Silent Night

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.

O Little Town of Bethlehem

One of the few carols by American writers, this lovely hymn was composed by Phillips Brooks in 1868 while he was Episcopal Rector of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Philadelphia.  In 1865 he had visited the village of Bethlehem.  His Sunday School classes asked him for a Christmas song, and after writing this, he took it to the church organist for a tune.  The organist, Lewis H, Redner, says he heard this melody in a dream on Christmas Eve and finished the arrangement in time for the service next day.  

Deck The Halls

In Wales of the 1500s, where this old carol began, it is a custom to leave all the outer doors unbolted on Christmas Eve lest the Holy Family should wish to enter.  The melody belongs to a winter carol, "Nos Galan", while the English lyrics, written by Scottish musician, Thomas Oliphant, date to 1862.  Now this lively song is sung in every land, particularly when greens are being hung and the house is being decorated for the holidays.