In the Bleak Midwinter is a Christmas carol written as a poem by the English poet Christina Rossetti and first printed in January 1872. It pictures the birth of Jesus in a frozen winter world, marvels that the God whom heaven cannot hold was content with a stable, and ends with the question every worshiper must answer: What can I give Him? Her answer is the heart, the same gift God asks for in Proverbs: "My son, give me thine heart" (Proverbs 23:26). It is sung to Gustav Holst's tune Cranham or to Harold Darke's choral setting, and Rossetti's words are in the public domain.
Luke never says it snowed in Bethlehem, and Rossetti knew it. She was not writing a weather report. She was writing a poem about how far God came down, and an English winter, hard as iron, was the coldest, poorest setting she could imagine. The poem first appeared in Scribner's Monthly in 1872 under the plain title A Christmas Carol. Gustav Holst gave it the gentle tune Cranham in The English Hymnal of 1906, and Harold Darke wrote his 1909 anthem setting, with its soaring solo lines, as a student at the Royal College of Music; it is now a favorite of cathedral choirs. The carol moves in five steps: the frozen world, the God heaven cannot hold, the manger that was enough, the mother's kiss, and the gift of the heart. Below are all five verses as Rossetti published them, and twelve King James verses behind the lines. For the full Bible story, see the Christmas story in the Bible.
In the Bleak Midwinter: the words
Verse 1
In the bleak mid-winter
Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow,
Snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter
Long ago.
Verse 2
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him
Nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away
When He comes to reign:
In the bleak mid-winter
A stable-place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty,
Jesus Christ.
Verse 3
Enough for Him, whom cherubim
Worship night and day,
A breastful of milk
And a mangerful of hay;
Enough for Him, whom angels
Fall down before,
The ox and ass and camel
Which adore.
Verse 4
Angels and archangels
May have gathered there,
Cherubim and seraphim
Thronged the air;
But only His mother
In her maiden bliss
Worshipped the Beloved
With a kiss.
Verse 5
What can I give Him,
Poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd
I would bring a lamb,
If I were a wise man
I would do my part,
Yet what I can I give Him,
Give my heart.
Words: Christina Georgina Rossetti, first printed as A Christmas Carol in Scribner's Monthly, January 1872. Text as in The Poetical Works of Christina Georgina Rossetti (1904), checked against the Wikisource and Wikipedia transcriptions and the 1907 printing in Our American Holidays: Christmas, which leaves out verse 3. Public domain. Music: CRANHAM by Gustav Holst (The English Hymnal, 1906) or the anthem setting by Harold Darke (1909). Some hymnals print Worshipped her Beloved in verse 4.
In the bleak midwinter: heaven cannot hold Him
1. Job 37:6
"For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength."
Snow had fallen, snow on snow. Rossetti's winter is not just scenery; in the Bible, snow belongs to God. Elihu tells Job: For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. The God who speaks and the snow falls is the same God who lay silent in a manger. That is the wonder the carol builds on. The Lord of the weather chose to be born into a cold world, as small and helpless as any child on a winter night. See Bible verses about winter.
2. Psalms 147:16-17
"He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?"
Frosty wind made moan, earth stood hard as iron. The psalmist uses the same kind of picture: He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes. He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold? The answer to that question is no one. Yet a few verses later the psalm says He sendeth out his word, and melteth them (Psalm 147:18). That is the story of Christmas in miniature. God sent His Word, the Son, into a frozen world, and the thaw began. Many people feel spiritually cold in December. The carol starts in that cold and does not pretend it away.
3. 1 Kings 8:27
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?"
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him. When Solomon dedicated the great temple in Jerusalem, he prayed with wonder: But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Solomon's temple was covered in gold, and still it was too small for God. Rossetti sets that against a stable. The God whom no temple could contain fitted into a feeding trough. The point is not that the stable was big enough; it is that God made Himself small enough. See Jesus is God.
4. Revelation 20:11
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them."
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign. Rossetti leaps from the manger to the end of history, and her line echoes John's vision of the final judgment: And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. The baby in Bethlehem is the Judge before whom creation itself will give way. Rossetti holds both truths in two lines. He comes to reign, and yet a stable-place sufficed. Christmas makes the coming Judge approachable, because He first came as a child.
A stable-place sufficed
5. Luke 2:12
"And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
A stable-place sufficed. The angel gave the shepherds an odd kind of sign: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. A sign is supposed to be unusual, and this one was: the Savior of the world in an animal's feeding box. Luke does not mention a stable by name, but a manger means animals were near, and Christian tradition has always pictured a stable or a cave. Rossetti's word is sufficed: it was enough. God did not need a palace to do His greatest work. See Away in a Manger and Bible verses about Christmas Day.
6. Psalms 80:1
"Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth."
Enough for Him, whom cherubim worship night and day. The psalmist prays to the God who sits enthroned above the cherubim: Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth. In the tabernacle, two golden cherubim spread their wings over the ark, marking the place of God's presence. Rossetti's contrast is sharp. The One who dwells between the cherubim, who are said never to stop worshiping Him, was content with milk and hay. The psalm's prayer, shine forth, was answered in Bethlehem. See Bible verses about angels.
7. Isaiah 1:3
"The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider."
The ox and ass and camel which adore. The ox and the donkey in nativity scenes come from this verse: The ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib: but Israel doth not know, my people doth not consider. A crib is a manger. Isaiah's point was a rebuke. Even animals know where their food comes from, yet God's people had forgotten Him. Early Christians loved to picture the ox and donkey at the manger, knowing their Master when many people did not. Rossetti adds a camel for the wise men. The question for each reader is whether we will be as quick to know Him.
8. 2 Corinthians 8:9
"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."
A breastful of milk and a mangerful of hay. Rossetti shows how little the Son of God accepted. Paul gives the reason: For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. Christ's poverty did not begin at the cross. It began in the cold, in a borrowed shelter, with a peasant mother's milk. And it was for us. The richest One became poor so that poor people could share His riches. That is grace. See Bible verses about grace.
Sing it: What Child Is This?, lyrics and meaning.
What can I give Him? Give my heart
9. Luke 2:19
"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."
But only His mother, in her maiden bliss, worshipped the Beloved with a kiss. Angels may have filled the air, Rossetti says, but the one who held Him close was Mary. Luke gives us a glimpse of her heart: But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. While the shepherds were telling everyone, Mary was quiet. She treasured what she had seen and thought it through. The carol invites the same kind of worship: close, tender and thoughtful, not only loud. See Mary, the mother of Jesus.
10. Proverbs 23:26
"My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways."
Yet what I can I give Him, give my heart. The final verse is the reason many people love this carol. The shepherds brought a lamb, the wise men brought gold, and the singer has neither. What is left is the gift God wanted all along: My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. In Scripture, the heart means the whole inner person: thoughts, choices and loves. God does not ask first for our money, our talents or our good deeds. He asks for us. Anyone can give that gift, however poor. See Bible verses about the heart.
11. Psalms 51:17
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise."
Poor as I am. Rossetti's honesty about poverty is spiritual as well as material. David, after his great sin, learned what kind of gift God accepts: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. Contrite means crushed, sorry for sin. A heart given to God does not need to be impressive. It can be cracked, tired and ashamed. He will not turn it away. That is good news for anyone who comes to Christmas feeling they have nothing worth offering. See Psalm 51 KJV.
12. Mark 12:30
"And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment."
Give my heart is not a small, sentimental gift. When Jesus was asked for the greatest commandment, He answered: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. The heart Rossetti offers is the whole self. Giving it is the work of a lifetime, renewed every Christmas and every morning. The Child in the manger gave Himself completely; the carol asks us to answer in kind. See Bible verses about love.
A short prayer
Lord Jesus, heaven cannot hold You, yet You came into a cold world and a stable was enough. Thank You for becoming poor for my sake. I have no lamb to bring and no gold to give, but I give You my heart. Take it as it is, broken and imperfect, and make it wholly Yours. Teach me to treasure Your coming as Mary did, and to love You with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. Amen.
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Frequently asked questions
Who wrote In the Bleak Midwinter?
The words were written by Christina Rossetti (1830-1894), one of the great English poets of the 19th century and a devout Anglican, best known also for Goblin Market. The poem was first printed in January 1872 in Scribner's Monthly, an American magazine, under the title A Christmas Carol. It became a hymn after Gustav Holst set it to his tune Cranham for The English Hymnal in 1906. Harold Darke wrote the other famous setting in 1909.
Is In the Bleak Midwinter in the public domain?
Yes. Rossetti's poem was published in 1872 and she died in 1894, so the words are in the public domain. Holst's tune Cranham (1906) and Darke's 1909 setting are also old enough to be in the public domain in the United States. Modern arrangements and recordings may still be under copyright. The words on this page follow the 1904 edition of Rossetti's Poetical Works.
Did it really snow when Jesus was born?
The Bible does not say. Luke gives no season at all, and the December 25 date comes from church tradition. Bethlehem does sometimes get snow in winter, but Rossetti was not making a historical claim. She used the image of an English midwinter, the coldest, hardest time of year, to show how humbly the Son of God came into the world. The point of the carol is spiritual, not meteorological.
What does What can I give Him mean?
It is the question the whole carol builds toward. The shepherds and wise men in the nativity story brought gifts, and the singer wonders what a poor person can offer. Rossetti's answer is the heart, echoing Proverbs 23:26 and the greatest commandment in Mark 12:30. The line reminds us that the best response to Christmas is not something we buy but the gift of ourselves to Christ, in love, trust and obedience.
Sources: All Scripture quotations are from the King James Version (KJV), public domain in the United States. References were checked against the KJV text from bible-api.com.
Related: Christmas · The Christmas story in the Bible · Away in a Manger · Silent Night · Mary, the mother of Jesus · Winter · O Little Town of Bethlehem · Angels from the Realms of Glory · Free nativity play script
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