What better time than Christmas to ponder the passing of the year, the mystery of the birth of Christ, the traditions of the season, and the expectation of what the New Year might usher in? And what better way to reflect on such themes than through poetry? This is a thought-provoking, satisfying collection that brings together 120 poems ranging from traditional wassailing songs to the work of contemporary poets, and featuring such well known writers as Ted Hughes, John Betjeman, W.H. Auden, Thomas Hardy, and others. Illustrated in both color and black and white by artists such as Peter Bailey, Charles Keeping and Ian Beck, it is an anthology to treasure from childhood through to adulthood.