O Holy Night

Words by Placide Cappeau

Music by Adolph Adam

As promised in my last blog and podcast, I am going to spend the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas focusing on beloved Christmas songs and hymns.

One of the most beloved Christmas hymns is “O Holy Night.” The verses were composed by French Poet and wine merchant Placide Cappeau in 1843,  after he was asked by his parish priest to write a poem for the Christmas Eve service.

According to Jeff Sanders, in his article “The Unbelievable, Inspiring Story Behind ‘O Holy Night’,” (pjmedia.com December 12, 2016), “On a hard carriage ride to Paris, the gentleman imagined himself a witness to the birth of Christ. The wonder of the glorious moment flowed through his pen, and he wrote this poem, Cantique de Noel (Song of Christmas).” Having written the words, Cappeau asked his friend Adolphe Charles Adam, a composer of classical music and opera, who was a Jew, to write the music.

The song was performed for the congregation on Christmas Eve. It quickly became popular in France. However, when Catholic authorities learned that Cappeau was a Socialist and that the composer was not a Christian, they banned the song from Catholic services. This did not diminish its popularity.

Ten years after the song was composed, American abolitionist John Sullivan Dwight heard it in French. He was especially moved by the third verse, “Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother.” He translated the hymn from French to English and brought it to the United States, where it became popular before and during the Civil War.

According to Sanders, the French Catholic Church allowed the song back into their services after a legendary encounter between French and German soldiers in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. During a lull in the fighting on Christmas Eve, an unarmed French soldier walked onto the battlefield and began singing “Cantique de Noel.” After he had sung all three verses, the Germans responded with a Christmas hymn in German. The truce held for 24 hours.

But the song’s impact on history does not end there. Reginald Fessenden, a former colleague of Thomas Edison, had been experimenting with a microphone and a wireless telegraph. He had discovered that by combining two frequencies, he could transmit speech and music. On Christmas Eve, 1906, he transmitted a recording of some music by Handel, then picked up his violin and began playing “O Holy Night.” He concluded by reading aloud the story of Christ’s birth, as told in the Gospel of Luke. Wireless operators on ships in the Atlantic were stunned as they heard what was the first AM radio broadcast ever.

Think of it! The first radio broadcast ever was a reading of Scripture and a song celebrating the birth of Jesus!

What a story…and what a song!

Here are the famous lyrics:

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

Fall on your knees O hear the angels voices.
O night divine O night when Christ was born
O night divine, O night, O night divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by 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.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

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.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
O night divine, O night, O night divine.

If you would like to hear a beautiful version of the song, search out the performance on YouTube by Josh Groban—it has over 10 million plays. Then, read Luke 2: 4-12, which is the Scripture verse that inspired this song.

It was, truly, the most Holy Night.