It’s one of the most emotive Christmas carols. It’s one of the deepest and loveliest, too. It’s “Silent Night.” But what is the history and meaning of the song beyond its tender qualities? That’s what ...

A few nights ago, on the first really cold night in Virginia, I walked past a woman on the streets of Alexandria who was playing an instrument and singing all the verses to “Silent Night.” There was, ...

“Silent Night” is one of the most popular Christmas hymns, often sung in churches lit only by candles. The song describes a “tender and mild” infant Christ slumbering undisturbed in “heavenly peace.” ...

It was just a simple poem written by a village priest. However, when the church organist composed a melody for it, “Silent Night” became a song that would touch the world. The priest, Josef Mohr, and ...

“Silent Night” is not that silent after all. The 19th-century Austrian Christmas carol has been covered so many times by so many artists that if you take the 2 minutes and 40 seconds of Bing Crosby’s ...