"Christmastide" is a short Christmas poem by H. P. Lovecraft that captures the warm glow of a cottage hearth, flickering candles, and starlight shimmering over drifted snow. Far from Lovecraft's usual territory of dread and cosmic horror, the poem builds a mood of communal delight as church bells ring out and a mysterious magic descends from the sky to mark the passing year. In just eight lines, it conjures the hush and brightness of a winter night transformed by celebration.
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The cottage hearth beams warm and bright, The candles gaily glow; The stars emit a kinder light Above the drifted snow.
Down from the sky a magic steals To glad the passing year, And belfries sing with joyous peals, For Christmastide is here!
H. P. Lovecraft was an American author from Providence, Rhode Island, best known for pioneering cosmic horror fiction in the early twentieth century. "Christmastide" reveals a surprisingly tender and festive voice, showing that Lovecraft's range extended well beyond the eerie tales that made him famous.