Silent Night facts for kids
Silent Night (in German: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is a very famous Christmas carol and song. It was first sung in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr. Gruber was a school headmaster and played the organ. Mohr was a priest. Mohr wrote the poem in 1816. Gruber then wrote the music for it just before Christmas in 1818. We don't know much more about how the song was created.
One idea is that the church organ was broken at the time. So, Gruber and Mohr made a song that could be played with a guitar instead. There are many other stories about how this beloved song came to be.
Contents
How the Song Became Famous
People really liked the first performance of "Silent Night." Gruber sang, and Mohr played the guitar. An organ maker named Mauracher helped the song become widely known. Mauracher performed the song in Leipzig in 1832, and it caught everyone's attention.
From there, "Silent Night" spread quickly. First, it became popular in German-speaking countries. Then, it spread all over the world. Today, you can find translations of the song in more than 300 languages and different ways of speaking.
Finding the Authors
The song was first printed on a leaflet in 1833. It was part of a collection of "authentic Tyrolean songs." Later, Frederick William IV of Prussia wanted to know who wrote the song. In 1854, he asked St. Peter's Archabbey, Salzburg to find out. The abbey found Gruber, who was still alive. For a while, people thought the song was written by Michael Haydn.
The Story of a Song Book
Hertha Pauli was an author born in Austria. She had to leave her home during World War II. In 1943, she noticed that many Americans thought "Silent Night" was an American song. To correct this, she wrote a children's book called "Silent Night. The Story of a Song." In her book, she explained where the song truly came from.
Images for kids
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Mohr's handwritten copy from 1820 or 1825
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Franz Xaver Gruber, painted in 1846
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The Silent Night Chapel in Oberndorf, where the song was first performed
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See also
In Spanish: Noche de paz para niños
