Silent Night” is such an iconic Christmas song that it’s hard to imagine it’s not some ancient folk tune that wafted out of the mist one wintery night. But the song did not spring from some holly- and ivy-lined fairy glade, instead the origin of the peaceful song comes 200 years ago during a turbulent time in Europe.
The continent was reeling in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. Financial scarcity and insecurity abounded, further stoked by fires, floods and famine. But the conflict was, at least, finally over. In 1816, Josef Mohr, a Catholic priest from Oberndorf bei Salzburg, which had just come under Austrian rule, wrote a poem called “Stille Nacht" to commemorate the coming of peace.
Then, he put the poem aside for two years.
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