After the merriments of Christmas

And the new year had now been past,

January's snow fall glistened

Upon the trees and grass.

Christmas is just one special day

That we wait a whole year for,

And then before we know it

It's gone right through the door.

In those days it was a special time

None of this secret Santa business,

Receiving gifts from siblings

But don't even know who it is.

To be a miser has become the norm

In these modern yuletide days,

People find all kinds of excuses

To avoid expense in many ways.

Once upon a time we looked forward

Spending time with family or friend,

Now everyone wants to go on holidays

So they don't have to give or pretend.

Christmas dinners use to be fun

Now it's the place to have a row,

A sister you thought was an angel

Turns out to be an old cow.

Brothers always played football together

Now they're at each others throats,

Some mothers don't set any examples

And fathers behave like nanny goats.

When my mother became a Christian

Suddenly everything had changed,

An early morning prayer meeting

In her bedroom she had arranged.

After breakfast we went to church

To join forces with all the rest,

Women in long dresses and bonnets

And all the men in their Sunday best.

The pastor rose and read his text

His name wasn't called doctor Ice,

In fact he was a warm soft-spoken man

Who was humble, charming and nice.

He led the service from beginning to end

Preaching the story of Christ's birth,

And the gifts he received from the wise men

Frankincense, gold and myrrh.