Classic Poem

Along by merry Christmas time they buy the aged goose
And boil the dread plum pudding, because of ancient use:
But to sneer at old time customs would be nothing but a crime,
For the memory of the Past is aye bound up in Christmas time.

Then Jim comes home from shearing, and he gets a little gay,
With Dad, perhaps, or Uncle; but they're right on Christmas Day:
For be it on the Never, or 'neath the church-bells' chime,
The family gets together, if they can, at Christmas time.

And, after tea at Christmas, they clear the things away
And play the dear old silly games our grand-folk used to play,
And Dad gives a recitation that used to be the joy
Of all the Western countryside, when Father was a boy.

Along by merry Christmas time, and ere the week is o'er
We meet and fix up quarrels that each was sorry for;
Our hearts are filled with kindness and forgiveness sublime;
For no one knows where one may be next merry Christmas time.