My favourite Christmas carol is Silent Night. Often when I pull out a Christmas CD to listen to (especially if it's a new CD I haven't heard before), I'll scan the list of songs to see if Silent Night is included. I love listening to all the different arrangements. The lyrics of the song were written by Joseph Mohr in 1816 Austria, and the music was composed two years later by Franz Xaver Gruber. By the 1840s, the song had been heard and performed over quite a distance, its first performance in the United States being in 1839. I find this following story amazing. It's said that on Christmas Eve 1914, five months after World War 1 began, a German soldier began singing Silent Night, first in German and then again in English. Being also familiar with this song, the Allied soldiers sang back. And then both sides put down their guns and met in the middle of No Man's Land, singing carol after carol and exchanging stories and gifts with each other. Although the war would continue to rage for another four years, for now the artillery was silent as a truce was called throughout the Christmas holidays. Silent Night is my favourite Christmas carol, but I also enjoy a number of other Christmas carols - listening to them, singing them, playing them on my cello and the piano. Some of the other ones I like are: Joy to the World; Angels We Have Heard on High; O Come All Ye Faithful; O Holy Night; Hark the Herald Angels Sing; What Child is This; O Sing a Song of Bethlehem; and I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. I think that part of the wonder of the season is all of beautiful songs written about the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Music is an amazingly powerful thing. What's your favourite Christmas carol?
2 Comments
Crystal
12/20/2023 06:30:20 pm
I think my favourite carol is While Shepards Watched Their Flocks By Night. Because it paints a picture of how it must have looked to those Shepards and what wonderment fell on them.
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Gramma
12/20/2023 06:32:07 pm
Thank you Leah! You are so right, music is powerful. I’ve enjoyed the old Christmas carols since I was a child. My favourite of all time is Oh Holy Night and 2nd is Silent Night. The words in both are great. You are very blessed to be able to have learned to play the piano and cello. The story about the soldiers is one I listen to every Christmas. It well describes the painful times of war.
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AuthorHi, I'm Leah! I'm a college student, and I'm the Shop Supervisor here at Cornerstone Acres. I love to read, write, play hockey, and spend time out in God's creation. I'm looking forward to sharing our farm experiences with you through this blog! "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him." ~Colossians 1:16, KJV
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