My Gift

“A Christmas Carol,”  a poem by Christina Rossetti, was first published in January 1872. It wasn’t until 1906 that the poem became the beautiful Christmas hymn “In the Bleak Midwinter,” when composer Gustav Holst set it to music. Three years later Harlod Darke composed his own arrangement of the song. Both choral arrangements of the five-verse song are well-loved favorites among singers worldwide.

Christina Rossetti had a happy childhood filled with God, nature, art, and writing. While her Italian father taught at King’s College in London, her mother homeschooled the children. 

All four siblings were highly creative. Christina began writing poetry as a child, and she enjoyed poetry-writing contests with one of her brothers. While her brother became a well-known artist, she continued pursuing poetry.

The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts Courses include several of her poems known for their imagery and imagination. In addition to “In the Bleak Midwinter,” she wrote the poem “Love Came Down at Christmas,” also commonly sung at Christmas.