413. Come hither, ye children
Christian Schmidt, 1768-1854
A popular Christmas song which all children love to sing.
Christian Schmidt was born in Dinkelsbühl, the oldest son of the city clerk. In 1791, he was ordained to the ministry and given the headship of the school and made school inspector in Thannhausen at Mindel. His was a singularly fruitful ministry in which he devoted most of his talent to the benefit of the young people. He was in the habit of using the hours from four until eight in the morning in writing for young people, this being the only time of the day that he considered his own. As a child of ten years, he was greatly impressed with the nativity scenes which had been built in the corridors of the state church in Dinkelsbühl and which he saw daily during the Advent season. The vivid recollection of this childhood experience resulted in the composition of this beloved Christmas song for children:
Ihr Kinderlein, kommet, o kommet doch all’!
Zur Krippe her kommet, in Bethlehems Stall,
Und seht, was in dieser hoch-heiligen Nacht
Der Vater im Himmel für Freude uns macht.
O seht in der Krippe, im nächtlichen Stall,
Seht hier bei des Lichtleins hellglänzendem Strahl,
In reinlichen Windeln das himmlische Kind,
Viel schöner und holder als Engel es sind.
O betet: du liebes, du göttliches Kind,
Was leidest du Alles für unsere Sünd’!
Ach, hier in der Krippe schon Armut und Not,
Am Kreuze dort endlich den bitteren Tod!
Was geben wir Kinder, was schenken wir dir,
Du bestes und liebstes der Kinder, dafür?
Nichts willst du von Schätzen und Reichtum der Welt;
Ein Herz nur voll Demut allein dir gefällt.
Our translation, appearing anonymously, employs the first stanza and two others from the original not given here.
The poem first appeared in the second edition of Christliche Gesänge zur öffentlichen Gottesverehrung, Augsburg, 1811.
MUSIC. IHR KINDERLEIN KOMMET should be sung with lively tempo. No information is at hand concerning the composer of the tune.