In short...
Themes: Christmas; festivals; special days; music; friendship.
Summary: The much-loved carol 'Silent Night' was first performed on Christmas Eve, 1818. Originally it was sung to a simple guitar accompaniment. The carol began life as a poem, written in 1816 by Father Joseph Mohr. Two years later, his friend Franz Gruber set the poem to music and the pair first sang the carol at midnight mass on Christmas Eve. Mohr's manuscript was lost, leading to confusion about the song's authorship, until his handwritten version resurfaced in 1995. By then, 'Silent Night' had been translated into over 300 languages and was a worldwide Christmas phenomenon.
Resources: the ; a photo of the ; the instrumental version of the carol 'Silent Night'.
The video
THE STORY OF SILENT NIGHT
A long time ago, in a village in Austria called Oberndorf, there lived a poor priest whose name was Father Joseph, and his friend, a schoolteacher, who was called Franz.
Joseph worked as a priest in St Nicholas Church, and he also sang and played the guitar. Franz, the schoolteacher, was a caretaker at the church, and he played the organ there on Sundays.
Now Joseph had written a little poem about the birth of baby Jesus and he had called it 鈥楽ilent Night鈥. We don鈥檛 know how he came to write it. Perhaps he鈥檇 been out walking on a beautiful winter鈥檚 night - when it鈥檚 very quiet, and the dark sky is full, with stars and the moon hanging like a big bright jewel鈥nd snow, snow everywhere!
It鈥檚 possible as he trudged along, a kind of magic flowed from the stars and the snow and the words came into his mind鈥
Stille Nacht. Heilige Nacht.Alles schlaft, einsam wacht.
When Joseph had written down his Christmas poem, he put it aside and forgot about it鈥ntil two years later when suddenly he thought how wonderful it would be if his poem could be put to music.
So he went to his friend Franz, the schoolteacher. It was Christmas Eve and Joseph asked Franz if he would write some music to go with his words.
At first, Franz wasn鈥檛 too sure - he was an organist and he loved organ music, but Joseph had asked for a simple guitar accompaniment. After a while, Franz sat down with an ink pot and pen and a sheet of blank paper and began to write a melody鈥
Franz worked all day and made Joseph a very beautiful present - the best Christmas present he ever gave - a piece of music that fitted the poem as perfectly as a slipper on a foot, or a warm glove on a hand. The words and the music were inseparable. They became one.
鈥楽ilent Night鈥 was performed that very evening at Midnight Mass at St Nicholas Church. Can you imagine, the hush of the church, the flicker of the candles and then the very gentle music echoing round the stone walls, as Joseph played his guitar and sang the words鈥?
The people of Oberndorf must have liked it. Because that Christmas carol, first performed in 1818, spread from village to town, from town to city, from city to nation鈥nd right across the world.
In the snowy Austrian village of Oberndorf, the priest Father Joseph was getting ready for people to come and sing carols about the birth of baby Jesus. It was Christmas Eve, 1818. Father Joseph had written a poem about Jesus being born in a stable and now he asked his friend Franz to write some music to go with it. There wasn't much time, so Franz dashed off a tune.
At midnight, Franz and Joseph sang their new song for the first time and Joseph played his guitar. They didn't know it then, but their song 'Silent Night' would one day be sung all around the world at Christmas.
Duration: 3' 30"
End of speech: '鈥nd right across the world.'
Video questions
- Who wrote the words of the Christmas carol 'Silent Night'? (Father Joseph)
- Who wrote the music for 'Silent Night'? (Franz - a school teacher who also played the organ in church)
- What is the name of the village where 'Silent Night' was written? (Obendorf)
- On what day was 'Silent Night' first sung? (Christmas Eve, 1818)
- What was the name of the church where 'Silent Night' was sung for the very first time? (St Nicholas's Church)
Key links
Download / print the assembly framework ready for use
Click to display the Silent Night Chapel image full-size
'Silent Night': Full instrumental - Come and Praise, Beginning
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 Alleluia,
Christ the Saviour is born!
Christ the Saviour 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!
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth.
Suggested framework
1. Entry music
The guitar instrumental of 'Silent Night'. See 'Related links'. It can be found on this page: /teach/school-radio/articles/zysqkty
2. Introduction
Display the image of the Silent Night Chapel (see 'Key links' above). Tell the children:
In the village of Oberndorf in a country called Austria, there's a chapel - a tiny church. Just over two hundred years ago, a song was sung in Oberndorf that you know very well. And a little chapel with a round curved roof was built to remind everyone about it. Can you guess what that song is? [Take suggestions from the children and guide them with clues: it's a Christmas song / it's a gentle, happy song / it's a very peaceful and quiet song / it's a lullaby, the kind of song you'd sing to lull a baby to sleep / it's about the baby Jesus'.]
Once 'Silent Night' has been established as the song add:
Silent Night is the song, the Christmas carol, that the little chapel was built to remind us of. People call it 'the Silent Night Chapel'. But what does the word 'silent' mean? [Establish that it means noiseless, soundless, completely quiet.] Explain: The song is hoping for silence, so the little baby Jesus will sleep and not get woken up. [You could ask the children to join you in a moment of silence.] Conclude with: In 1816, Father Joseph Mohr wrote a poem about the birth of baby Jesus. He spoke German, so he called his poem 'Stille Nacht' which is German for 'Silent Night'. But two years passed before the song finally got its music. This is the story of how that happened鈥
3. The video
Play the video. The duration is 3' 30" and the final words are: '鈥nd right across the world.'
4. After the video
You could use the Video questions to help children recall the details of the video.
5. Opportunity to sing
You could follow the video by singing the carol 'Silent Night'. There are links to videos of both an instrumental and a vocal version below in 'Related links'. Both include the text of the song to sing along with.
6. Time to talk
Ask: How does the carol make you feel? [Gather the children's responses.] Add: Some people say the organ at Joseph's church wouldn't work because hungry mice had nibbled away at it鈥nd that's why a new song had to be written in such a hurry and why it was written to be sung to a guitar. So if it hadn't been for those hungry mice, we might never have heard 'Silent Night'. [The children could pretend to be hungry mice, nibbling away.]Additional discussion questions:
- Do you know any other Christmas songs with animals in them?
- Why do we sing carols at Christmas?
- Why do you think so many people love the carol 'Silent Night'?
- What is your favourite Christmas song?
Conclude with: Singing gives us a chance to all join in. It's fun to do and it helps us feel that we belong together and care for each other.
7. Opportunity for reflection
Christmas is a time for people to come together, celebrate and have fun鈥
When we sing together it reminds us of what we have in common and fills us up with a warm, happy feeling鈥
It's good to sing together鈥
Think to yourself about singing 'Silent Night' all together鈥nd how it made you feel.
8. Opportunity for prayer
Use your standard form of address ('Dear God', 'Lord Jesus' etc) and:
We thank you for the Christmas songs and carols that fill us with joy.
Help us to sing together and care for each other as we celebrate the happiness that Christmas brings.
Amen.
Suggested songs
Silent Night (vocal)
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 Alleluia,
Christ the Saviour is born!
Christ the Saviour 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!
Jesus Lord, at Thy birth.
Silent Night (guitar instrumental)