Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht

"silent in the presence of the Lord God"

Zepheniah 1:7

Noche de Paz... Noite de Paz... Sainte Nuit... Stille Nag... Ping'an Ye Ge... Usiku Mtakatifu... Pavetaa'eva nehe'xoveva... Busuku obuhle... Po La'i E... Layla Shalev

It's possibly the most beautiful Christmas song there is.  It's certainly one of the most recorded.  One source says it's been recorded by almost every artist who has done a Christmas album.  I personally have 20 versions on it, out of about 500 Christmas songs in my library.

There's a great story behind the writing of Silent Night; that in 1818, at a church in a small village in Austria, a song was needed for the Christmas Eve service.  The organ was broken, and Joseph Mohr, who was the assistant to the priest, needed a song which could be sung with just the accompaniment of the guitar.  So he asked the organist, Franz Gruber, to write music to accompany a poem that he himself had written.

photo credit: wikipedia

Is that story true?  I don't know.  I also don't care.  It paints such a beautiful picture in my mind, that I'm just going to hang on to it.   

Silent night! Holy night!

All is calm, all is bright

Round yon virgin mother and child

Holy infant, so tender and mild

Sleep in heavenly peace!

Sleep in heavenly peace!

Silent night!  Holy night!

Shepherds quake at the sight

Glories stream from heaven afar

Heavenly hosts sing Hallelujah

Christ the Savior is born!

Christ the Savior is born!

Silent night!  Holy night!

Son of God, love's pure light

Radiant beams from thy holy face

With the dawn of redeeming grace,

Jesus, Lord at thy birth,

Jesus, Lord at thy birth.

~

It is my prayer for you.

~ "My soul, wait silently for God alone, 

For my expectation is from Him" ~

Psalm 62:5

~