Away in a manger
No crib for a bed 
The little Lord Jesus
Lay down His sweet head 
 

By Thomas Moll
Director of Content & Innovation

On December 24, we will be airing our Worship Anew Christmas program. As a part of the program, we have the St. Paul Choristers from St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Fort Wayne, Ind., singing the hymn, “Away in a Manger.”

I was so excited to share the sweet story of “Away in a Manger” with you! Martin Luther writes the piece and sings it to his children (in German) every night while they tuck into bed. What a great story!

And then I found out that this hymn didn’t even have a German text until 1934. This misattribution of the hymn to Luther was widely accepted throughout much of the 20th century. This belief was so popular that many of the early versions of the hymn were titled, “Luther’s Cradle Song.”

Even though it’s hard to determine who wrote the original text, the hymn has been dearly loved and widely used since its release, and has become a much beloved Christmas hymn.

As we celebrate this season of Christmas, we reflect on our Lord Jesus humbling Himself to the point of being born in a lowly manger so that we might become a beloved child of God.

“Be near me, Lord Jesus. I ask Thee to stay, Close by me forever, And love me I pray.”

Merry Christmas!