Silent Night, Holy Night

Representative Text

1 Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
’round yon virgin mother and child!
Holy infant, so tender and mild,
sleep in heavenly peace,
sleep in heavenly peace.

2 Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight.
Glories stream from heaven afar,
heav'nly hosts sing, “Alleluia!
Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born!”

3 Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, love’s pure light
radiant beams from Thy holy face
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth!
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth!

4 Silent night! Holy night!
Wondrous star, lend thy light;
with the angels let us sing
"Alleluia" to our King:
“Christ the Savior is born!
Christ the Savior is born.”

Source: Psalms and Hymns to the Living God #239

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Translator (Sts. 1, 3): J. Freeman Young

John Freeman Young (1820-1885) Born: October 30, 1820, Pittston, Maine. Died: November 15, 1885, New York City. Buried: Old City Cemetery, Jacksonville, Florida. Young attended Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut; Wesleyan Seminary, Readfield, Maine; and the Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Virginia. Ordained a Protestant Episcopal minister, he served in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and New York, and became the second bishop of Florida in 1867. His works include: Carols for Christmas Tide (New York: Daniel Dana, Jr., 1859) Hymns and Music for the Young, 1860-61… Go to person page >

Translator (sts. 2, 4): Anonymous

In some hymnals, the editors noted that a hymn's author is unknown to them, and so this artificial "person" entry is used to reflect that fact. Obviously, the hymns attributed to "Author Unknown" "Unknown" or "Anonymous" could have been written by many people over a span of many centuries. Go to person page >

Author: Joseph Mohr

Joseph Mohr was born into a humble family–his mother was a seamstress and his father, an army musketeer. A choirboy in Salzburg Cathedral as a youth, Mohr studied at Salzburg University and was ordained in the Roman Catholic Church in 1815. Mohr was a priest in various churches near Salzburg, including St. Nicholas Church. He spent his later years in Hintersee and Wagrein. Bert Polman… Go to person page >

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First Line:	Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright
Title:	Silent Night, Holy Night
German Title:	Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht
Author:	Joseph Mohr
Translator (Sts. 1, 3):	J. Freeman Young
Translator (sts. 2, 4):	Anonymous
Meter:	Irregular
Language:	English
Notes:	Spanish translation: See "Noche de paz, noche de amor" by Federico Fliedner; Swahili translation: See "Usiku mkuu"
Copyright:	Public Domain

Year A, Christmas season, Christmas Eve
This is recommended for Year A, Christmas season, Christmas Eve by 3 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #122 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #85.
Year A, Christmas season, Christmas Day
This is recommended for Year A, Christmas season, Christmas Day by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #122 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #85.
Year B, Christmas season, Christmas Eve
This is recommended for Year B, Christmas season, Christmas Eve by 3 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #122 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #85.
Year B, Christmas season, Christmas Day
This is recommended for Year B, Christmas season, Christmas Day by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #122 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #85.
Year C, Christmas season, Christmas Eve
This is recommended for Year C, Christmas season, Christmas Eve by 3 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #122 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #85.
Year C, Christmas season, Christmas Day
This is recommended for Year C, Christmas season, Christmas Day by 2 hymnal lectionary indexes including Glory to God: the Presbyterian Hymnal #122 and Lift Up Your Hearts: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs #85.

Chinese

生命聖詩 - Hymns of Life, 1986 #93

English

10 shown out of 425

French

Voices United: The Hymn and Worship Book of The United Church of Canada #67

German

10 shown out of 19

Hawaiian

The New Century Hymnal #134

Hungarian

The New Century Hymnal #134

Korean

Mandarin

Christian Worship: Hymnal #337

Spanish

10 shown out of 15

Welsh

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Notes

Scripture References:
all st. = Luke 2:1-20

With a mixture of reflection and awe, the writer evokes the night of Christ's birth, recalling not only the birth but also its meaning: the Christ who is born in Bethlehem is our Savior and our King!

Parish priest Joseph Mohr (b. Salzburg, Austria, 1792; d. Wagrein, Austria, 1848) wrote the original German text in six stanzas in Oberndorf, Austria, on December 24, 1818, for St. Nicholas's Church. Because the church organ had broken down that day, Mohr and his parish organist, Franz Gruber (b. Unterweizberg, near Hochburg, Austria, 1787; d. Hallein, near Salzburg, Austria, 1863), composed this beloved hymn to be accompanied on guitar for the Christmas Eve service.

After organ repairman Karl Mauracher heard the hymn, he took the manuscript to the Tyrol region. Because it was sung by various Tyrol folk groups (including the touring Strasser "sisters" and the Rainer family), "Silent Night" became known as a “Tyrolean carol.” The hymn's widespread use enhanced its popularity throughout Europe and North America during the middle nineteenth century. Without attributing the hymn's composition to Mohr and Gruber, the Leipzig Katholisches Gesang-und Gebetbuch first published the hymn in 1838; because of the efforts of Gruber's grandson, the author and composer were soon recognized.

Author Joseph Mohr was born into a humble family–his mother was a seamstress and his father, an army musketeer. A choirboy in Salzburg Cathedral as a youth, Mohr studied at Salzburg University and was ordained in the Roman Catholic Church in 1815. Mohr was a priest in various churches near Salzburg, including St. Nicholas Church. He spent his later years in Hintersee and Wagrein.

Various English translations abound, some of which are rather free paraphrases. The familiar stanzas 1, 3, and 4 in the Psalter Hymnal come from the popular English translation by John F. Young, first published in John C. Hollister's Sunday School Service and Tune Book (1863). Henrietta Ten Harmsel (PHH 61) wrote stanza 2 and made other alterations in the text in 1984 to "stress the paradoxes and deeper meanings of Christmas."

Liturgical Use:
Candlelight worship services on Christmas Eve; church school programs; "carols from many lands" choral services.

--Psalter Hymnal Handbook

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Tune

STILLE NACHT

Although he composed nearly one hundred works, Franz Gruber is remembered for only one–the tune of "Silent Night," composed on Christmas Eve, 1818. He scored the tune for tenor and bass soli (sung by Mohr and Gruber on that night) with the final phrase to be repeated in harmony (sung by the villag…

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For Leaders

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In the small, quiet town of Oberndorf, Austria, on a snowy Christmas Eve, a priest and an organist wrote what is now the most beloved Christmas carol world-wide. Stories abound as to the exact circumstances of the hymns origin, and there are societies dedicated to the task of protecting the authentic hymn text and story. If you ever visit Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland in Frankenmuth, Michigan, you can visit a replica of the Silent Night Chapel. Movies and operas revolve around the hymn, and almost every recording artist that has ever made a Christmas album has recorded it. In a sense, this spreading of the Word is a joy. But these honors should also make us wary. Paul Westermeyer writes, “Partly because of its popularity, STILLE NACHT can easily point to itself rather than beyond itself to the Word” (Let the People Sing, 153). It is important, then, to not simply listen to what we might consider a quaint, nostalgia-evoking carol, but to sing out the depth of these words. For the “dawn of redeeming grace” is something far greater and grander than any song we could ever write.

Text:

On December 24, 1818, Parish priest Joseph Mohr wrote six stanzas of a poem in Oberndorf, Austria. Since it was first penned by Joseph Mohr, this text has been translated into at least 175 languages, and has undergone many different English translations, many of which are rather free paraphrases. John Freeman Young’s 1859 translation is the most familiar and often used. Most hymnals include three verses, while some, such as the United Methodist Hymnal and the Baptist Hymnal 2008 add a fourth that begins, “Silent night, holy night! Wondrous star, lend thy light….” Some hymnals, like the Presbyterian Hymnal and Trinity Hymnal, include the German text.

Tune:

Since the hymn was written for guitar, it would be quite fitting to use a light accompaniment, whether that be guitar, piano, flute, recorder, or a softer organ registration. If you’re looking for something a bit different, Jeanine Noyes has a fabulous upbeat guitar-driven version with drums and violin. One possibility for performing this piece with a choir or small ensemble, should you want to add variety, is to sing Daniel Kantor’s “Night of Silence,” a beautiful piece that can be sung simultaneously with “Silent Night.” This choral combination would be very fitting for a Christmas Eve service, since, as the composer says, it’s “an Advent piece that really bridges the transition from Advent into Christmas, so it’s that really vulnerable transition state between darkness and light” (Maria Baca, “StarTribune.com, December 17, 2003”).

When/Why/How:

This hymn is most often sung on Christmas Eve, especially during a Candlelight service. Because of the peaceful nature of the hymn, and the description of Christ as “pure light” in the third stanza, it is a beautiful hymn to sing during the lighting of candles, a gesture symbolizing the passing of Christ’s light and peace to one another. It is also fitting to sing after the reading of the nativity story, but could, like many Christmas hymns, work in any point of the service.

Suggested music:

Kantor, Daniel. Night of Silence - for SATB Choir
Haugen, Marty. Infant Holy/Silent Night - for SAB Choir
Rowan, William. Silent Night - for Congregation and Choir
Carter, John. Silent Night - for SATB Choir and C instrument
Schram, Ruth Elaine. Silent the Night - for Choir, combines "Coventry Carol" with "Silent Night"
Wold, Wayne L. Voices on High, Set 1-Sex Descants and Accompaniments for Advent and Christmas - for Organ
Zabel, Albert. Silent Night, Holy Night - for Handbells and Organ of any wind instrument

Laura de Jong,
Hymnary.org

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Baptist Hymnal 1991 #91

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Psalms and Hymns to the Living God (2023), p.301

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Piano/Organ Easy Hymn Accompaniments for Organ Starry Night, Noisy Night (A Christmas Musical for Children) Night of the Father's Love (The Awe and Mystery of God with Us) More Piano/Organ...
Choral Infant Holy / Silent Night The Hushing Carols Together for Christmas More Choral...
Instrumental SILENT NIGHT Silent Night Silent Night More Instrumental...
Handbells JESU, SLEEP IN HEAVENLY PEACE Silent Night, Holy Night SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT More Handbells...
PowerPoint SILENT NIGHT! HOLY NIGHT! (Worship & Rejoice 2003 - 186) SILENT NIGHT! HOLY NIGHT! (Celebration 253) SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT (Evangelical Lutheran 2006 - 281) More PowerPoint...

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