We wanted to share one of those stories behind the songs for Christmas and this is the one we came up with. We hope you like it.
~ Silent Night~
It was Christmas eve in the Austrian Alps. At the newly constructed Church of St. Nicholas in Orberndorf, a Tyrol village near Salzburg, Father Joseph Mohr was preparing for the evening service. The church organ was broken ruining the events carefully planned music. The Lord causes all things to work together for good for those who love him which Father Joseph was about to find out. It came to his mind to write a song that could be sung organless. Hatsily he wrote the words, "Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright..."
He took his song to the organist, Franz Gruber, he explained the situation and asked Franz to compose a simple tune. On December 24, 1818, Silent night was sung for the first at the Church of St. Nicholas in Orberndorf. Shortly afterward, Karl Mauracher came to repair the organ, he heard about the near disaster on Christmas Eve. After acquiring for the text and tune, he spread it throughout the Alpine region of Austria, referring to it as Tiroler Volkslied. The song became known to the Starsser family makers of fine chamoisskin gloves. To drum up business at fairs and festivals, the four Strasser children would sing in front of their parents booth. Like the Von Trapp children a century later they became popular folk singers throughout the Alps. When the children- Caroline, Joseph, Andreas, and Amelia- began singing Tiroler Volkslied. The crowd
was delighted it was a perfect songfor the snow covered area. The king and queen even came to know about Silent Night and asked the children to sing it for them.
Silent Night was first published for congregational singing in 1838 in a German hymn book. It was used in America by German- speaking congregations, then appeared in its current English form in a Sunday school book in 1863.
Were it not for that organ , there would have never been a "Silent Night."
Here is a picture of Stephen, we don't think he understands the term "Silent Night" yet .
~Wishing you a Merry Christmas from our home to yours~
