Merry Christmas from agirlfromqueens

Away in a manger,

No crib for His bed

The little Lord Jesus

Laid down His sweet head

The stars in the bright sky

Looked down where He lay

The little Lord Jesus

Asleep on the hay

Away in a manager is always the first carol that children are taught. It was originally published in 1885. We know that "Away in a Manger" was published in a Lutheran Sunday school book and this created the misconception that the lyrics of Away in a Manger were actually written by Martin Luther himself, though the timeline would make that impossible.

The author is unknown. The music to the carol was composed by William J. Kirkpatrick in 1895, and it is still pretty popular to this day, with multiple versions on my ipod, from the carpenters, nat king cole and the celtic women (and a couple more).

The photo above is of the manger in our house, it's a relic from my grandmothers time. In our family, we keep the baby Jesus hidden till this morning. For my mother, it would have been unthinkable to put him out earlier, 'cause "he wasn't born yet" !! Now that it's christmas morning, into the creche he goes!

Of course in a couple of weeks they will all go into storage, but it's the story of christmas thats important, not the icons or the presents or any of the things that make this the most commercial religious holiday the world has ever known. I try not to mix these things up, I respect the religious holiday but I bought lots of presents, and last night, signed a letter to Santa Claus. Today, after opening our gifts and welcoming our family, we all sat down to a wonderful christmas feast- get a look at Carly and the roast.

I wish all readers the best, for a happy holiday and a peaceful and prosperous new year. ciao and buon natale !!