“O Holy Night” is one of the most beloved Christmas carols of our time. But most people have never heard the curious story of how it came to be.
In 1847 a parish priest of a small French village asked a local amateur poet, Placide Cappeau, to write a poem for Christmas Mass. Cappeau was known more for attending to business than for attending church, but he felt honored by the request and agreed.
Once he was finished, Cappeau felt his poem was more of a song, and so he contacted an accomplished Parisian composer, Adolphe Adam, who agreed to write music for it.
A few years later, in the United States, the carol was discovered by John Dwight, editor of Dwight’s Journal of Music, who translated the lyrics into English.
These three personalities—writer, composer, and translator—make up an interesting trio. The writer, Placide Cappeau, turned out to be more interested in politics than religion. Adolphe Adam, the composer of this classic among Christian carols, was of Jewish ancestry. And John Dwight, the translator, was a Unitarian minister who, seized by panic attacks whenever he spoke in public, had turned to music to express his devotion. Together these three very different people created a masterpiece that has thrilled and inspired millions.
When Placide Cappeau penned the words of his poem, he tried to imagine what it must have been like to be present on that holy night of Jesus’s birth. As he did, the words flowed.1
As we, in turn, seek to understand the meaning of that sacred night, we discover a love strong enough to melt away differences. We learn that despite our diverse backgrounds and beliefs, we can work together to create something beautiful and lasting, and each time we do, we bring the world closer to a “new and glorious morn.”
1. See Ace Collins, Stories behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas (2001), 132–38.
Program #4084