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[music]
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HUGH BONNEVILLE: December the 24th, 1818,
a young priest, Joseph Mohr,
sets out from Oberndorf
to visit his friend, Franz Gruber.
Together, these devout young men will put Joseph's poem,
entitled "Silent Night", to music.
The young priest has modest ambitions.
He simply wishes to sing some words of hope
to his local parish that night at Christmas mass.
[music]
HUGH: Franz Gruber is a teacher, organist,
and sacristan in Arnsdorf,
a small community just north of Salzburg.
As evening descends,
he anxiously awaits the arrival of his friend.
Franz knows just how perilous the long trek
through the winter snow can be.
[music]
[knocks on door]
[music]
HUGH: For two passionate musicians,
it doesn't take long to find the perfect melody
for Joseph Mohr's divine words.
Franz Gruber has no inkling
that he has just created history.
He would later write in his diary,
"It is only a simple composition,
"without any special meaning."
SINGERS: [singing in foreign language]
It was Christmas 1818,
at a time of bitter desperation and need,
Joseph and Franz performed "Silent Night, Holy Night"
for the first time during Christmas mass.
They were accompanied by a solo guitar,
for their fellow Austrians suffering terrible hardship
following the Napoleonic Wars,
this was indeed a song of peace and of hope.
Joseph Mohr seems to be guided by a divine hand
to the Salzburg Alps,
where he wrote the poem of his life.
With Franz Gruber, he created a song
that would eventually be shared each Christmas
by more than two billion voices around the world.
But it would take many years for the world's chorus
to join Joseph's gentle message of hope.
A hundred and seventeen years would pass,
but having reached out via Hamburg,
across the Atlantic, to choirs in New York,
and eventually California,
"Silent Night" would find one timeless voice.
[guitar music plays]
HUGH: By 1934,
Bing Crosby is already the best-selling
recording artist in the world.
At this time, Bing's home is near Palm Springs,
in the small oasis of Rancho Mirage.
Meanwhile, his recording technology business
can be found on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
The building is still there today.
I grew up thinking it was a Bing Crosby song.
And we knew it in English from Bing Crosby,
and we knew it in Spanish, because
those were the two languages that
were the most famous, I would say, in America.
But every school child around the world
will sing this song in their language.
And that's-that's how you know the song
has just completely transcended popular culture
into-into world history.
[music]
HUGH: It will be a chance meeting
that leads Bing Crosby to record "Silent Night".
One Sunday, in the late autumn of 1934,
Bing and his brother Larry are busy preparing
for his annual Christmas radio special.
At the time, this is 1934,
Bing Crosby was the most successful singer in the world.
And everyone knew Bing's voice,
but people tend to forget that Bing was a pioneer
in the music recording technology.
If you wanted the best recording equipment in town,
you had to go to Bing Crosby Enterprises,
which is run by Bing and his-his brother, Larry.
Please accept my apology, Larry,
this morning, for this intrusion.
But I have a proposal for Mr. Crosby.
Is he at home this morning?
BILL CROSBY: Oh, father.
It's been a while.
What can I do for you?
RICHARD GRANAHAN: I have a proposal for you.
Do you have a minute?
Richard Ranaghan was a Columban father,
a missionary.
And he was shooting a film in China
using a-a hand-crank camera.
And it-it wasn't turning out well at all,
and he proudly wanted to title it
"The Cross and the Dragon."
But the footage was not good,
it was inadequate.
So he knew he had to make a pilgrimage
to the only man
that could save the film.
Well, Father,
we should be able to knock that out.
And maybe add a musical pattern,
so people will know what it's about.
RICHARD: You mean a soundtrack?
You wanna use this film to raise money for the mission.
Might as well add a background, too.
Say, uh, maybe you could sing a song.
"Silent Night".
Could you perhaps sing "Silent Night"?
Well, Father,
sacred songs are a little out of my league
for a crooner like myself, you understand.
Mr. Crosby, the recording will only be heard at the parishes.
Finally, Ranaghan talks Bing
into recording the song.
No-no special vocal arrangements,
nothing fancy,
Bing just sang it as he would any other song.
And fate played its part
because it was the most successful song
- for Bing that year. - BING: ♪ Silent Night... ♪
And the third most successful single
- of all time. - ♪ ...holy night ♪
♪ All is calm ♪
♪ All is bright ♪
♪ Round yon virgin ♪
♪ Mother and Child ♪
♪ Holy infant ♪
♪ So tender and mild ♪
What the song has meant in the annals of history,
to so many people,
was something I admittedly didn't know
when I first recorded the song.
I was basing my understanding of the song
on other artists that I heard sing it.
It was a cover of another Christmas song, you know.
I didn't deep dive into the history of it
because I was so concerned about how we would make it new.
I didn't--I wasn't thinking so deeply about the old with it.
And so, to learn about its roots in Salzburg,
to learn about its history
through the course of the last many generations,
sends chills down your spine.
It's-it's an incredible gift
that keeps on giving as a singer,
to know about a story
that deep and that profound.
And-and inspires whenever I sing it in the future.
So, it's-it's-it's-it's a lovely-lovely story.
There wasn't a cloud in the sky on April the 30th, 1818.
Bright and unseasonably hot for the time of year,
it was Ascension Day in Salzburg.
The city presented a glorious palette of festive colors,
but the flowers bent to a strong southeasterly wind that day.
The Field Marshal, Prince of Wartenburg,
was about to visit the city.
The garrison troops gathered on the residenzplatz
were ready to salute his Royal Highness.
At any moment, the prince would arrive
to receive this festive honor.
Suddenly, there was cannon fire from Fortress Hohensalzburg.
The crowd assumed it to be the first salute,
they looked 'round for their royal visitor.
But rather than the welcoming prince,
the cannon warned utter catastrophe.
[music]
HUGH: The blaze started in a stable,
and fanned by the hot winds,
it engulfed Salzburg in a firestorm.
After raging over four days and nights,
the eastern half of the city lies in ashes.
It will take 30 years
to rebuild Salzburg.
And as if heaven-sent,
"Silent Night" will emerge from these ashes.
[singing in foreign language]
Literally, my first experience outside the US,
when I was a sophomore in high school,
we went to Vienna,
that was the very first place we went.
And we literally met the Vienna Boys Choir,
and got to hear them sing, and it was so magical.
I mean, you have, like, teenagers
who aren't generally listening to music like that,
sobbing.
Like, because it was so beautiful.
And-and there's just something about-about
the--a boy singing like that,
like--before they become men.
When you hear something that moves you,
it moves you, no matter what the language is.
And there's just some songs,
and I feel like "Silent Night" is one of those,
that when you sing, it doesn't--
it--you--it doesn't even-- it's so weird,
you--it-it transcends the lyrics,
it transcends the music.
It's the--it's the whole vibe of the song,
it's the melody that really just captures your heart.
And I think that's why I could be in Germany,
I could be in Japan,
I could be anywhere in the world.
And if I start singing certain songs like that,
like Silent Night, people sing along,
and then, it--there's-- then all of a sudden,
there's this connection.
HUGH: Winter in the Tyrol during the 1820s
is a picture of bleak beauty.
The romantic idyll is a cold reality
of long months spent huddled indoors.
It's here in the Alps that we find a family quartet
well-known for spreading warmth and song across the Tyrol.
Eventually, they will become famous
for bringing "Silent Night" to Europe and beyond.
They are the Rainer siblings.
SINGERS: [singing in foreign language]
HUGH: During the winter of 1822,
Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria
and Czar Alexander I of Russia
reside at Fugen Castle.
One evening, the Rainer siblings are hired
to entertain the royal guests.
One of the songs they perform is "Silent Night".
[singing in foreign language]
HUGH: The illustrious guests are so captivated
by their performance that the Czar extends the Rainers
an invitation to Russia.
From here, the siblings would go on a concert tour
across all of Europe.
[music]
HUGH: Word spreads about the Rainers' vocal talents.
Touring across Europe's major cities until 1839,
they will enchant audiences,
including King George IV of England.
[music]
- SINGERS: ♪ Silent Night... ♪ - HUGH: From Europe,
the Rainer siblings cross the stormy seas of the Atlantic,
to arrive in New York just before Christmas.
Feeling blessed for their safe journey,
the Rainers visit Trinity Church on Broadway.
Here, in this haven of tranquility,
the Rainers give thanks by singing "Silent Night"
for the first time in the United States.
♪ Beckoning Israel's ♪
♪ Eye from afar♪
♪ Where the Savior ♪
♪ Is born ♪
♪ where the Savior ♪
♪ Is born ♪
[music]
JOSS STONE: ♪ Oh, hail ♪
[music]
JOSS: ♪ 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 ♪
To ask, "When did I first hear 'Silent Night'"?
Is kind of like asking me,
"When did you first breathe in and out?"
It's part of us, isn't it?
I cannot remember.
That's so--that's such a crazy thought.
I just can't remember.
♪ ...at the sight ♪
♪ Glories stream ♪
♪ From heaven afar ♪
I've always been a little bit Christmas-obsessed.
So when it gets to the time,
or even like a little bit close to it,
I'm just going for it,
like I make little hampers,
and I decorate my house and myself.
I mean, yes, there is the money-making thing.
We mustn't deny this fact.
Of course, it is. You know,
so is Valentine's Day and things like that.
But, so?
I don't care.
Make as much money as you like.
I'm having a fantastic time,
and so is everyone else.
Christmas has morphed.
It's not just about Jesus
and, you know, things like that.
There are a lot of wonderful stories in that.
And I like the idea of, you know,
the starry night and the Three Kings
with their myrrh, and incense, and lovely things.
And they're making this trek and this journey.
And this woman that, you know,
is a virgin, who's having a baby.
And it's like, ugh, it's so magical of a story.
[music]
JOSS: ♪ Alleluia ♪
♪ Oh, oh, yeah ♪
[music]
JOSS: ♪ 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 ♪
And it does make you think,
well, what about the people
that can't actually even buy
a Christmas present for their children?
Let's not forget about everybody else.
Because for-for some people,
Christmas is a crap time of year.
It's a very stressful situation,
where they're thinking, "Hang on a minute.
"I've got four kids,
"and I can only really afford one present.
"And if we're gonna have Christmas dinner,
"I can only get one present." So, you know,
this is something that-that is real.
[music]
HUGH: The Christmas carol of all Christmas carols
has an unforgettable melody.
A melody that, for most of us,
is first shared as children amongst loved ones.
"Silent Night" is so woven
into our deepest feelings of affection and nostalgia
that it's no wonder it lives on all over the world,
as a folk song, a duet,
for choirs, for instrumentalists,
or even as a stage play.
It always touches us in the same way.
MAN: ♪ And ye shall find ♪
HUGH: With interpretations of the song
in over 300 languages,
it seems every corner of the world
has adopted "Silent Night" as its own.
MAN: ♪ But there's the one for every one ♪
So, that--honestly, when I...
first start talking about the show,
"Silent--My Silent Night",
it really--
it made it come alive for me when I came to Salzburg,
to be honest with you, and that's really when
we went to the original church.
I played on the original organ
that he played on.
For me, I think I had to go
experience the place
to get a sense of the place and time,
and that's what was wonderful for me.
And then, that's really when it started to come alive.
SINGERS: ♪ If every day is Christmas ♪
♪ That would be just fine ♪
♪ Because all the world is brighter ♪
♪ With the lights of Christmas time ♪
♪ If kindness is my weakness ♪
And what was so meaningful to me
is the idea that "Silent Night" was written
in the German language,
instead of in Latin,
and that that was pretty revolutionary at the time,
and that it was meant to be for the people,
for common people
in a time when there was a lot of disruption,
and there-- they had just come out of a war.
And so, the idea that this song
was an attempt to use music
to communicate hope and peace,
and the beauty that they saw
in their religion, and also in their community
was foundational to the show.
[goat bleats]
[music]
SINGERS: ♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪
It's a universal phenomenon.
It's-it's a universal message.
It's-it's a song that has a place
in people's hearts and minds,
and memories of family, and celebration,
and the-the holiday season.
It's just a song that brings up
a lot of family memories
for-for a lot of people all over the world.
It's an amazing piece of music
that has really stood the test of time.
SINGERS: ♪ ...with the dawn of redeeming grace ♪
♪ Jesus Lord at thy birth ♪
Christmas is, of course, the annual celebration
of the birth of Jesus Christ.
For most Christians, the commemoration
of the nativity of Jesus
is on the 25th of December.
And in the West, celebrations have always begun
on the previous evening, on Christmas Eve.
In many countries, though,
Christmas is already heralded
by twinkling lights and festive markets as early as November.
Salzburg exemplifies this tradition
with its 525-year-old Christkindlmarkt.
Indeed, Christmas markets can be traced back
to the late middle ages in the old Holy Roman Empire.
Today, Advent is still ushered
in all over the world, with a festive market
bringing communities together to buy presents,
and to share food.
[music]
Christmas time in Salzburg is simply fantastic.
I was here for my first Mozart Week.
A new production, Lucio Silla, was being sung here.
And I was here during rehearsals.
It's so wonderful, so spiritual,
and it really is something very special.
In Mexico, Christmas time has a lot of music.
There's a lot of rhythm in the music.
The villancicos are important.
You celebrate with much joy, much happiness,
and much light.
And Christmas spent with family and friends,
of course, is a wonderful time.
[music]
My first Christmas recollection
came with "Noche de paz."
It's a song that just comes when we're all together.
♪ Noche de paz, noche de amor ♪
Then, I went to a German school, and, of course,
I learned there that the original is in German.
And so, really this is perhaps
the most famous Christmas song there is.
Translated everywhere.
So, perhaps my first memory of Christmas music
is "Silent Night."
I mean, that became...
[vocalizing]
Without words, it sounds--
it does good, that melody.
And it lets us-- it moves us
really, really like a lullaby.
But it isn't a lullaby.
It also has something that let's our soul dance.
[vocalizing]
And then, again that note.
[vocalizing]
Those movements in the music.
And then, there is a return to that serenity.
[vocalizing]
And then, finally,
it opens up like a flower.
And then, it's not quite finished.
It's not a heroic song.
[vocalizing]
Then, it comes back to Earth once more, to everyone.
It starts like a caress that goes on and on.
The chest opens up, the music emerges,
and then, once again,
it comes back,
with everything that is brought by that message,
and the meaning that it has,
and brings it back.
And in that sense, "Silent Night"
is perfect as a title.
"Silent Night", it's fantastic.
[Rolando sings in Spanish]
GAVIN ROSSDALE: ♪ So this is Christmas ♪
♪ What have you done? ♪
In smaller communities,
Christmas is a profoundly different experience,
to the bustling capitals of London or New York.
There, you certainly won't feel it's the silent time
of the year.
But it's always wonderful in its own special way.
GAVIN: ♪ So this is Christmas ♪
♪ I hope you have fun ♪
♪ The near and the dear ones ♪
♪ The old and the young ♪
SINGERS: ♪ A very merry Christmas ♪
♪ And a happy new year ♪
♪ Let's hope it's a good one ♪
♪ Without any fears ♪
♪ So this is Christmas ♪
It's a little colder, a little darker in England.
So, the Christmases feel more traditional.
But they make a good--
they make a lot of effort here,
and there's a lot of-of Christmas feeling
in parties and people around,
but, yeah, I think that I-I do--I--
you know, Christmas in Europe is pretty special.
♪ And so happy Christmas ♪
♪ For black and for White ♪
♪ For yellow and red ones ♪
♪ Let's stop all the fights ♪
SINGERS: ♪ A very merry Christmas ♪
♪ And a happy new year ♪
♪ Let's hope it's a good one ♪
- ♪ Without any fear ♪ - GAVIN: The core of the song
is actually is very intimate.
You know, it's about the people closest around you.
And feeling the connection with them
on a holiday spirit, and, you know,
holidays are so beautiful
because it's a chance to start again,
to wipe the slate, and start a fresh new year.
And,
obviously, this-- predominantly,
is like a religious idea.
But I think it's been adopted by the secular world
as a sort of a great time to be together
and to be around people you love.
And give people gifts because you love them.
♪ The near and the dear ones ♪
♪ The old and the young ♪
The relevance is like beauty,
relevance is in the-the-the-- the ear of the listener.
And people can take what they want.
But I--from every song, you know,
every song is-- bears the power of music
in the way that it can be a different song for me
than it is for you,
so what it--what it-- how it inspires
and how it makes us think about things,
so I'm all for good songs
with good words and good music,
good melodies because I think that makes greatness.
♪ War is over ♪
♪ If you want it ♪
♪ War is over ♪
Silent Night is one of the songs that is in everybody's DNA.
It's just--you don't even know why you know it,
but you just know it.
A bit like a Queen song.
It's just there in your system.
And you didn't realize it.
And I think, you know,
it's so traditional that,
I mean, I can't even imagine a time where I didn't know it.
♪ War is over ♪
♪ If you want it ♪
♪ War is over ♪
♪ Now ♪
♪ War is over ♪
♪ If you want it ♪
♪ War is over ♪
SINGERS: ♪ Now ♪
The list is endless of Christmas albums
I've done with Michael Buble and Josh Groban,
and Andrea Bocelli, Rod Stewart,
Mary J. Blige, Dolly Parton, Celine.
The strange thing--or the great thing about Silent Night
is that I don't care where you grew up,
everybody knows and loves this song.
And it moves people in a way that is ineffable.
You can't put it into words,
it's-it's sort of not describable.
It just-- it's a religious experience,
without hitting you over the head too hard.
It's a--it's a simple song.
But it just has such an effect on people.
And, you know, we're so happy
and lucky to have it in our world.
[piano music playing]
♪ 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 ♪
♪ Sleep
♪ In heavenly ♪
♪ Peace ♪
RANDY JACKSON: I think I've recorded this song
with so many different artists over the years.
And performed it on so many different stages
that this is what led me
to start to understand what the lyric meant,
how spiritual and religious it was,
how comforting it was
for a time like the world is even going through now.
And how just apropos
this song and the lyric really is.
Can't believe it was written that many years ago,
and still super relevant now,
and will be relevant forever.
The one thing I always say about great songs,
you can do a million different versions,
it all works.
Because the lyric and the melody
are so great together,
that you could do-- you could do a country version.
I'm sure people have done
every version you can think of, and it all works.
This version that they're working on now
is gonna be another crown jewel
in the hat for Silent Night.
Greg and Shelea are killing the game.
[humming]
♪ Radiant beams ♪
♪ From thy holy face ♪
♪ With the dawn ♪
♪ Of redeeming grace ♪
♪ Jesus, Lord ♪
♪ At thy birth ♪
♪ Jesus, Lord ♪
♪ At thy birth ♪
♪ Silent night ♪
♪ Holy night ♪
♪ All is calm ♪
♪ And all is bright ♪
♪ Round yon virgin Mother ♪
♪ And Child ♪
♪ Holy infant ♪
♪ So tender and mild ♪
♪ Sleep in heavenly
♪ Peace ♪
♪ I need a little peace ♪
♪ Oh, peace ♪
- SINGERS: ♪ Heavenly peace ♪ - ♪ And heavenly peace ♪
♪ Peace ♪
- SINGERS: ♪ Peace ♪ - ♪ All you gotta do ♪
♪ Is say one word ♪
- SINGERS: ♪ Peace ♪ - SHELEA: ♪ And there is peace ♪
♪ The peace that passes all understanding, peace ♪
♪ Oh, you say it, I give you this peace ♪
- SINGERS: ♪ Peace ♪ - SHELEA: ♪ Of the world ♪
- SINGERS: ♪ Heavenly peace ♪ - SHELEA: ♪ World ♪
♪ Can't take it away ♪
♪ Oh, I need them peace ♪
- ♪ Peace ♪ - ♪ Lord, we need it ♪
♪ We need it, we need it, we need it ♪
- SINGERS: ♪ Heavenly peace ♪ - ♪ Heavenly peace ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Sleep ♪
♪ In heavenly ♪
♪ Peace ♪
When you kind of researched the history of it,
I think the meaning comes in even stronger.
Now when hat I sing the lyrics,
it's-it's gonna really be coming from a different place,
a deeper place.
A place of understanding,
and-and almost just awe and reverence.
You know, I grew up in a-- in a-a Christian home,
and so, gospel music
really was the soundtrack
to my childhood, you know?
So, being able to do Silent Night
in this way is so special for me.
Because I'm-I'm just gonna bring up--
I'm just gonna conjure up everybody I've listened to,
Aretha, Yolanda, like, I'm just bringing them all in.
Vanessa Bell Armstrong, you know,
just people I grew up listening to,
and-and just bring that-that...
beauty and magic to the song.
AILEE: [singing in Korean]
Silent night is a very popular song here in Korea as well.
I don't think there's anyone who doesn't know the song.
[singing in Korean]
It's probably different for everybody.
But I do know
that a lot of couples and lovers in Korea
like to celebrate Christmas Eve together.
So they go on dates,
um, and they come watch my concerts together.
And on Christmas Day, I believe,
is spent with their families.
♪ I wish I had worn something warm ♪
So the song "Sweater" is written
with the purpose of letting people know that not
always Christmas is celebrated
with just joy and happiness.
For example, when I heard the song,
it made me miss my great grandmother very much.
And I felt like this song could be something
that I can remind myself of her.
And "Sweater" I feel like it does that to people.
It just brings memories back to people
whoever they miss during the holiday season.
It's a great way to remember somebody that you used to love.
♪ Though we're miles apart ♪
♪ I'll keep you in my heart ♪
♪ And I'll wear your Christmas sweater ♪
♪ On me tonight ♪
♪ Let it keep me warm I'll be wrapped up tight ♪
♪ So no matter where you go ♪
♪ A little piece of you is close ♪
♪ I'll wear your Christmas sweater always ♪
♪ Stitch by stitch, oh, inch by inch ♪
♪ Oh, feeling close to you ♪
♪ After all that we've been through ♪
♪ Thread by thread ♪
♪ You wrap me up in red ♪
♪ Someday you'll be here ♪
♪ But until then ♪
♪ Now I'll wear your Christmas sweater ♪
♪ On me tonight ♪
♪ Let it keep me warm I'll be wrapped up tight ♪
♪ So no matter where you go ♪
♪ A little piece of you is close ♪
♪ This old sweater feels so soft ♪
♪ And I'll never take it off ♪
♪ So I'll wear your Christmas sweater from '92 ♪
♪ Love the way it looks and still smells like you ♪
♪ All day ♪
♪ So whenever you're away ♪
[music]
[singing in French]
For me, Christmas has to be white, no?
[laughs]
So Christmas in Paris is that it makes sense.
They celebrate Christmas in a--in a very
beautiful way with all the lights.
It's-it's a very--it's one of my favorite time of the year.
[singing in French]
Silent Night is...
deeply linked with Christianity.
But to me, the song belongs to humanity.
It belongs to a lot of people, to every single person
regardless your religion or-or-or your belief.
[singing in French]
[instrumental music playing]
I'm from Indonesia.
So Indonesia is the biggest Muslim country in the world,
so I'm from a Muslim family.
But my father who is a--who is an author,
who is a book writer,
he wanted his children to have...
a very open mind
and super tolerant,
and he prefers--and that's why he put us
in a Catholic school.
So I did all my education with the nuns.
[laughs]
[singing in French]
[instrumental music playing]
ANGGUN: [singing in French]
I just like that spirit.
I just really like the moment of--yeah.
Because we-we also spend Christmas in-in Indonesia,
in Bali.
So it's kind--it was a bit weird for my husband [laughs]
because all of a sudden he was sweating and it's a,
"Yay. Merry Christmas."
[singing in French]
The most important thing is--it's really the family.
It doesn't matter where you were.
Uh-uh.
[singing in French]
This song can be lived
and can be interpreted in many ways,
and still...
you have the same essence.
Still-still you feel the same love.
LINA MAKHOUL: I think that the song has nothing to do
with a place or a time.
It has something to do with spirit
and with connecting people together.
Because I think that everyone in the world
as we see now in this song,
in Silent Night, there's plenty of versions,
in all kind of languages, all over the world,
and it connects people.
And I think that's the purpose of the song
and that's what's great about it,
that it connects people together and it brings everyone together.
And we should all remember the blessings that we have
in our life and count them and we should also
be focused on what we want in this life.
And we should also remember that we are not
the biggest thing in this world.
There is some kind of power that...
you know, takes care of us.
Ever since I was five years old, the school used to take us
every year to Jerusalem and Bethlehem.
So, I'm used to, you know,
walk the road that we took today.
And it always feels so magical and so spiritual
because after all, it's a Holy Land,
and people from all over the world come to walk this road
and to try to feel
what this holy place makes you feel.
So yeah, I felt like,
you know, like the magic is all over me.
On Christmas time, the city is super festive
and people from all around the world come to,
you know, celebrate the birth of Jesus.
And that's where it happened in this exact place,
and it's beautiful.
It's beautiful to see how many people, you know,
celebrate one common thing.
[instrumental music playing]
[singing in Arabic]
[instrumental music playing]
♪ 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 ♪
[speaks Arabic]
Well, the first time I heard the song
when I was maybe three years old,
and it was in Arabic since I'm Arab.
So that's the first version I've ever learned to sing.
And I wanted to--
and a lot of people in the world don't know
that it exists in Arabic
because they don't know that there are, you know,
Christian Arabs. And I was like,
"Really? Okay. Let me sing in Arabic
and show you that we have our own version."
And I love this version. I think it adds some...
authentic spirit to the song,
and gives another, you know,
point of view to Silent Night.
[choir vocalizing]
HUGH: In 1816, Europe desperately tries
to survive the year without a summer.
Relentless snow, floods, and failed harvests
have put war-torn Salzburg on the verge
of famine and utter despair.
This is a forsaken city,
a city of extremes.
Behind the facade of baroque architecture
and its veneer of nobility,
is a community reduced to just 8,000 starving souls,
a community without faith.
[choir vocalizing]
HUGH: Young Joseph Mohr's quest for faith
began in the cavernous silence of Salzburg Cathedral.
He begged his God for help.
But God remained silent.
So Joseph Mohr made a choice to leave the city
and seek his spiritual path elsewhere.
His quest took him three solid days' walk
into the Alps to Wagrain
at the small village of Mariapfarr.
Rejuvenated with fresh hope,
Joseph's thoughts began to reach out
towards a new resolve,
to help others.
It wasn't easy for a young man grappling
to find words of courage and hope for his sermons,
he'd become a priest, but a priest without expression,
Joseph almost gave up.
[music]
HUGH: Then one cold winter's night,
Joseph steps outside and looks up to the full moon
and the canopy of stars.
Silent they may be,
but the endless stars give sudden
life-changing inspiration.
When all suffering is hushed and calmed,
what remains is silence.
Joseph understands then,
silence is the divine voice
that he has been seeking,
filled with emotion and a renewed bond,
he rushes back into his house.
His pen dips ink and he begins to write.
As the words flow through Joseph Mohr's pen,
a poem forms.
[music]
HUGH: On that night in 1816,
Joseph Mohr writes a poem about this sacred silence.
But these words for Silent Night will emerge
as perhaps the oldest Christmas song
in the German language.
[singing in German]
HUGH: Spreading across Europe and around the world,
another age-old Christmas song emerges with Silent Night.
Written in Latin by Cistercian monks,
Adeste Fideles is not only one of the oldest
but one of the most beautiful carols.
It has become beloved all over the world
in its English translation,
O Come, All Ye Faithful.
[music]
SINGER: ♪ O come ♪
♪ All ye faithful ♪
♪ Joyful and triumphant ♪
♪ O come ye ♪
♪ To Bethlehem ♪
♪ Come and behold him ♪
O Come, All Ye Faithful
is about coming together, you know,
it's-it's an epic hymn
to come together to rejoice, to praise the Lord,
you know, at this time of year,
the birth of a child, you know.
And with this arrangement,
we wanted to do something different.
♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
♪ Christ the Lord ♪
♪ Sing, choirs of angels ♪
♪ Angels ♪
♪ Sing in exultation ♪
♪ Sing, all ye citizens ♪
♪ Of Heaven above ♪
♪ Glory to God ♪
♪ Glory in the highest ♪
♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
♪ Christ ♪
♪ The Lord ♪
[instrumental music playing]
♪ Yea, Lord, we greet Thee ♪
♪ Born this happy morning ♪
♪ Jesus, to Thee be ♪
♪ Glory given ♪
♪ Word of the Father ♪
♪ Now in flesh appearing ♪
♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪
♪ O come, let us adore... ♪
♪ Him ♪
♪ Christ ♪
♪ The Lord ♪
And I have quite a memory
of singing that song when I was boy, a soprano.
Um, I would travel to Europe
with a boys' choir every few years.
The highlight of the trip was going to
the Saint Nicholas, um, Parish
um, or known as the Silent Night Chapel
um, in Oberndorf
where that song was first performed.
And our choir filled this small chapel area
and we sang
this amazing version of Silent Night.
Well, the first time I ever heard of Silent Night
was actually when I heard a poem
by John McCutcheon
called Christmas in the Trenches.
And it tells one of the most beautiful stories
ever to come from the treachery of war.
It was one cold Christmas night in World War I
and the British and the Germans were
entrenched on the battlefields.
And one brave German soldier
walked out into No Man's Land
with a white flag singing a song.
And they put aside their differences,
and it was the beauty of music in that song
that brought them together.
And ever since then
that's been one of my favorite Christmas songs
and one of the beautiful stories
that I like to share
and, um, sing.
Many stories have emerged in remembrance
of that Christmas miracle of 1914 in Belgium.
Along with voices from the trenches,
we learned a great deal from the diaries
of the British commanding officer,
Field Marshall Douglas Earl Haig.
And for Christmas, every British soldier received
a package from the King.
In this, he found an ornate brass
Princess Mary box with tobacco,
a packet of cigarettes, a portrait of Princess Mary,
and a Christmas card from the royal family.
Meanwhile, the German soldiers received a Christmas box
from their hometowns,
along with packages from their families
with warm clothes, food, alcohol,
cigarettes, and letters.
For Germany, the later years of the war
would be blighted by chronic shortages,
but that first Christmas, the soldiers could still enjoy
a few comforts from home.
The German high command also sent tens of thousands
of small festive trees to the front,
which were to be illuminated on Christmas Eve.
Today Earl Haig's account of this Christmas miracle
is part of the world's documentary heritage of UNESCO.
[classical music playing]
Jimmy was a soldier ♪
Katy was a maid ♪
♪ Like an act of fate ♪
♪ Kate was standing at the gate ♪
- ♪ Watching all the boys... ♪ - DOUGLAS HAIG: Thomas.
SINGER: ♪ ...file on parade ♪
Indecisiveness.
Indecisiveness is the sign of sloppy soldiering.
Stuttering ♪
Carry on.
SINGER: ♪ You're the only g-g-g-girl ♪
♪ That I adore ♪
[knocks on door]
Enter.
THOMAS: British legion, sir.
Your arrangements for the Newfoundland visit.
SINGER: ♪ Beautiful Katy ♪
Oh, yes.
If you could sign here and here, sir?
Thank you, sir.
And...
a Merry Christmas to you, sir.
Oh.
Thank you.
Were you over there in Belgium, Thomas?
THOMAS: No, sir.
Too late, sir.
When I was called up, Jerry had called it a day.
Missed all the fun.
Oh, yes.
Lucky you, hmm?
I've just been reflecting on the fact that...
it's almost 10 years since that first Christmas.
Hmm.
Yes.
Friday, 4th of December, 1914.
I had motored down to -
to dine with the King and the Prince of Wales.
Sit.
Here.
The King seemed very cheery but inclined to think
that all our troops are by nature brave
and is ignorant of all the effort
which commanders must make
to keep up the morale of their men in war.
And all of the training which is necessary in peace
in order to enable a company for instance,
to go forward as an organized unit
in the face...
of almost certain death.
He told him of the crowds of fugitives
who came back down the Menin Road
during the Ypres Battle,
having thrown everything they could
including their rifles and packs
in order to escape
with a look of absolute terror on their faces
such as I have never before seen
on any human being.
You see, we had...
we had no idea
of the industrial scale of death in 1914.
Yeah.
No one.
No politician.
No general.
Only Satan himself could have foreseen...
what was to come.
[music]
[wind blowing]
[fire crackling]
HUGH: On Christmas Eve 1914,
there's an almost ghostly calm in the British trenches.
The men are chilled to the bone by bitter cold
and the horrors of war.
[singing in German]
HUGH: For the German soldiers in their trenches,
it's traditional to sing Silent Night at Christmas.
The breeze picks up their voices
carrying the song across No Man's Land
and into the enemy trenches.
Initially, the British considered
whether the singing is a trick.
Then, one of the British soldiers recognizes the carol...
- ♪ O Holy Night ♪ - HUGH: ...and joins in.
♪ 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 ♪
[music]
HUGH: According to his diary,
Field Marshall Haig ordered the troops
to be given as easy a time as possible on Christmas Day.
He noted that it was surprisingly mild
for midwinter.
The sunshine prompts a German sergeant
to bravely test the peace
that has descended over the battlefield.
[music]
[birds chirping]
[speaking foreign language]
HUGH: Instantly,
the British are at combat readiness.
A British officer however,
recognizes the peaceful gesture.
Watch out, don't shoot him. Don't shoot.
HUGH: And he is immediately willing to reciprocate.
[music]
- [speaks foreign language] - Happy Christmas.
Happy Christmas.
It's not so good underground.
[speaking foreign language] shall we greet?
Why not?
- It's been nice. - Come. Come.
They'll be no fight today.
- [speaking foreign language] - Christmas.
Guys, come on.
We're not fighting today.
[music]
HUGH: The Christmas Truce of 1914
is the moment when Silent Night becomes a true miracle.
This brief respite within manmade horror
- reveals the most profound... - It's Christmas.
...contradictions of human nature.
The Scottish poet of the Great War, Frederick Niven,
would appeal for a return to the spirit of Silent Night
in his own poem, A Carol from Flanders.
"Oh ye who read this truthful rime from Flanders,
kneel and say, "God speed the time
when every day shall be as Christmas Day."
[eruption]
It is ironic, is it not that the, uh...
abiding memory of that war
should be that moment of peace,
of humanity?
[music]
In 1915 when I was commander-in-chief,
there were calls for us to repeat that armistice
and we...
[chuckles] I, would not allow it.
You see,
it is no good for fighting morale
to see your enemy as human.
Of course.
Sir.
[music]
No good at all.
Like many great human endeavors,
Silent Night was born in 1818 out of dire circumstance.
In a country devastated by war and famine,
a young man looks to the sky for divine inspiration,
taking up a pen,
his words of peace and hope become a verse.
His verse becomes a song.
And his song becomes a miracle.
Silent Night endures
as long as the world is conflicted,
restless, and at war,
for as long as we need it.
Perhaps one day, it will become a song of celebration
when we have finally learned from history
to coexist in harmony
to silence the voices of hate
and lay down the weapons of war.
But until then, each Christmas,
we have a chance to reflect on the profound gift
carried to us down the years by countless voices.
We can rejoice in their legacy
and join together in celebrating the true spirit of Christmas.
So when you hear the first notes of Silent Night,
perhaps savor for a moment the peace and harmony
that inspired Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber back then
during the Christmas of 1818.
SINGER: [singing foreign language]
♪ Silent night ♪
♪ Holy night ♪
♪ Shepherds quake ♪
♪ At the sight ♪
♪ Glories stream ♪
♪ From heaven afar ♪
♪ Heavenly hosts ♪
♪ Sing Alleluia ♪
♪ Christ ♪
♪ The Savior is born ♪
♪ Christ ♪
♪ The Savior 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 ♪
♪ Silent night ♪
♪ Holy night ♪
♪ Here at last ♪
♪ Healing light ♪
♪ From the heavenly ♪
♪ Kingdom sent ♪
♪ Abundant grace ♪
♪ For our intent ♪
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ Salvation for all ♪
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ Salvation for all ♪
♪ Silent night ♪
♪ Holy night ♪
♪ Sleeps the world ♪
♪ In peace tonight ♪
♪ God sends his Son ♪
♪ To Earth below ♪
♪ A Child ♪
♪ From whom ♪
♪ All blessings flow ♪
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ Embraces mankind ♪
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ Embraces mankind ♪
♪ Jesus ♪
♪ Embraces ♪
♪ Mankind ♪
[instrumental music playing]