25 December
Christmas poems
Christmas in Australia comes in the heat of summer. For the bush poets that meant dust, droving, a long ride to church or a party at the shanty, with Christmas cheer a long way from snow and holly.
These poems are good for a Christmas concert, a classroom or reading aloud after lunch. Each one opens on its own page, in large type, ready to print.
Christmas in camp
Halt! Who goes there? The sentry's callRose on the midnight airAbove the noises of the camp,The roll of wheels, the horses' tramp.The challenge echoed over all—Halt! Who goes there?
The opening verse of Banjo Paterson's “Santa Claus”, the last poem in his 1902 book Rio Grande's Last Race.
From Santa Claus, by A. B. “Banjo” Paterson (1902).
The poems
- TangmalangalooJohn O'Brien, 1921 · 2.5 min readThe bishop asks the children about Christmas, and the lad from Tangmalangaloo has his own answer. A favourite to recite.
- Santa Claus in the BushBanjo Paterson, 1917 · 5.5 min readA Scots farming family takes in a stranger on Christmas Eve, and finds out who he really is. Long and funny.
- Santa ClausBanjo Paterson, 1902 · 1.5 min readChristmas night in a soldiers' camp, and a strange visitor the sentry won't let pass.
- The Shanty on the RiseHenry Lawson, 1896 · 5.5 min readAn old bushman remembers a Christmas party at the shanty, long ago.
Every poem page has a Print button and text size controls.