Declared 'unfit for church services' in France and later embraced by US abolitionists, the song continues to inspire......
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 world felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born
O night, O holy night, O night! O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand
O'er all the world a star is sweetly gleaming
Now come the wise men from out of the Orient land.
The King of Kings lay in a lowly manger
In all our trials born to be our Friend.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
The story begins in France, in 1847, when a parish priest of a small town asked the local commissionaire of wine to compose a poem for Christmas mass.
The commissionaire, Palcide Cappeau de Roquemaure, was surprised by the request. He rarely attended services but was well-known for his accomplishments as a local poet.
He was honored at the request from the priest and
and began thinking about what he should compose.
While riding in a dusty coach down a bumpy road to Paris, he considered the words of the Christmas story as recorded in the Gospel of Luke.
He imagined being there and witnessing the miraculous events. By the time he arrived in Paris, "Cantique de Noel" was completed.
As he re-read the lines he sensed the words were not just a poem, but worthy of a master musician's hand.
He turned to his friend, Adolphe Charles Adams, for help.
Adolphe was the son of a well-known classical musician and had studied music in Paris, filling numerous requests for orchestras and ballets all over the world.
But the words Placide had given him were a different kind of challenge - he was a Jew and didn't celebrate Christmas or worship the Christ Child!
But he loved Palcide's beautiful words and set about to compose a worthy musical score.
His finished work pleased both the poet and the priest. And the song was performed just three weeks later at a Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve.
Initially "Cantique de Noel" was wholeheartedly accepted by the French church and was heard often throughout the country.
Then Placide, in the philosophical change of heart, left the Catholic church and united himself with the socialist movement. And church leaders found out that Adolphe was a Jew.
So the leaders of the French Catholic Church declared the moving "Cantique de Noel" to be unfit for church services and would not allow it to be sung.
Yet, as the Catholic Church tried to discredit and bury
the popular Christmas song, the French people continued to sing it, and a decade later a unknown American writer brought it to the United States to a new audience halfway around the world....
The Rest of the Story ...
The American writer -- John Sullivan Dwight -- saw another vision for the great carol.
An ardent abolitionist, he took note of the message in verse 3 and his English translation fell on eager ears, especially in the North, during our Civil War:
Truly He taught us to love one another
His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains He shall break, for the slave is our brother
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
It was sung, not just at Christmas, but throughout the year, during the struggle to eliminate slavery.
Back in France
Though banned from the churches, many commoners still sang, "Cantique de Noel." Legend tells us that on Christmas, 1871, in the midst of the fierce fighting between the armies of Germany and France during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of his muddy trench. Boldly standing, with no weapon, he lifted his eyes to the skies and began singing, "O holy night..."
When he finished three verses, a German infantryman climbed out of his hiding place and answered with a well-known Christmas hymn by Martin Luther; "From Heaven Above to Earth I Come."
There was a 24-hour truce as both sides observed a temporary peace in honor of Christmas day.
But There's More.....
Christmas Eve, 1906. Reginald Fessenden, a 33-year old university profession and former chief chemist for Thomas Edison, did something long thought impossible.
Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone and, for the first time in history, a man's voice was broadcast over the airwaves.
"And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed," he began in a clear, strong voice, hoping he was reaching across the distances.
Shocked radio operators on ships and astonished wireless owners at newspapers sat slack-jawed as their normal, coded impulses, heard over tiny speakers, were interrupted by a professor reading from the gospel of Luke.
To those who caught this broadcast, it must have seemed like a miracle -- hearing a voice somehow transmitted to those far away. Perhaps some might have even believed they were hearing the voice of an angel!
Fessenden was probably unaware of the sensation he was causing on ships and in offices; he couldn't have known that men and women were rushing to their wireless units to catch this Christmas Eve miracle.
After finishing his recitation on the birth of Christ, Fessenden picked up his violin and played "O Holy Night," the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves.
Material from The Amazing Story of 'O Holy Night' by Ace Collins
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
