Advent Devotional: December 24

Although initially a Quaker colony, because of Pennsylvania's constitutionally protected freedom of religious conscience, many Christian Germans fleeing persecution and a war-ravaged economy after the Thirty-Years War between Catholics and Protestants settled in the state. These (mostly Evangelical Lutheran) migrants became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, and they brought a long-standing love of celebrating Christmas (and Christmas decorations - like Christmas trees, wreaths, and candles in the windows) with them in the 18th century at a time when most of the other colonies banned it.

Some say that their love of Christmas goes back to the days of Martin Luther, who wrote at least five Christmas hymns still sung today and "invented" the original Christmas tree, which he used to mount "stars" (candles) to teach children the story of Christ born in Bethlehem. Regardless, perhaps that is why there are such strong Christmas traditions in our state, and why PA has produced more Christmas carols than any other state in America. For instance, "Winter Wonderland" was written in Scranton, though the author was actually thinking about his countryside home in Honesdale when he wrote it. "We Three Kings" was written in Williamsport, "O Little Town of Bethlehem" in Philadelphia, and for you Penn State fans - legend has it that the author of "Let it Snow" had Penn State's Happy Valley in mind when he wrote, "Oh, the weather outside is frightful." Many more Christmas carols were penned by Pennsylvanians or musicians who found the state's gentle snow-covered hills as inspiration for their songs, and today's Christmas hymn is another one of our state's Christmas gems, written in celebration of Martin Luther's 400th birthday in 1883.

Many Protestant churches held special services and sermons to commemorate the year (in a similar way that we, and many churches, celebrated the 500th anniversary of the Reformation). It is thought then that "Away in a Manger" was written to commemorate the occasion in honor of Luther's love for Christmas and children since it first appeared in an Evangelical Lutheran hymnal for children in Philadelphia. Others claim that Luther himself wrote the song, and, still sung by German mothers as a lullaby for their children, it was included in the hymnal. Either way, "From Heaven on High," "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come," "To Shepherds as They Watched by Night," and "We Praise You, Jesus, at Your Birth" are all known to have been written by him. Not only that, but Luther also dedicated himself to the translation of many more Christmas hymns into German from Latin, including one of our other featured hymns, "Savior of the Nations Come." So, even though there is no actual record that Luther's pen actually wrote "Away in a Manger," the song was originally called, "Luther's Cradle Hymn," perhaps contributing to the song's initial popularity that quickly spread from Pennsylvania to New England, and then to the rest of the world.

In a way, the song is similar to another children's "cradle song" we all know," "Jesus Loves Me This I Know," or even "Jesus Loves the Little Children," except rather than reflecting on Christ's love for children, "Away in a Manger" reflects on the imagery of Jesus' birth, and then transitions to a child's prayer, "I love you Lord Jesus... I ask you to stay close by me forever and love me, I pray."