Silent Night: Unusual story of ever-popular Christmas carol
The serendipitous story of how Silent Night became one of the world’s best-loved Christmas carols is told in Jimmy’s Cricket’s latest newspaper column.
The famous funnyman tells readers of the Lancashire Evening Post that it all started with a broken church organ…
Here is the full column which appeared in the newspaper earlier this month:
I’m afraid I’m going to have to relay some sad news, readers.
Come closer… the fairy on my Christmas tree is retiring this year.
Yes, she wants to step down while she’s still at the top!
Did I take you to the edge with that one?
Have you ever wondered how some of the Christmas carols we sing every year came about?
Well, let me tell you about one in particular.
This story takes place in a village called Oberndorf in Austria, on a snowy Christmas Eve night in the year 1818.
While preparing for midnight Mass at the local aptly named St Nicholas Church, Fr Joseph Mohr discovered he could not get a sound from the church organ, no matter how hard he pumped the pedals.
Looking for Divine inspiration, he remembered a poem he’d written a year before, after visiting a poor family in his parish to bless their child.
Enchanting melody
The image of a young mother holding her infant, wrapped snugly against the winter cold, captured Fr Joseph’s imagination and reminded him of another birth almost two thousand years earlier.
He fetched his written poem and rushed round to his schoolteacher friend, organist and composer, Franz Gruber, asking him if he could put music to it?
When Franz read the words, he was struck by their beauty and simplicity and immediately wove a slow, hauntingly enchanting melody to them.
That night, the song Stille Nacht was born, which we all know now as Silent Night.
With barely time for a rehearsal, the two men agreed that Fr Mohr would play his guitar, and sing tenor, while Franz sang bass.
We can only imagine the surprised look on the parishioners’ faces as they filed into the church for Midnight Mass later on that night, expecting to hear traditional Christmas hymns being played on the organ.
Instead, they heard two voices blending in harmony with an acoustic guitar singing an original carol that was as pure as an Alpine stream.
Pretty soon they all joined in.
Captivated
The story might have ended there but for an organ builder called Karl Mauracher who, while repairing the organ at St Nicholas Church in 1824, came across the song in the loft and was determined to popularise it.
It was then published, although Fr Mohr and Franz weren’t mentioned as the writers, and troupes of folk singers used it in their repertoires as they travelled all around Europe.
A famous family of singers called the Rainers, who were popular in America during the 1850s, were so captivated by the melody and words they had it translated into English.
In fact, it has been translated into 300 languages and is said to be the most translated Christian hymn of all.
But there’s more…
Silent Night has also become a symbol of peace.
For during the Christmas Truce of 1914 in the first year of World War I, British, German and French soldiers all sang it in their own language as they crossed over into No Man’s Land to shake hands and exchange gifts.
So, this Christmas as we sing Silent Night in our local carol service, let’s give a thought to Fr Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber.
They may not have earned a penny from their song, but they’ve given us something more important – an enduring musical legacy that’s lasted over 200 years.
Happy Christmas everyone!
Come closer – there’s more…
Did you miss Jimmy’s 80th Birthday Gala Show in November?
Or were you lucky enough to be there at the Lowry Theatre in Salford to see it in person?
Either way, you can watch the highights on The Irish in The Uk TV at 5.30pm every Saturday.
It was first broadcast on Tuesday (9 December) and is on repeat on SKY 588 and Freeview 279.
80th birthday charity show: Enjoy all the highlights on TV!
Need an ideal last-minute Christmas gift for someone who loves a good read? Memoirs of an Irish Comedian will fit the bill – full details here.
Have you heard Jimmy’s song created especially for Christmas? Listen to it here.
