I really loved the short stories, but I skipped the poems. ( )

Stars Over Bethlehem and Other Stories is a short story and poetry collection with a religious theme. The collection contains five poems and six stories.

My favourites were The Water Bus and In the Cool of the Evening. My least favourite was The Island. Individual ratings and reviews below. Overall collection rating is 2 stars.

POETRY: A GREETING: ***

A short Christmas poem relating the story of Jesus in the Manger and the appearance of the three Wise Men. I liked the rhythm and pacing of this one. 3 stars.

MISC: STAR OVER BETHLEHEM: **

Mary is tempted to end the life of her son, Jesus, in order to save him from the suffering he will endure. This was okay. Very religious and kind of hard to follow the specific references, although I got the gist about Lucifer. 2 stars.

POETRY: A WREATH FOR CHRISTMAS: **

A poem about the making of a Christmas wreath. The rhythm and pacing was good and I liked the rhyming and word choices. 2 stars.

MISC: THE NAUGHTY DONKEY: **

A naughty donkey winds up in the Manger where Jesus lay and finds himself wanting to change and be good for her new Master. It got weird towards the end, but I liked the donkey's sass. 2 stars.

POETRY: GOLD, FRANKINCENSE AND MYRRH: **

A poem about the gifts Jesus was given. Not really anything to say about this one. It was alright. 2 stars.

MISC: THE WATER BUS: ***

A woman dislikes people and does her best to isolate herself from the world. But when she travels by a water bus she sees a man in a beautiful woolen coat and when she can't stop herself from touching it, she finds that she sees life in a whole new light.

This started out strong and then went downhill. I liked that she disliked the world. The joke at the end that the guy in the coat must be able to walk on water was funny though. 3 stars.

MISC: IN THE COOL OF THE EVENING: ***

A woman prays for her son to be "fixed" but is confronted by the idea that God lives everywhere and loves all people, animals and things. This was alright. I liked the message of acceptance and compassion for all. 3 stars.

POETRY: JENNY BY THE SKY: **

A man considers a woman named Jenny and God's will. This was alright? I don't know. I liked the rhythm, pacing and the word choices but it was still too religious for me and I think I might have missed what it was even about. The end line says and "we both understood". Yeah, I did not understand. 2 stars.

MISC: PROMOTION IN THE HIGHEST: **

The Saints of God have decided they have not done enough in service of their faith and would like to return to Earth in order to serve. This was kind of funny although I'm pretty sure I missed most of the point. Once they got down to Earth it got odd. 2 stars.

POETRY: THE SAINTS OF GOD: ***

A punchy poem about the Saints of God coming back down to Earth in order to lead man back to Heaven. I liked Saint Margaret who has a dragon. I mean who doesn't love dragons. 3 stars.

MISC: THE ISLAND: *

Mary lives on an island looking after John who is a holy man (and possibly her son? I didn't quite get this bit). Men come looking for the Queen of Heaven and then Jesus arrives and takes Mary away. I definitely didn't understand this one. I'm not even sure I've gotten the plot straight at all, let alone any metaphors or religious references. 1 star. ( )

''She thought of the pictures that had been shown her - of the agony in the garden of the shameful death, of a man who, at the hour of death, was forsaken of God, and she heard again the dreadful word Blasphemy...
And now, at this moment, the sleeping babe was pure and innocent and happy.''
Agatha Christie is full of surprises. Following her wonderful collection of paranormal mysteries, I thought there was nothing more I could discover about one of the most important literary minds. And yet, chance brought me this volume of stories and poems by the Queen of Crime. There is no crime in this collection, though, but a deep love for the jolliest season, poems honouring love, motherhood, womanhood and courage, and a few of the most beautiful, moving passages we'll ever read.
'But the Crown seemed to be not gold, but Thorns (the donkey loved thorns and thistles - but it seemed the wrong thing for a Crown) and there was a smell he knew and feared - the smell of blood, and there was something on a sponge, bitter like the myrrh he had tasted in the stable...''
Star Over Bethlehem: A strange angel shows Mother Mary the future of Her Son and giver Her the choice of life or death. A haunting, terrifying story.
The Naughty Donkey: A very special donkey, watching over a very special infant, looking into His future, full of pain and glory.
The Water Bus: The story of an elderly lady who loved people unconditionally. Perhaps, a bit too much...A London tale of the reward for kindness.
In the Cool of the Evening: A beautiful tale of an extraordinary boy and his extremely unusual friend. Set in a world deeply affected by an accident in a nuclear power plant.
''I'm not sure about the Church I founded...it's not turned out at all as we meant...''
Promotion In The Highest: It is the beginning of the new millennium and the countries are governed by tyrants. 14 very important Saints decide that it is time to return to our world to lend a helping hand.
''I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last...I am He that liveth and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death...Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be...''
The Island: On a peaceful island, the Virgin Mary lives with St John the Evangelist, reminiscing about the past, waiting to be reunited with Her Son. A tender story of motherhood, endurance and faith.
''I AM Pierrot, simply Pierrot, singing to the moon
Loving, longing, craving, crying,
Ever seeking, ever sighing,
Through the night to noon,
I am he all lovers know!
Wandering through the world I go
In search of Columbine...''
A Masque From Italy: A beautiful tribute to the Commedia dell'Arte.
Agatha Christie's poems are a tribute to tradition, history and to a number of very important female figures. There is a ballad about Isolt of Brittany, the second Isolt of the famous Arthurian legend, about Elizabeth I and St Beatrice, about Undine and the Fairy Queen in her land of Enchantment. Poems about the fallen young men of the First World War, about love and a peaceful picnic in 1960. About a haunted forest and Dartmoor. These are just a few extracts.
''Did you never fear, oh! mother of mine,
When you played on a King's desire,
When first of a queenly rank you dreamed,
And subtly plotted and boldly schemed
To further your high design?
Did you never dread that the hand which crowned
Could cast you down in the mire,
That a love so swift might be swiftly drowned,
And a King might love - and tire?''
Elizabeth of England

''Bare brown branches against a mad moon
(And something that stirs in the wood),
Leaves that rustle and rise from the dead,
Branches that beckon and leer in the light
(And something that walks in the wood)
Skirting and whirling, the leaves are alive!
Driven by Death in a devilish dance!
Shrieking and swaying of terrified trees!
A wind that goes sobbing and shivering by
...
And Fear - naked Fear passes out of the wood!''
Down In the Wood

''I STILL not return again the way I came,
Back to the quiet country where the hills
And purple in the evenings, and the tors
Are grey and quiet, and the tall standing stones
Lead out across the moorland till they end
At water's edge.''
Dartmoor
This collection is a necessary addition to our collection.You know, someone said that it is too old-fashioned and mellow. And one more time I wonder what exists inside certain people's heads...
''Where now the incense? Where the kingly gold?
For Jesus only bitter myrrh and woe.
No kingly figure hangs here - justa son
In pain and dying...How shall Mary know
That with His sigh '''Tis finished'', all is told,
Then - in That moment - Christ's reign has
begun!''
Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh
My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/ ( )

This is a slightly more traditional set of Christmas stories than others I have read this year, though from an unusual pen. Agatha Christie published this set of short stories in 1965. They are warmly and cosily religious stories (ones not ramming religion down one's throat) about God appearing in various guises to people in a range of situations, ancient and modern, restoring hope and balance to those people's lives. Nothing outstanding but a pleasant read. ( )

This is a collection of short stories, holiday themed, and poems, not all holiday themed. I'm not sure when this was originally published, but it reads like a Victorian collection, at least the poems do. The stories are nice, nothing earth-shattering, just nice little stories to read during the holidays. The poems were quite sentimental, seemed to focus on dead or lost lovers, the seasons and nature. I have some poetry written by my great-great grandmothers which is similar. I found those about Harlequin, Columbine and the rest very interesting, not having heard much about them before except their names.

Simon Vance, as the narrator, was perfect. ( )