“Humpbacked Father Christmas then made a complete entry, swinging his huge club, and in a general way clearing the stage for the actors proper, while he informed the company in smart verse that he was come, welcome or welcome not; concluding his speech with:

“Make room, make room, my gallant boys,
And give us space to rhyme;
We’ve come to show Saint George’s play,
Upon this Christmas time.”
~The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy

Today’s Gifts:
A song: Joy to the World by Isaac Watts.

A booklist: Narnia Aslant: A Narnia-Inspired Reading List.

A movie: Henry V, starring Kenneth Branagh. No, it’s not a Christmas movie, but it is a fantastic way to spend a chilly evening, inspiring and luminous.

Birthdays: Actor/director Kenneth Branaugh, b.1960, Emily Dickinson, b.1830, George MacDonald, b.1824, Rumer Godden, b.1907, Mary Norton, b.1903.

A poem: Twas just this time, last year, I died by Emily Dickinson.