What is the origin of the idea that the baby Jesus did not cry? &quot;...the cattle are lowing. The baby awakes. But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.&quot;
~ 2nd verse to Away In A Manger

Did this idea originate from historical Christian doctrine? Where did this idea come from that baby Jesus didn't cry?
I didn't realize that I had believed this my whole life until literally an hour ago when I was singing the song to my 1 yr old and thought &quot;Wait...what?&quot;
Did this idea originate from historical Christian doctrine?

I suggest the answer may be "no".  (I'm not citing any specific authoritative documents to prove this theory.)

Where did this idea come from that baby Jesus didn't cry?

When I was first exposed to this song, I recall thinking this:

People don't appreciate babies crying.  People know that babies cry, but people appreciate babies being quiet.  When a baby is sleeping, or otherwise just being quiet, people will sometimes refer to the baby as "being good".

Jesus was perfect.
That means Jesus was good.

I doubt that the song implied that Jesus never cried.  I think the song was just portraying a nice situation, including a moment of time when Jesus was being good (by not crying).