The collect for today, the Nativity of our Lord, or the Birth-day of Christ, commonly called Christmas-day, from The Book of Common Prayer [1] (Canadian, 1962):
ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us thy only begotten Son to take our nature upon him, and as at this time to be born of a pure Virgin: Grant that we being regenerate, and made thy children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy Spirit; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
The Epistle: Hebrews 1:1-12 [2]
The Gospel: St John 1:1-14 [3]
[4]Artwork: Gerrit van Honthorst, The Adoration of the Shepherds, 1617. Oil on canvas, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence.