Christmas is not a holiday only
celebrated on earth.
Christmas is a holiday rejoiced in
throughout the Universe!
Let Rudolph's Space cousin (the
green reindeer) guide you on A Christmas
story in outer space!
Science@NASA
and Thursday's Classroom
present:
'Twas The Night Before Christmas,
NASA-style
by Gail Koske Phillips and
Patrick Koske-McBride
This poem and related
lesson plans may be freely reproduced.
'Twas the night before
Christmas, when all through the stars
Not a creature was stirring,
not even on Mars.
The space boots were hung
by the airlock with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas
soon would be there.
The robots were nestled
all snug on their tires,
As visions of upgrades
danced through their wires;
Mom put on her headset
while I counted prime numbers,
We had settled our brains
for a long winter's slumber,
When out on the dome there
arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my sack
to see what was the matter.
Away to the porthole I
flew like a flash,
And tore open the air
filter with a great clash.
The moons on the crest
of a new volcano,
Gave an alien luster to
objects below.
When what to my wondering
eyes should appear,
But a small UFO, and eight
rocket reindeer,
With a little old driver
so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it
must be St. Nick.
More rapid than light,
his rockets they came,
And he whistled, and shouted
and called them by name:
"Now Saturn! now,
Sputnik! now, Titan and Atlas!
On, Redstone! on, Delta!
Apollo, Polaris!
To the top of the dome!
to the top of the wall!
Now blast away! blast
away! blast away all!"
As meteors blaze through
the heavens up high,
When they meet with the
atmosphere and burn in the sky,
So up to the dome-top
the rockets they flew,
With a ship full of toys,
and St. Nicholas, too.
And then in a twinkling,
I felt on the ceiling
The heat of the thrusters
and landing tiles peeling.
As I covered my head,
and was turning around,
Through the airlock old
Santa Claus came with a bound.
He was dressed all in
plastics, from his feet to his head,
And his clothes were all
covered in dust that was red;
A bundle of toys he had
flung on his back,
And he looked like a scientist
opening his pack.
His visor- how it twinkled!
his filter how scary!
His gloves were from Earth,
the logos quite merry!
His space boots, how costly!
they played songs and glowed!
The frost on his suit
was as cold as Pluto;
The stump of his air tube
held tight in his teeth,
And oxygen swirled round
his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and
a little round belly
That shook, when he laughed,
like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump,
a right jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw
him in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and
a nod of his head,
Soon gave me to know I
had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but
went straight to his work,
And filled all the space
boots; then turned with a jerk,
And spreading his fingers
just like Mr. Spock,
He quietly exited out
the airlock.
He sprang to his sleigh,
to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew
like a high flying missile.
But I heard him exclaim,
ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas
to all, and to all a good night."
Take the space links below and blast off to an outer space Christmas adventure
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