O Holy Night

I used Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins as an Advent Devotional one year and I was not disappointed. My most favorite Christmas song, O Holy Night, was included and I learned the fascinating story behind this carol.

O Holy Night

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining ;
It is the night of the dear Savior's birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Chorus:
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming
With glowing hearts by his cradle we stand.
So led by the light of a star sweetly gleaming.
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend!

Chorus

Truly he taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name!
Chorus

 
The following is my summary of the history of O Holy Night.

It began in a small town in France in the year of 1847 in which Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure was a wine commissionaire.  Since he was "known more for his poetry than his church attendance, it probably shocked Placide when his parish priest asked him to pen a poem for Christmas mass. Nevertheless, the poet was honored to share his talents with the church." Using the story in Luke, he imagined what it would have been  like to have witnessed the birth of Christ and the poem "Cantique of Noel" was composed.   Pacide was so moved himself by the poem that he felt it was a song in need of musician so he requested assistance from his friend Adophe Charles Adams, who wrote works for orchestras and ballets all around the world.  Adophe was of Jewish ancestry and did not celebrate Christmas but he was moved by the poem and quickly wrote an original score for the beautiful words which was pleasing to both priest and poet. Three weeks later it was performed at a midnight mass on Christmas Eve; it was accepted by the church of France and became a beloved Christmas song.  When Placide left the church and joined the socialist movement and church leaders discovered Adophe was Jewish, the song was "suddenly and uniformly denounced by the church."  In 1813 an American editor, John Sullivan Dwight, while looking for new material discovered "Cantique of Noel." He translated the lyrics into English text "O Holy Night"and quickly became an American favorite. Back in France, the commoners still sang "Cantique of Noel" in their homes, as it had been banned from the church for almost two decades.

 "Legend has it, that on Christmas Eve 1871, in the midst of fierce fighting between the armies of Germany and France during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his muddy trench. Both sides stared at the seemingly crazed man. Boldly standing with no weapons in his hands or at his side, he lifted his eyes to the heavens and sang the beginning of "Cantique of Noel."  After completing all three verses, a German infantryman climbed out of his hiding place and answered with the beginning of Martin Luther's robust "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come." The story goes that the fighting stopped for the next twenty four hours while the men on both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas day. Perhaps the story had a part in the French church once again embracing "Cantique of Noel" as being worthy of inclusion in holiday services."  

And this still does not end the story behind "O Holy Night."  On Christmas Eve of 1906 Reginald Fessenden, university professor and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison, spoke into a microphone (using a new type of generator) and for the first time in history, a man's voice was broadcast over the airwaves reading from the gospel of Luke.  After reading the scriptures of the birth of Christ, Fessenden picked up his violin and played "O Holy Night," the first song ever sent through air via radio waves.  This carol has become one of the most recorded and played spiritual songs. "This incredible work -- requested by a forgotten parish priest, written by a poet who would later split from the church, given soaring music by a Jewish composer and brought to America -- has grown to become one of the most beautiful, inspired pieces of music ever created."