The shepherds rested in the firelight
When they were woken on a still clear night
By heavens choir hastening them
To go forth unto Bethlehem
The heavenly choir
Sang of Gods desire
To give the world his son
His one and only one
The choir continued to sing
And announced the birth of a king
Christmas is a gift
A gift to the world
Of infinite grace
A special gift
Of redemption for all
Don’t cast it aside
The sound of Christmas really tells
In the ring of the Salvation Army bells
Calling out into the dark
Calling out to the heart
Ringing out in the throng
Singing out a heralding song
Give a little, not a lot
Give a little for their lot
They have little, but are not less
Give your coins and let them bless
A tale of generosity tells
In the ring of the Salvation Army’s bells
(Sung to the tune of Sixteen Candles)
Christmas Candles,
make a lovely light
But not as bright as the
light of Christ
(as the light of Christ) (Oh)
Light up the candles, for all the world to view
For every candle says,
Happy Christmas to you
St. Martin's Day,
Or the Feast of St. Martin,
Martinstag, Martinmas
Or Martin le
Miséricordieux
The Feast of St Martin
of Tours,
Is a time for feasting
celebrations
On November the 11th
When the autumn wheat
fields
Were sown for the
following year
And the annual slaughter
Of well fattened cattle
To produce
"Martinmas beef"
And it was also the
time
When hiring fairs were
held
Where farm unemployed
labourer’s
Could find new work
Feast Day November 11th
Started out as a Roman soldier
But was baptized as an
adult
And then became a monk
It is understood that
he was a kind man
Who led a quiet and
simple life
The most famous legend
of his life,
Was when he was still
a soldier,
It is the story about
the time
That he cut his cloak
in half
To share with a beggar
To protect him during
a snowstorm,
Which saved the
beggars life
That same night he
dreamed that Jesus
Was wearing the
half-cloak
Martin heard Jesus say
to the angels,
"Here is Martin,
the Roman soldier
Who is not baptised;
he has clothed me"
CS Lewis came to God
The long way round
But because of this
His faith was sound
And he knew the truth,
He called Christ’s birth
The central event
In the history of the earth
