‘Silent Night’: The History of the Beautiful Christmas Hymn

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“Silent Night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright, round yon Virgin, Mother and Child, holy infant so tender and mild. Sleep in heavenly peace.” The Christmas hymn “Silent Night,” or “Stille Nacht,” retells the Gospel story of Jesus Christ’s birth in the Holy Land. But where did this song originate?

“Silent Night” is now one of the most beloved Christmas hymns. Bing Crosby’s rendition of it ranked as of 2019 as the second most popular Christmas song ever in terms of sales. Though its English language version is now so beloved, the hymn was originally written in the German language as “Stille Nacht,” penned by a young Austrian Catholic priest. The melody was composed by the church organist, who also sang it for the first time in harmony with the priest.

The beauty, simplicity, sacred awe, and haunting melody of “Silent Night” have delighted Christians in multiple languages since that first performance during Mass in 19th century Austria, and will continue to inspire worshipers and audiences for generations to come.

Catholic Review explains that Fr. Josef Mohr was the pastor of St. Nicholas Catholic Church in Obendorf, Austria, in the year 1816. The Napoleonic Wars had ended, and Europeans were no doubt grateful to God for at least a brief respite from continental war. The young priest composed a six-verse poem, which in 1818 he gave to Franz Xavier Gruber, who was the organist for the church. Gruber’s task was to compose the melody to go along with the verses and turn them into a hymn, which could be sung to the accompaniment of a guitar. That Christmas Eve, during Mass, the hymn had its modest but historic debut.

Gruber sang bass as the church choir sang the refrains of each verse. Father Mohr, a talented musician himself, played the guitar accompaniment. The tune was warmly received by those who heard it that first night.

Father Mohr died in 1848. Before his death, the composer of “Silent Night” is reported to have said that his composing of the Christmas carol was one of the “most treasured moments” of his life.

WRTI 90.1 says that Fr. Mohr had originally composed the lyrics while looking out over the peaceful, snowy town of Obendorf. After the hymn’s first debut, a copy of the song was taken by an organ builder/repair man to his own town. There, traveling folk singers got a hold of it, and by 1834 it was already so widely disseminated that it was being performed for the King of Prussia. The hymn debuted across the ocean in New York in 1839. Below you can listen to a beautiful rendition of “Stille Nacht” in its original language, sung by German Werner Klemperer and Austrian John Banner (famous for their roles on the TV series “Hogan’s Heroes”).

As interesting historical context, Klemperer fled Germany with his Jewish father in the 1930s, and Banner was a Jew who barely escaped Austria and the Nazis. Banner and Robert Clary, the Frenchman who sings the second Christmas hymn in the clip, were Jews who lost much of their family to the Holocaust. In fact, Clary was himself incarcerated in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp, and survived to have an entertainment career in America. So these three men’s renditions of the Christmas hymns have added meaning, as they lived through the nightmare of Nazi mass murder and built for themselves a new life in America, still retaining their faith in God. The video clip also features Bing Crosby holding the guitar upon which “Silent Night” was first played by Fr. Mohr so many years before!

Christmas Day is just the start of the twelve days of Christmas and the 40 day Christmas season, so please enjoy this beautiful hymn not only today, but throughout all this holy season. May the Child born in Bethlehem bless you.