Steve Webb  0:02  
Hello and Merry Christmas. This is day five of the 2022 encore of the 2009 season of the Lifespring Why Christmas show hosted by James Cooper, creator of why christmas.com and me the OG God caster Steve Webb, I do a podcast called The Lifespring family Audio Bible where we are reading through the entire Bible in one year. Check it out it Audio Bible dot link every day from now to Christmas day you'll hear an episode from the 2009 season. And if you're not yet subscribed, or following the show, you can do that at Lifespring why Christmas dot show. And if you enjoy the show and would like to give some value back you can do so at Lifespring Why Christmas dot show slash support. And now here's the show

James Cooper  0:46  
Hello, and welcome to day number five of the Lifespring Why Christmas Show. Today I'm going to be telling you the history behind one of the most famous Carols of all silent The words of Silent Night were written by a priest Franz Joseph Mohr in Mariapfarr, Austria in 1816. And the music was added by his school teacher friend Franz Xaver Gruber, for the Christmas Eve service at St. Nicholas church in Oberndorf, Austria.  Fr. Mohr had asked Franz Gruber to compose the melody with a guitar arrangement. It was several years later that he added an arrangement for the organ.   There's a legend associated with Silent Night that says that the carol was originally to be sung by the children of the village at the midnight Christmas Eve service as a surprise for their parents. But in the middle of practicing, the church organ broke so they had to sing only accompanied by guitar. However, there aren't any records that the organ was broken at all.   The carol was originally written in German, and translated into English it went:  Silent night, holy night, Bethlehem sleeps, yet what light, Floats around the heavenly pair; Songs of angels fills the air. Strains of heavenly peace.  It's thought that the carol might have traveled around the Austrian and German countryside with an organ repairman.    In 1832, the Strasser family performed it at a concert in Leipzig and in the USA. It was first performed in 1839 by the Rainer family in New York City.   It was translated into English in 1863 and was the carol sung during the Christmas truce in the First World War in December 1914, as it was a song that soldiers on both sides knew.   To find out a bit more about the character go to whychristmas.com and the carol stories page in the Christmas customs section. The beautiful version you've heard playing under me today was by Michael Ryan on his album a classical guitar Christmas and you can find out more about him and get the album from Michael Ryan music.com All the links will be in the show notes. Come back tomorrow when Steve will be telling you something about a very popular visitor at Christmas to leave you today here's another version of silent night that was recorded by our good friend common Tyler especially for the Lifespring WhyChristmas show a couple of years ago

Karmyn Tyler  3:13  
. Stille Nacht! Heil'ge Nacht! Alles schläft; einsam wacht Nur das traute hoch heilige Paar. Holder Knab' im lockigen Haar, |: Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh! :| Silent night, holy night Bethlehem sleeps Yet what light Floats around the heavenly pair Songs of angels fill the air Strains of heavenly peace Strains of heavenly peace 

Transcribed by https://otter.ai