An intimate hometown poetry collection, “The Hush Between Carols” reflects on Christmas past and present through memory, faith, and quiet wonder
For nearly twenty-three years, Matt Stone has called Pasadena home, but to many in the community, he’s become something more familiar than a neighbor – a storyteller of December, a keeper of Christmas spirit, and, in his own words, “the guy who takes Christmas to ridiculous levels.”
A Towson University graduate and longtime foodservice distribution professional, Matt’s most cherished work came not in an office, but in a fifth-grade classroom at Fort Smallwood Elementary, where he discovered the quiet power of connection, reflection, and listening to children’s stories – a gift that now finds new form in his latest book, The Hush Between Carols: Poems of Christmas That Was, Is, and Ought to Be, a collection of 25 spoken-word poems.
Matt’s journey into writing was born from loss. “I started writing when I lost my parents just seventy days apart,” he said. “My mom was 60, my dad 61 – far too young – and I was only five months into fatherhood myself. Writing became a lifeline. It helped me figure out who I was, who I wanted to be, and how to move forward in a world that suddenly looked nothing like the one I knew.”
Years later, when Matt began playing Santa at community events and sharing stories about his encounters, his friends encouraged him to start writing them down. “That led me to jot down fragments about Christmas as a whole – my childhood Christmases, the ones my parents and grandparents knew, and the ways the season has changed over time,” he said.
It was during a quiet night listening to Frank Sinatra’s A Jolly Christmas that the vision finally came clear: he didn’t want to write about the polished, picture-perfect version of Christmas, but the way it actually feels – the hush, the longing, the stillness, and the flickers of wonder that survive even in noisy, modern Decembers.
Although some of the poems in his book date back several years, Matt said the true heart of the book took shape much more recently. “The shaping of this collection happened over the past six months,” he said. “The polished pieces arrived the way December does – quietly, steadily, all at once and then all over again.” He added, “Some poems came in a single sitting, while others took time to find their final form. The ones that made it in are raw and real, and I think there’s something honest in leaving them that way.”
In describing Christmas “that was,” “that is,” and “that ought to be,” Matt captures three eras that feel instantly familiar to readers. The Christmas of childhood lives in soft glows of buzzing glass lights, the crackle of vinyl records, and boxes marked “UPSTAIRS XMAS TREE.” The Christmas of today holds LED perfection, social media, and rushing – but also the stubborn magic of kindness that still breaks through. And the Christmas he believes we’re meant to have is not about nostalgia, but invitation – a return to stillness, generosity, faith, wonder, and the courage to be fully present with one another.
One of the most powerful poems in the book, “The List for Her Sister,” grew from a moment Matt experienced while in a red suit and white beard. A child, facing an illness far beyond her years, climbed into his lap not to ask for herself, but to bring a list for her sister. Writing it meant reopening a memory he still says he doesn’t entirely know how to carry. It’s also where his years as Santa most deeply shaped his work. He believes now more than ever that the magic of Christmas isn’t pretend – it’s relational. “Children don’t sit on Santa’s lap for toys. They come to be seen, heard, and held in their hope,” he said.
“Children don’t sit on Santa’s lap for toys. They come to be seen, heard, and held in their hope.”
His experiences playing Santa in and around Pasadena shaped much of the book’s heart. “Being Santa truly changes you,” he said. “When a child looks you in the eye and whispers, ‘I believe,’ you realize magic isn’t pretend – it’s relational. They’re not coming for toys. They’re coming for reassurance, for recognition, for someone who looks at them and says, ‘I see you. I hear you. Your wishes matter.’”
He added, “When you’re in that chair, you’re not just wearing a costume. You’re holding other people’s hope.”
Matt says the biggest difference between Christmas then and now is the pace. “Everything is faster now,” he said. “We used to wait – really wait. For the TV specials. For someone to flip the record. For cookies to cool. Waiting used to be part of the wonder. Today everything is instant… except the things that actually matter.”
Pasadena itself runs quietly through the book’s imagery. “Pasadena is a town that, at its heart, knows how to glow,” Matt said. He pointed to traditions like local tree lightings and neighborhood light displays that helped shape his vision of the season. “When it wants to, Pasadena still feels like a small town that knows how to slow down and savor the season.”
He says moments from his Santa appearances around town live inside the poems as well. “Even the quiet poems – lights in windows, snow drifting under streetlights – grew out of December drives through Pasadena and watching the whole town shine,” he said.
This Thursday, December 11, Matt will host a book signing from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at The Rumor Meal, an evening he says means “everything” to him. “Sharing this collection with Pasadena feels like sitting beside my own fireplace, cracking open the cover, and reading it aloud to the people who matter most,” he said.
He admitted the moment feels deeply personal. “Deep down, I feel like my mom and dad are looking down and saying, ‘Atta boy,’” he said. “I’ve spent a long time chasing my own George Bailey moment – proof that I mattered, that I made something worth keeping. Now I finally understand what Frank Capra was saying all along – success is the warmth of the people beside you.”
More than anything, Matt hopes readers feel connection. “I hope they feel seen,” he said. “I hope they remember a moment they thought they’d forgotten. Mostly, I hope they feel a little less alone.”
He defines “the hush between carols” as “the stillness where truth lives – the breath the world takes between the noise.” “In that hush, we remember who we love, who we miss, what we hope for, and what we still believe in,” he said. “The hush is where the true spirit of Christmas begins.”
Copies of the book will be available at the signing, and it is also available in paperback, hardcover and Kindle formats through Amazon.
Matt closed with a message he hopes resonates beyond the holiday season: “Christmas doesn’t ask us for perfection. It asks us to be present. To check on each other. To forgive quickly. To stay a bit longer. To light a candle in the window for whoever needs to find their way home.”
