The parish priest of the little church of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, wrote the words for this beautiful Christmas song on the day before Christmas Eve in 1818. Mice had eaten at the bellows of the church organ. The priest and organist were sadly troubled by the lack of music for midnight Mass, but when the organist, Franz Gruber, heard the words, he set them to the lovely music now so familiar to all of us. Silent Night was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song has been recorded by a large number of singers from every music genre. The version sung by Bing Crosby is the third best-selling single of all-time.
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