Childish prattle and merry laugh
And the joy of Christmas-tide,
And the old are young as the gay bells fling
Their messages far and wide.
Steaming pudding and lighted tree
And the litter of scattered toys,
We’re all of us children again to-day
Along o’ the girls and boys.
(_Back behind the happy faces
Lifts another looking through?
Drop your merry mask and tell me
What does Christmas mean to you?_)
Laughter long of the joyous throng,
Festival, fun and feast,
And there’s never a care in the echoing air
In the joy of a year released.
There’s never a care in the echoing air--
There’s never a break in the song--
And we rise with the rest when the children are blessed
And the hours have galloped along.