Eight Days to Christmas: Red and Green

From “Ichod, The Ice Troll” by Santa Claus, in Santa’s Christmas Storybook by Sheila Black:

“Under Owl’s supervision, the work began. The sparrows flew to town and found spools of red and green thread with which to string the decorations. The squirrels gathered nuts and polished them with their little paws until they shone silver and gold.

“The raccoons picked red berries and pine cones and strung them into long, loopy chains. Meanwhile the cardinals and blue jays and other brightly colored birds found all the feathers they had lost and, using their nest-building skills, wove them into ornaments with their agile beaks. The deer and elk helped, too, fetching branches of holly from the forest meadows.

“One by one, the animals hung these decorations on the towering blue spruce. At last, the tree was ready. The animals gathered together to admire their handiwork.

“Their tree had no glass balls or lights like those on other Christmas trees, yet it was no less beautiful without them. From bottom to top, the great spruce glimmered with bright berries, tufts of feathers, colorful dried leaves and flowers, and gold and silver nuts. At the very tip top was a snow-white star made from wild swan feathers, and around the bottom Owl (who prided himself on being able to read and write) had carefully arranged holly branches to spell out the words:

“Merry Christmas!”

From “A Holly Day” in Christmas is Coming! Poems  by Charles Ghigna and Debra Ghigna:

A holly tree,
A holly berry,
A holiday,
And we are merry.

A star above
To wish upon,
A winter’s eve,
A snowy dawn.

All red and green
Along the way,
A holly time,
A Christmas day.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---