Take a look at them all.

Midnight Mass, NFL and Santa runs: Pictures of Christmas around the world https://t.co/fGJWWthpuF

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 25, 2023

15. This time of Christ’s feast natal,
We will be merry, great and small,
And thou shalt go out of this hall;
Farewell from us both all and some!

16. Advent is gone, Christmas is come;
Be we merry now, all and some!
He is not wise that will be dumb
In ortu Regis omnium. [At the coming of the King of all things]

Read it all.

Gloria in excelsis Deo
et in terra pax hominibus bonæ voluntatis.
(Gloria a Dios en los altos cielos
y en la tierra paz a los hombres de buena voluntad.)#art
El Greco
Adoración de los pastores
1596
Museo Nacional de Arte Rumanía
Óleo sobre lienzo
364 cmx137 cm
Click foto👇 pic.twitter.com/H8OOG5yjft

— Miguel Calabria (@MiguelCalabria3) December 25, 2023

O Heavenly Father, as we celebrate again the nativity of thy Son our Saviour, we pray that, like the angels, we may sing his joyful praise; like the shepherds, we may go even to Bethlehem and see the Child lying in a manger; and like the wise men, we may offer to him our worship, and give him the love and loyalty of our hearts; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Nativity
Zanobi Strozzi, c. 1412-1468

(Met Museum) pic.twitter.com/tvtTzINIxB

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) December 24, 2023

Ever since I first heard it, my favorite Christmas song–KSH.

Lyrics–The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit, and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel:
By faith I know, but ne’er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought:
I missed of all; but now I see
‘Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I’m weary with my former toil,
Here I will sit and rest awhile:
Under the shadow I will be
of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

The Messiah came as the Apple Tree from heaven to redeem the trees of the field (people). Tall trees (proud people) who reject Him will be brought low. But the Messiah will exalt the humble who trust Him. #AppleTree #MerryChristmas #PeopleAsTrees https://t.co/MWwUR1LwuR

— Wade Burleson (@Wade_Burleson) December 25, 2022

‘The idea that there’s a force of love and logic behind the universe is overwhelming to start with, if you believe it. Actually, maybe even far-fetched to start with, but the idea that that same love and logic would choose to describe itself as a baby born in %$#$ and straw and poverty is genius, and brings me to my knees, literally. To me, as a poet, I am just in awe of that. It makes some sort of poetic sense. It’s the thing that makes me a believer, although it didn’t dawn on me for many years.’

–Bono as quoted in Cathleen Falsani, The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007), p.10

The Nativity

Cotton MS Caligula A VII/1; 12th century; painted miniatures probably from a Psalter; Northern France or Southern Netherlands; f. 7r @BLMedieval pic.twitter.com/v53jCOfGfz

— Ennius (@red_loeb) December 24, 2023

She was five,
sure of the facts,
and recited them
with slow solemnity
convinced every word
was revelation.

She said
they were so poor
they had only peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
to eat
and they went a long way from home
without getting lost. The lady rode
a donkey, the man walked, and the baby
was inside the lady.
They had to stay in a stable
with an ox and an ass (hee-hee)
but the Three Rich Men found them
because a star lited the roof.
Shepherds came and you could
pet the sheep but not feed them.
Then the baby was borned.
And do you know who he was?
Her quarter eyes inflated
to silver dollars.
The baby was God.

And she jumped in the air
whirled around, dove into the sofa
and buried her head under the cushion
which is the only proper response
to the Good News of the Incarnation.

–John Shea, The Hour of the Unexpected; one of my favourite Christmas poems, read every year on this day

🌟Frohe Weihnachten 🎄🌟🎄 pic.twitter.com/qbMQu95tH7

— 💫Stein_harmonie🍀🧚‍♀️ (@SteinHarmonie) December 25, 2023

Almighty God, you have given your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and to be born [this day] of a pure virgin: Grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with you and the same Spirit be honor and glory, now and for ever.  Amen.

10 of the most beautiful depictions of Christ's Nativity in classic art (stay for #10, it's our favorite):

1. Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence, 1609, by Caravaggio

Including anachronistic saints in the nativity was a common medieval trope. pic.twitter.com/W2nlxUO354

— CoffeeWithTheClassics (@CoffeewClassics) December 21, 2023

He who comes from above is above all; he who is of the earth belongs to the earth, and of the earth he speaks; he who comes from heaven is above all. He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony; he who receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for it is not by measure that he gives the Spirit; the Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. He who believes in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him.

–John 3:31-36

The Nativity

BL Add MS 49598; 963-984; The Benedictional of St Æthelwold; England, S.; f.15v @BLMedieval pic.twitter.com/rUuPCvxeW3

— Ennius (@red_loeb) December 24, 2023