The time to listen, to be aware, that it’s not simply Christmas with all its busyness but the coming of a Child …
ADVENT CANDLES
listen to the prophets speaking 
speaking of a child to come
Child to be both Priest and King
Listen to the prophets’ word
Angels dancing in the flame
Of a fire lit by God
Angels singing of a Name
That is now in the world
Shepherds come a-carolling
Amongst the ice-bare trees
Singing of the winter Child
They know is heaven’s King
To Bethlehem: ‘This little book is delightful, full of … poems on this timeless subject. … the most fun is the little prose vignettes of the common people in the Christ-child story. The slave who looks after the wise men’s camels, or the overworked maid at the inn who has to fetch water for the birth, and many more. A lovely gift for the reader on your Christmas list!’ Rosalind Adams. Available from Amazon and Kindle.
Right you are, Christmas has always been for me a time of Hope, as given by the birth of a small child.