,

All the animals knew,

The cow couldn’t speak,

But he did say, “moo.”

A star was shinning,

Ever so bright,

And the donkey was nervous,

He was really uptight.

The animals could sense it,

But they really could not say,

So they tried to keep warm,

In the midst of the hay.

If the sheep could have spoken,

She would have shouted, “hoorah,”

But in the excitement,

It just came out, “bah.”

Something was stirring,

In the air that night,

That special star was in the sky,

Shedding its light.

Then out of the dark there appeared,

Such a clatter,

The animals wondered,

Just what was the matter.

The door slammed at the Inn,

And the sign read, “All Filled,”

And the stirring of animals,

Was suddenly stilled.

From out of the dark,

Came Joseph and Mary,

It was time for a birth,

And things were kind of scary.

Some angels flew by,

Knowing the hour was near,

And hurried off,

To sings songs of great cheer.

The first folks they found,

Were shepherds tending their sheep,

But news like this,

Just was not going to keep.

The angels broke into song,

The sky filled with joy,

And they told the shepherds,

About the birth of a boy.

“Hurry,” they said,

“And in a stable you’ll see,

The birth of your savior,

It’s the manger baby.”

The shepherds had trouble,

Believing their eyes,

It was angels they saw,

So they all gave high fives.

Meanwhile back at the stable,

Baby Jesus did appear,

Way before the pawing,

Of tiny reindeer.

Because it’s Jesus,

That gave Christmas its start,

Before Santa and Rudolf,

God gave us his heart.

In a manger of hay,

With animals for friends,

Baby Jesus was born,

That’s the way Christmas really begins.

The shepherds arrived,

The wise men three,

With presents at a stable,

With no Christmas tree.

So remember the night,

Animals wanted to speak,

And come to the manger,

For this child we must seek.

Before mistletoe and Jingle Bells,

Before Grinches and shopping,

Came the meaning of Christmas,

Before we ever hung a stocking.

So sing a song of good cheer,

Children in all times and all places,

For little boy Jesus,

Came to put a smile on your faces.

And as the curtain came down,

The animals thought, “What a sight.”

And Mary and Joseph whispered,

“Merry Christmas to all

and to all a good night.”

Jody Seymour