every Christmas Eve at midnight
` Waters o ' Comfort ? ' Ay , maybe ... maybe . Funny things happen on Christmas Eve , they say . My old mother believed to her last day that every Christmas Eve at midnight the cattle in their challs went down on their knees , throughout the land ... `` But the feelin ' , if you understand me , was n't Christmas-like at all . It had started with green pastures : and green pastures ran in my head , with brooks , and birds singin ' away up aloft and bees hummin ' all ` round , and the sunshine o ' the Lord warmin ' everything and warmin ' my heart ... I felt the walls of the cuddy chokin ' me of a sudden , an ' went on deck . `` A fine night it was , up there . Very clear with a hint o ' frost -- no moon .