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Andy Sullivan: Against the Christmas Tree

Who picked up on the change of my column name? It’s just for this week.  Thought it was fitting.  I’ve got a few Christmas tidbits for you as you procrastinate on wrapping gifts (or buying them).  Here we go!

No doubt many of us delight in hearing “O Holy Night” around Christmas and in our sanctuary near Christmas.  What do we know about the origin of the song? The song was composed by French poet Placide Cappeau in 1843.  The song had its origins in mid-1800’s France.  The song stirred a lot of controversy in the church, to the point where it was banned.  When asked to pen a poem for his parish’s Mass that Christmas, composer Placide Cappeau thought about the birth of Jesus, as cataloged in the Gospel of Luke, as he wrote the lyrics.

He established the help of his Jewish friend Adolphe Charles Adams to aid in the composition of the music.  The song was initially titled “Cantique de Noel”.  Although the church in France initially accepted the carol, Cappeau was later swayed by socialist propaganda and walked away from his faith.  The church in France condemned the work due to this. 

The lyrics and music made its way to America through abolitionist John Sullivan Dwight.  He changed some of the lyrics slightly.  Dwight particularly identified with the third verse which spoke about the chains of slavery and seeing every man as our brother.  Thanks to Dwight and the covert efforts of the lyrics being sung during Christmas in Europe, the song’s notoriety spread worldwide, rumored to have been sung on Christmas Eve during the Franco-Prussian War. The song reflects on Jesus’ birth, as chronicled in Luke chapter 2.  Josh Groban does a fantastic version that has over 10 million plays.  Carrie Underwood also does a great version of the song.  Another personal favorite version of mine is done by country singer John Berry in the ‘90’s.

The lyrics to “Silent Night” were originally written in German just after the end of the Napoleonic War by a young Austrian priest named Joseph Mohr.  In the fall of 1816, Mohr’s congregation in the town of Mariapfarr was reeling.  Twelve years of war had decimated the country’s political and social infrastructure.  Meanwhile, the previous year-one historians would later dub “the year without a summer-had been catastrophically cold. 

Mohr, a gifted violinist and guitarist, could’ve probably composed the music for his poem.  Instead, Mohr transferred to the parish of St. Nicholas in the town of Oberndorf, just south of Salzburg.  There, he asked his friend Franz Xaver Gruber, local schoolteacher and organist, to write the music for the six verses.  On Christmas Eve 1818, the two friends sang “Silent Night” together for the first time in front of Mohr’s congregation, with Mohr playing his guitar.  The song was well-received by his parishioners.  (www.theconversation.com)

I’ll close with a few modern classics.  “Step Into Christmas” by Elton John is another one of my favorites.  The song, written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, was released as a stand-alone single in November 1973.  Upon it’s original November 1973 release, the song peaked at #24 on the UK singles chart and reached a new peak of #8 on the same chart in 2019.  In the U.S., the song hit #1 on the Billboard Christmas Singles chart.

I was watching a 20/20 special on the late George Michael.  In it, it was revealed that he wrote “Last Christmas” when he was 21 years old.  Upon its initial release in 1984, “Last Christmas” spent five consecutive weeks at #2 on the U.K. singles chart.  It was kept out of the top spot by Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, which was a benefit song for Africa (on which Michael also performed).  (www.wikipedia.com)

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas! I’ll see you right back here next week.

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