For five decades, Fr. Thomas Raby held a very special place for readers of The Catholic Register. His weekly column — The Little World of Fr. Raby — was a favourite, with stories and messages that continue to resonate, even three years after his death at age 95. At right, we present one of his Christmas poems, which were a tradition for almost 40 years. As well, here is one of his Christmas columns, published Dec. 24, 1960, when the the Cold War was escalating.

Christmas poems and stories, like “The Night Before Christmas” or “The Gift of the Magi,” are remarkable in the way they enchant young people from generation to generation. But there is one Christmas story that never grows stale, that is fresh to all ages and places, to young and old, to men and women. Here is how it goes.

Editor's note: for nearly 50 years the late Msgr. Thomas Raby penned his The Little World of Fr. Raby column for The Catholic Register. The following, Christmas lights in September, is a Msgr. Raby classic, along with one of the Christmas poems he wrote annually.