“And she (Mary) brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger….” Luke 2:7
“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 soul 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, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine.”
The fascinating story of “O Holy Night” has captured the hearts of people all over the world. It began in a small French town in 1847. A parish priest commissioned a local poet, Placide Cappeau, to write a poem for the village’s Christmas Eve service. Cappeau read through Luke 2 in a dusty coach traveling on a bumpy road to Paris. He imagined witnessing the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and thoughts of being present at the birth inspired him. By the time he reached Paris, “Cantique de Noel” was written.
Cappeau decided his poem was not just any song and turned to his friend Adolphe Adams for help. Adolphe had studied in the Paris conservatory and was known all over the world for his orchestras and ballets. Because Adolphe was of Jewish ancestry, the words to the song represented a day he did not celebrate and a Man he did not view as the Son of God! Nevertheless, he quickly went to work, composing the music and three weeks later, the song was sung in the village on Christmas Eve. It became widely loved by the church in France, but when church leaders learned that Cappeau was a socialist and Adams a Jew, the song was denounced as unfit for church services. But the common people of France loved it so much, they continued to sing it!
The carol found its way to the U.S. through an American writer, John Sullivan Dwight. He saw something else in the song that moved him beyond the story of the birth of Christ. An ardent abolitionist, Dwight identified with the lines of the third verse: “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.” The song supported Dwight’s view of slavery in the South. His English translation of “O Holy Night” quickly found favor in America, especially in the North during the Civil War.
Back in France, even though the song had been banned from the church, commoners still sang “Cantique de Noel” at home. Legend has it that on Christmas Eve 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War, a French soldier suddenly jumped out of the trenches, lifted his eyes to heaven and boldly sang the first line of “O Holy Night.“ After completing three verses, a German soldier climbed out of his hiding place and answered with a German hymn written by Martin Luther, “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.” Fighting ceased until the day after Christmas!
Enjoy the carols of this blessed season! They tell of a Savior who left the courts of heaven to come to this earth as a sacrificial lamb to die for our sins. It’s a story only God could write! Have a wonderful joy-filled holiday full of God’s richest blessings! Merry Christmas!
Your friend Jean