“From a Broken Organ to a Global Anthem: Silent Night’s True History”
- larees24
- Dec 7, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 13, 2025
🎄 Welcome, to ‘Christmas around the Piano’…a nostalgic musical journey!🎄
Day 6 - December 6, 2025:
'Silent Night', or ‘Stille Nacht’ in the original German, was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf, Austria.
The carol began as a poem written in 1816, by a young priest, Joseph Mohr, who later asked Franz Xaver Gruber, a local schoolteacher and organist, to set it to music in 1818 with guitar accompaniment, and not organ!, Possibly because, the church organ had been damaged by flooding.
Together, they introduced the piece at that Christmas Eve service in a small Austrian church,
The original church was later destroyed by repeated floods and replaced by the Silent Night Chapel.
The carol has since been translated into more than 300 languages, and in 2011 it was added to UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list for its enduring message of peace.
Quick Facts!
🌟The first performance used guitar, not organ — unusual for church music at the time.
🌟The original church where it debuted was demolished, but the Silent Night Chapel now stands in its place.
🌟Bing Crosby’s 1935 version is one of the best-selling singles of all time.
🌟Silent Night is one of the most recorded songs in history, with over 137,000 known recordings.
🌟It has been sung in over 140 languages. It’s been translated into languages from Swahili to Japanese.
🌟The original manuscript was lost for decades and rediscovered in 1995, confirming Mohr as the lyricist.
I do hope you have enjoyed reading about this carol, as much as I have enjoyed presenting this to you.
Thank you for joining me on this festive journey! Wishing you and your loved ones, a season filled with light, laughter, love, and of course, MUSIC! 🌟🎄
If you have enjoyed this Post and Video, do Like, Share, and Subscribe.
Christmas cheer and good tidings to you!
Larissa
Useful Links:
🎼About: 'Christmas around the Piano' ...https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16FSeegHzp/
🎼About the Carol:
🎼Youtube PLAYLIST...https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZLDOKsY4JIQydNkapkXk6zxip9yeKHKv&si=pi_Lnvrzkd4B6qQg
🎼Purchase:
Comments