Songs Of Hope - Sing We Now Of ChristmasSample

Silent Night

Oh, What A Night

No Christmas carol is more famous or recognized than “Silent Night.” Bing Crosby’s version is the third best-selling single record of all time. The simplicity of the words and the beauty of the melody makes this carol very recognizable around the world. “Silent Night” has been translated into one hundred and forty languages.

It was originally a poem composed by Joseph Mohr in 1816. In 1818 Joseph gave the words to his friend Franz Xavier Gruber and he wrote the melody. The carol was originally written to be accompanied by a guitar. On December 24, 1818, the two men introduced the Christmas carol during mass in a church located in Oberndrod, Austria. The rest is history. The carol was translated from German into English in 1859 by John Freeman Young. Next Year will be the 200th anniversary of the first time “Silent Night” was performed as a Christmas carol.

No song depicts the true meaning of Christmas better than “Silent Night.” The song tells us about the birth of the Christ child in verse one. In verse two the child is identified as “Christ the Savior.” In verse three the mission of Christ is identified as He is referred to as the “Son of God” who will bring “redeeming grace.” He has come to be “Lord.”

Is He Lord in your life? If He is Lord, then you can truly say “Oh What A Night.”

Dr. George Loutherback

University Chaplain

University of Mary Hardin-Baylor