Silent Night facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stille Nacht Silent Night
Christmas carol
Handwritten copy (around 1860) of the carol by Franz Gruber
Native name	Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht
Full title	Silent Night, Holy Night
Text	Joseph Mohr
Language	German
Melody	Franz Xaver Gruber
Performed	24 December 1818 (1818-12-24)
Published	1833 (1833)

"Silent Night" (in German, "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht") is a very famous Christmas carol. It was created in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber, who wrote the music, and Joseph Mohr, who wrote the words. They lived in a small village called Oberndorf bei Salzburg in Austria. In 2011, UNESCO recognized "Silent Night" as an important intangible cultural heritage. This means it's a special part of human culture that should be protected. The song has been recorded over 137,000 times, making it one of the most popular Christmas songs ever!

The Story of "Silent Night"

How the Song Began

The very first time "Silent Night" was sung was on Christmas Eve in 1818. This special event happened at the Nikolauskirche, a church in the village of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. A young priest named Father Joseph Mohr had written the poem "Stille Nacht" in 1816. He wrote it while working in another town called Mariapfarr.

The beautiful music for the song was created by Franz Xaver Gruber. He was a school teacher and organist in a nearby village. On that Christmas Eve, Father Mohr asked Gruber to compose a melody for his poem. They needed a song with guitar accompaniment because the church organ might have been damaged by river flooding. The original church was later destroyed by floods. Today, a special Silent-Night-Chapel stands in its place.

Spreading the Melody

The song quickly became popular. An organ builder named Karl Mauracher loved "Silent Night" and took the music with him. He shared it in the Zillertal region. From there, two families of traveling singers, the Strassers and the Rainers, began to include the song in their performances.

The Rainers even sang "Silent Night" for important people like Emperor Franz I of Austria and Alexander I of Russia. They also performed the song for the first time in the United States, in New York City, in 1839. By the 1840s, the song was well-known. Over time, the melody changed a little to become the version we sing today.

This is a handwritten copy of the song's words by Joseph Mohr, from around 1820-1825.

In 1995, an old handwritten copy of the lyrics by Joseph Mohr was found. It confirmed that he wrote the words in 1816 and Gruber composed the music in 1818. This is the oldest known copy of the song in Mohr's own handwriting.

A painting of Franz Xaver Gruber from 1846. He composed the music for "Silent Night."

A World Heritage Song

In 2011, "Silent Night" received a very special honor. UNESCO declared it an intangible cultural heritage. This means it's recognized for its important message of peace and its cultural value around the world.

Singing in Many Languages

In 1859, an American priest named John Freeman Young created the English translation we sing most often today. He translated three of Father Mohr's original six verses. The melody we usually hear is a calm, gentle tune. It's a little different from Gruber's original, which was a bit faster.

Today, the words and music of "Silent Night" are in the public domain. This means anyone can use them freely. The carol has been translated into about 300 different languages around the world!

The Words We Sing

You can listen to different versions of "Silent Night" here:

Here are the original German lyrics and the popular English translation:

Sometimes, a fourth verse is added or used as an alternative third verse:

Musical Arrangements

The Silent-Night-Chapel in Oberndorf. It stands where the song was first performed.

Many famous composers have created their own versions of "Silent Night." Some of these include Carl Reinecke, Malcolm Sargent, John Rutter, and Jacob de Haan. Each composer added their unique style to the beloved carol.

"Silent Night" in Movies

Several movies have told the story of how "Silent Night" was supposedly written. Many of these films show the church organ breaking down in Oberndorf, which is a popular part of the song's legend.

• The Legend of Silent Night (1968)
• Silent Night, Holy Night (1976)
• Silent Mouse (1988)
• Buster & Chauncey's Silent Night (1998)
• Silent Night (2012)
• The First Silent Night (2014)
• Silent Night – A Song for the World (2020)

Famous Recordings

"Silent Night" has been recorded by countless artists. Many of these recordings have become very popular and appeared on music charts around the world. Here are a few examples:

• In the 1970s, Percy Sledge and The Cats had chart success with their versions.
• Enya reached the Australian charts in 1993 with an Irish language version.
• Josh Groban's recording was popular in Norway and the U.S. in 2007-2008.
• Mariah Carey's version appeared on the U.S. Billboard Digital Song Sales Chart in 2009.
• Even classic artists like Elvis Presley and Nat King Cole had their recordings appear on the French charts in 2013-2014.

See also

In Spanish: Noche de paz para niños

• List of Christmas carols
• Walter Kirchhoff (1879–1951), a German singer who sang Silent Night, Holy Night during the Christmas truce in World War I.