Shortly after this incident, the French Church embraced “Cantique de Noel” once more in their holiday services.īut that’s not the end of the amazing history of “O Holy Night.” On Christmas Eve in 1906, radio operators on ships and wireless owners at newspapers were shocked to hear something no one had ever heard over the radio - a human voice. Legend has it that on Christmas Eve 1871, while fighting raged on between Germany and France, a French soldier jumped out of his trench and began to sing “Cantique de Noel.” After listening to the familiar Christmas hymn, a German soldier climbed out of his fortification to answer the song with another Christmas hymn, “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come.” The fighting stopped for the next 24 hours as both sides observed Christmas Day. The song quickly found favor during the Civil War, especially in the North, as an anthem for freedom.īack in France, the censured song made a miraculous appearance in the Franco-Prussian War. The American writer and abolitionist, John Sullivan Dwight, was moved deeply when he heard the lines of the third verse:ĭwight translated the French song into English and printed “O Holy Night” in his magazine. The French people weren’t the only ones enchanted by the song.

The song was publically denounced by the Church. But this official ruling against “Cantique de Noel” couldn’t weaken the French people’s love for the hymn, and they continued singing it in their homes and communities. The church in France couldn’t have been more pleased, and it was soon sung in many Catholic Christmas services all over France.īut fortunes quickly changed for “Cantique de Noel.” Church leaders discovered that the lyrics were written by a man who had split from the Catholic Church to join the socialist movement, and that the was music written by a Jewish musician. “Cantique de Noel” was performed at the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. The priest loved the song produced by this unlikely hymn-writing duo. Although Adolphe was Jewish, he married a memorable melody to Christ-exalting lyrics. Adolphe was an accomplished musician who was certainly up to the task of matching this beautiful poetry to equally beautiful music. He decided to reach out to his friend, Adolphe Charles Adams. By the time he arrived at his destination, the words of “Cantique de Noel” were complete.Ĭappeau quickly realized that his poem was meant to be sung. As the words of the gospel of Luke and his imagination swirled in his mind, the beautiful lines of his new poem began to flow through his pen onto the page. In that coach, he imagined what it must have been like to be present on that miraculous night. Cappeau, though not a churchgoer, accepted the commission, and while traveling in a coach to France’s capital city, began to read Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus. He commissioned a local poet - commissionaire of wines - Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure. In 1847, a priest in a small French town decided he wanted a special poem penned for Christmas mass. O Holy Night is not only one of the most beloved Christmas hymns of all time, it also has one of the most interesting histories of any hymn in Christian history.

Third day o holy night