Derek McAuley, the Chief Officer of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, in Great Britain, cites an article in the current
Evening Standard
Is it true that "Away in a Manger" was first published in a Universalist hymnbook in #Boston as in tonight's ES #UU https://t.co/zdepzXBlJw
— Derek McAuley (@Derekunit) December 11, 2015
I replied:
@Derekunit Not a hymnal, but a #Universalist children's paper. The Myrtle, May 3, 1884, p. 6. pic.twitter.com/O05OKG9QDW
— Scott Wells ن (@bitb) December 11, 2015
I had never heard that connection before, and I thought I’d heard them all. I got the citation from the associated Wikipedia article, and here’s a link to that volume of The Myrtle.
So, it would be interesting to see if there is any earlier citation. It would also be interesting if the poetry of the carol compares with one of the known Univeralist poets in The Myrtle…
That said, the temperance songs on the next page are fun, if not so evergreen. Here’s the first three (of nine) stanzas of one.
Oh my God. How did I miss that one too. This is marvelous. I need to add that to the Advent Calendar at some point. Speaking of which I was secretly counting on you to review and give me the skinny on ones that I missed. Thanks for sharing this.