The Shortest Day by Susan Cooper
And so the Shortest Day came and the year died
And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world
Came people singing, dancing,
To drive the dark away.
They lighted candles in the winter trees;
They hung their homes with evergreen;
They burned beseeching fires all night long
To keep the year alive.
And when the new year’s sunshine blazed awake
They shouted, reveling.
Through all the frosty ages you can hear them
Echoing behind us—listen!
All the long echoes, sing the same delight,
This Shortest Day,
As promise wakens in the sleeping land:
They carol, feast, give thanks,
And dearly love their friends,
And hope for peace.
And now so do we, here, now,
This year and every year.
Welcome, Yule!
This poem is available as a children’s hardcover with watercolor illustrations by Carson Ellis.
Traveling in Books 
Feliz Navidad!🎄
God jul och gott nytt år 🙂
Enjoy your holiday 🙂
Thank you! I hope you have a great day, too!
Thanks, You too
That’s great to hear! Sometimes, the low key holidays are the best. I hope you enjoy your new books! Especially Around the World in 80 Days!
Er, Around the World in 80 Books, that is… 🙃
Happy Holidays to you, as well! I had a nice get together with family yesterday, fairly low key but enjoyable. And I have a few more books to read, including one you’d recently talked about, Around the World in 80 Books. 🙂
Happy Holidays!! 🙂