Extract from

A Christmas Carol
~G.K. Chesterton

The Christ-child stood at Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown.
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.

Traditional English Poem
~Anon

Oh, he did whistle and she did sing,
And all the bells on earth did ring,
For joy that our Saviour He was born
On Christmas Day in the morning.

Extract from

Christ's Nativity
~Henry Vaughan

Awake, glad heart! Get up and sing,
It is the birthday of thy King,
Awake! Awake!
The sun doth shake
Light from his locks, and all the way
Breathing perfumes, doth spice the day.

And All the Angels
~From an Old Scottish Carol

And all the angels in heaven shall sing,
On Christmas Day, on Christmas Day,
And all the angels in heaven shall sing,
On Christmas Day in the morning.

Extract from

Ring Out, Wild Bells
~Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.

Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be.

We Saw a Light
~Old English carol

We saw a light shine out afar
On Christmas in the morning,
And knew we straight it was Christ's star
Bright beaming in the morning.
Then did we fall on bended knee
On Christmas in the morning,
And praised the Lord who'd let us see
His glory at its dawning.

Extract from

While Shepherds Watched
~Nathan Tate

All glory be to
God on high
And to the earth be peace;
Goodwill henceforth
From heaven to men
Begin and never cease!

Extract from

The Three Kings
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

And cradled there in the scented hay,
In the air made sweet by the breath of kine,
The little child in the manger lay,
The child, that would be king one day
Of a kingdom not human, but divine.

Note: "Kine" is old English for "cow"

Extract from the Christmas religious poem and hymn

Angels from the Realms of Glory
~James Montgomery

Angels from the realms of glory,
Wing your flight o'er all the earth;
Ye who sang creation's story,
Now proclaim Messiah's birth:
Come and worship,
Come and worship,
Worship Christ, the newborn King!

Extract from

Christians Awake, Salute the Happy Morn
~John Byron

Christians, awake, salute the happy morn
Whereon the Saviour of the world was born
Rise to adore the mystery of love
Which hosts of angels chanted from above
With them the joyful tidings first begun
Of God incarnate and the Virgin's Son

Extract from the Christmas religious poem and hymn

Hark the Herald Angels Sing
~Charles Wesley

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Extract from

Christmas Bells
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

The star was so beautiful, large and clear,
That all the other stars of the sky
Became a white mist in the atmosphere,
And by this they knew that the coming was near
Of the Prince foretold in the prophecy.

Extract from

On the Morning of Christ's Nativity
~by John Milton

This is the month, and this the happy morn
Wherein the Son of Heav'n's eternal King,
Of wedded Maid, and Virgin Mother born,
Our great redemption from above did bring;
For so the holy sages once did sing,
That he our deadly forfeit should release,
And with his Father work us a perpetual peace.

Extract from

A Hymn on the Nativity of My Savior
~Ben Jonson

The Son of God, the eternal King,
That did us all salvation bring,
And freed the soul from danger;
He whom the whole world could not take,
The Word, which heaven and earth did make,
Was now laid in a manger.

Extract from

Music on Christmas Morning
~Anne Bronte

To greet with joy the glorious morn,
Which angels welcomed long ago,
When our redeeming Lord was born,
To bring the light of Heaven below;
The Powers of Darkness to dispel,
And rescue Earth from Death and Hell.

The Oxen
~Thomas Hardy

Christmas Eve, and twelve of the clock
'Now they are all on their knees.'
An elder said as we sat in a flock
By the embers in hearthside ease.
We pictured the meek mild creatures where
They dwelt in their strawy pen
Nor did it occur to one of us there
To doubt they were kneeling then.
So fair a fancy few would weave
In these years! Yet I feel,
If someone said on Christmas Eve,
'Come, see the oxen kneel.'
In the lonely barton by yonder coomb
Our childhood used to know
I should go with him in the gloom,
Hoping it might be so.

Perhaps a bit long for a Christmas greeting card message,
but one of my favourite Christmas religious poems because
it is so delightfully innocent.