The Light of Bethlehem

’Tis Christmas night, the pure snow a flock unnumbered lies;
The old Judean flocks aglow keep watch within the skies
An icy stillness closer holds the pulses of the breathless night,
And all the Christmas night, the angel stars shine bright
For Bethlehem’s light, for Bethlehem’s light.

A mystery deeper still folds the wondering hosts of light,
Till, lo, with holy reverence pale, that dims each diadem,
The lordliest bending, hail the living light of Bethlehem,
Glad Bethlehem’s living light, the holy Christmas light,
Glad Bethlehem’s light, the living light.

Author: Unknown

No well-known author is associated with this text in standard hymnals or public-domain sacred music collections. The archaic, poetic style and specific phrasing suggest a 19th-century origin, possibly from a periodical, carol book, or minor poet, but it does not match the corpus of major Christmas hymn writers such as Phillips Brooks, Edmund Sears, or Charles Wesley.