Christmas 2016 is the 200th anniversary of the words of Silent Night being written by a young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, in the Salzburg region of present day Austria. It was first performed at St. Nicholas parish church in Austria on Christmas Eve of 1818 with guitar accompaniment.

For many, it just isn’t Christmas without the traditional Christmas Eve service benediction of singing Silent Night while dimming the church lights and lighting candles held by each worshiper.

This carol is so popular that much like the song Amazing Grace, it has even made its way into secular society. In 2011, it was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

How many times and in how many venues has Silent Night been sung?

During WWI in 1914, Pope Benedict XV called for a Christmas truce which was officially rejected, but along the war lines, a spontaneous truce broke out.  Reports vary, so no one knows exactly what happened and undoubtedly, it was different depending on where you were along the line.  Accounts recorded in diaries and letters home are pieced together to show that German troops on one side and British, Belgian and French troops on the other, laid down their guns and came up out of their trenches, some as close as 100 feet apart.  They exchanged cigarettes, food and trinkets.  One side would offer a carol in their native tongue then the other side would sing one.  At times, they joined in singing familiar carols together – each in their own tongue.  There were even reports of quickly fashioned soccer balls being kicked around.  Today, there is an annual soccer match to remember that Silent Night when the gunfire ceased for a short while.

Some call it a Christmas miracle.

Silent night, Holy night, All is calm, All is bright!