Christmas is a season of celebration and remembrance, and its moods are as various as the songs, stories, and poems it has inspired. From the joyous exaltation of "Deck the Halls" and "Angels We Have Heard on High" to the quiet reflection of John Clare's "December" and William Wordsworth's "Skating," Christmas Poems is a treasury of Christmas meaning, magic, and memories. Warm your heart with Robert Herrick's "Yule Log," Johnny Marks's "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and Clement Clarke Moore's "A Visit from St. Nicholas"—then be chilled to the bone by Emerson's "The Snowstorm" and Thomas Hardy's "A Christmas Ghost-Story." Recapture the spirit and wonder of the season with "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and "Here We Come A-Wassailing"—then embark on an odyssey of faith with T.S. Eliot's "Journey of the Magi."

With more than 100 poems, carols, rhymes, and songs, Christmas Poems features the verse of Robert Frost, Lewis Carroll, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ogden Nash, and others, bringing together the world's best-known and best-loved Christmas classics.

About the Author

David Stanford Burr is a managing editor, professor of publishing, and published poet. He is also the author of The Poet's Notebook: Inspiration, Technique, and Advice on Craft.