A carol of truth, history, and legends...

"Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht") is one of the most well know Christmas Carols of all time; and I must say it's one of my favorites. There is something eerily romantic that sucumbs your thoughts as you listen to the echoing melody and harmonic verses. It's been translated into hundreds of languages around the world. The Silent Night Society says there are many "romantic stories and legends" that surround the carol, although most historians believe that the Austrian priest Father Josef Mohr just wanted a simple piece that could be played on his guitar.

Silent Night was originally written in German, by Mohr and the melody was composed by an Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber (primary school teacher and church organist in the village of Arnsdorf. At the same time he was organist and choirmaster at St. Nicholas Church in the neighboring village of Oberndorf). Mohr was ordained in 1815, after special permission from the pope allowed him to study for priesthood, as Mohr was born an illegitimate child.

On December 24th, 1818, the carol was first performed in the Church of St Nicholas (Nicola-Kirche). Mohr made a drastic plea with Gruber the morning before Christmas, asking him to compose the melody on guitar for the Christmas Eve service that evening.

Nothing can be found as far as Mohr's inspiration for the song. It's a rumor that the church organ was broken, so Mohr and Gruber created the song for accompaniment by guitar.

Silent Night was popularized by the World War I, Christmas Eve truce between the British and the Germans. On December 24th, 1914 the artillery in the region (Ypres, Belgium) fell silent that night. German troops began decorating the area around their trenches for Christmas. They started placing candles on trees, then continued by singing many Christmas Carols, most notably Stille Nacht. The two sides started shouting Christmas greetings to each other and leading up to small gift exchanges, such as whisky, jam, cigars, and chocolate.

To this day, many Christmas Eve services and the Christmas Story always include the song, Silent Night. There is something about the melody, and the versus that tell the story of that night long ago. Every time I listen to the song, it brings a mix of emotions that can't quite be described.