#17 most-searched carol in the US · 1868
O Little Town of Bethlehem: the story behind the carol
⛪ Church & choir🏡 Great for caroling
- Words
- Phillips Brooks (1868)
- Music
- US: Lewis Redner, "St. Louis" (1868) · UK: "Forest Green", arranged by Ralph Vaughan Williams
- From
- Philadelphia, USA
- Type
- Sacred carol
The story behind “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
The Philadelphia pastor Phillips Brooks rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve 1865 and looked down on the town at night. Three years later he wrote this poem for the children of his Sunday school.
His organist, Lewis Redner, wrote the American tune — he said it came to him in the middle of the night before the children's service.
More carols like this
- Silent Night1818 · Oberndorf, Austria
- Jingle Bells1857 · Boston, Massachusetts
- Joy to the World1719 · England; tune from Boston
- O Holy Night1847 · Roquemaure, France
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing1739 · England
- Deck the Halls1862 · Wales; English words from Scotland
History retold from the carol's Wikipedia article and its sources; checked 2026-09-30.