December 21, 2022
‘Silent Night’
Beloved one, the lyrics to Silent Night were written by Josef Mohr, a man whose name was unloved in his hometown of Salzburg, Austria. Mohr was one of three illegitimate sons to Anna Schoiberin, while his father, Franz, was a mercenary soldier who eventually abandoned the family. To make matters worse, Josef’s godfather was the town executioner.
Perhaps due to his mother’s poverty, the curate, (a member of the clergy engaged as assistant to a priest) of the local Catholic cathedral took Josef in as a foster child. Josef had a love for music, which was encouraged by the church, and he eventually decided to pursue the priesthood. He was ordained on August 21, 1815, and was sent to Oberndorf, Germany. He there met Franz Xaver Gruber, a local schoolteacher who would become an organist at Old Saint Nicholas Church the following year. Gruber came from equally humble origins and took comfort in his music. The friendship of the two is what led to the creation of Silent Night.
Silent Night was created because Mohr needed a carol for worship. On Christmas Eve of 1818, Mohr visited Gruber with a poem he had written a few years earlier. Gruber quickly arranged the song to be played on a guitar with a choir because the church organ was broken. That evening at Midnight Mass, Gruber strapped on his guitar and led the congregation at St. Nicholas in the first rendition of Silent Night.
The song was an immediate hit, later being sung by traveling tours and performed before King Frederick William IV of Prussia. Later in the 1800s, the hymn was translated into English and made its way to America by way of a book called Sunday School Hymnal, though with only three of the original six verses. Today, Silent Night is perhaps the most famous Christmas carol in history. It has been translated into most languages. A rebuilt Silent Night Chapel in Oberndorf is now a cultural landmark (a replica can be found in Frankenmuth, Michigan). Read the lyrics:
Silent Night
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
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quake at the sight
Glories stream from Heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing hallelujah
Christ the Savior is born
Christ the Savior is born
