1 A thousand years have come and gone,
And near a thousand more,
Since happier light from heaven shone
Than ever shone before,
And in the hearts of old and young
A joy most joyful stirred,
That sent such news from tongue to tongue
As ears had never heard.
2. And we are glad, and we will sing,
As in the days of yore;
Come all, and hearts made ready bring,
To welcome back once more
The day when first on wintry earth
A summer change began
And, dawning in a lowly birth,
Uprose the Light of man.