The Story Behind "Silent Night"
Posted on December 18, 2015
The song, Silent Night, brings us home with still, silent voices in harmony all over the world every Chrismtas. However, did you know there were rodents in the story behind Silent Night? Yes, in fact it was because of mice that Silent Night was written. On a cold Christmas Eve in 1818, Jospeh Mohair was dismayed to learn that mice had nibbled through the organ bellows in his little Austrian parish church. He couldn’t bear to think of a Christmas Eve service without music.
As he went out on some pastoral visits, Jospeh was summoned to the cottage of a family to bless their newborn baby. As he awoke in the peaceful Austrian hills, his spirit was caught up with this child and thoughts of Christ’s birth. The words of a poem settled on his heart, and he hurried home to pen them down. Rushing to his still flustered organist, Joseph asked him to write music for his poem. France Grubbier then wrote a simple melody using the only three chords he knew. That very evening at the midnight service, “Silent Night” was sung for the first time, by two men accompanied by the guitar.
Nearly 200 years later, Silent Night has been arranged and re-arranged in a wide variety of styles, from the simple guitar to a full syphonic orchestra. Here is a list of the top arrangements of this song available at PraiseCharts. Browse through the different arrangements to find the perfect one for your worship service.
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Category: Song Stories
Tags: christmas eve, Christmas Carol Song Stories