“Silent Night” (Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is the world’s best-known Christmas carol, written by a young Catholic priest, Fr. Joseph Mohr, and set to music by the schoolteacher and organist Franz Xaver Gruber, first sung on Christmas Eve 1818 in the village church of Oberndorf, Austria. It has been translated into hundreds of languages. Below are the English lyrics, the original German text from Mohr’s own manuscript, the story of the carol, its meaning, and a prayer for Christmas night.
The lyrics in English
As printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920): verse 1 in the translation of John Freeman Young (1859), the other verses by Jane Montgomery Campbell.
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,
Silent night, holy night,
Darkness flies, and all is light;
Shepherds hear the angels sing:
‘Alleluia! hail the King!
Jesus the Saviour is here,
Jesus the Saviour is here.’
Holy night, peaceful night,
Child of heaven, O how bright
Thou didst smile when thou wast born;
Blessed was that happy morn,
Full of heavenly joy,
Full of heavenly joy.
Silent night, holy night,
Guiding Star, O lend thy light;
See the eastern wise men bring
Gifts and homage to our King!
Jesus the Saviour is here,
Jesus the Saviour is here.
Silent night, holy night,
Wondrous Star, O lend thy light!
With the angels let us sing
Alleluia to our King!
Jesus our Saviour is here,
Jesus our Saviour is here.
Amen.
The original German: Stille Nacht
Joseph Mohr’s text, from his manuscript of around 1820, with its original spelling:
Stille Nacht! Heil’ge Nacht!
Alles schläft. Einsam wacht,
Nur das traute heilige Paar,
Holder Knab’ im lockigten Haar;
Schlafe in himlischer Ruh!
Schlafe in himmlischer Ruh!
Stille Nacht! Heil’ge Nacht!
Gottes Sohn! O! wie lacht
Lieb’ aus Deinem göttlichen Mund,
Da uns schlägt die rettende Stund;
Jesus! in Deiner Geburth!
Jesus in Deiner Geburth!
Stille Nacht! Heil’ge Nacht!
Die der Welt Heil gebracht,
Aus des Himmels goldenen Höh’n,
Uns der Gnade Fülle läßt seh’n
Jesum in Menschengestalt!
Jesum in Menschen-Gestalt!
Stille Nacht! Heil’ge Nacht!
Wo sich heut alle Macht
Väterlicher Liebe ergoß,
Und als Bruder Huldvoll umschloß
Jesus die Völker der Welt!
Jesus die Völker der Welt!
Stille Nacht! Heil’ge Nacht!
Lange schon uns bedacht,
Als der Herr vom Grimme befreyt,
In der Väter urgrauer Zeit
Aller Welt Schonung verhieß!
Aller Welt Schonung verhieß!
Stille Nacht! Heil’ge Nacht!
Hirten erst kundgemacht
Durch der Engel „Hallelujah!“
Tönt es laut bey Ferne und Nah
„Jesus der Retter ist da!“
„Jesus der Retter ist da!“
The story of Silent Night
- 1816: Joseph Mohr, a young assistant priest in Mariapfarr in the Austrian Alps, wrote the poem.
- 1818: now assistant priest at St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, near Salzburg, Mohr asked his friend Franz Xaver Gruber to compose a melody for two voices and guitar. They sang it together for the first time at Midnight Mass on December 24, 1818.
- The carol spread through traveling folk singers from the Zillertal valley, who sang it across Europe and America.
- 1859: John Freeman Young, an Episcopal priest in New York, published the English translation sung today.
- 1914: during the Christmas truce of the First World War, soldiers on both sides sang it across the trenches.
- 2011: UNESCO recognized it as part of Austria’s intangible cultural heritage.
What the carol means
The carol invites us to stand in silence before the crib: the Virgin Mother and the Holy Child, shepherds hearing the angels, the star guiding the wise men. Mohr’s German verses add that this child is “God’s Son,” that the “saving hour” has struck, and that Jesus has come in human form for all the peoples of the world. Its quiet tenderness is a reminder that God came not in power but as a sleeping infant.
A prayer for Christmas night
Written for this page:
Lord Jesus, on this silent and holy night
you came to us as a little child.
Quiet my heart so that I can hear the angels’ song,
and let me adore you with Mary and Joseph.
Bring your peace to every home and every heart,
and stay with us always, Emmanuel. Amen.
Frequently asked questions
Who wrote Silent Night?
Fr. Joseph Mohr wrote the words (1816) and Franz Xaver Gruber composed the music (1818).
Where was Silent Night first sung?
At St. Nicholas Church in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, on Christmas Eve 1818. A memorial chapel now stands on the site.
How many verses does Silent Night have?
Mohr’s original has six verses. Most English versions sing three.
More for Christmas
- Christmas carols: lyrics and stories
- Away in a Manger
- Good King Wenceslas
- Joy to the World
- Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
- O Little Town of Bethlehem
- What Child Is This?
- O Holy Night
- O Come, All Ye Faithful
- O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
- Catholic Christmas prayers
- Christmas Mass
- Las Posadas
- Simbang Gabi
Texts and sources
- English: John Freeman Young (1859) and Jane Montgomery Campbell, as printed in The Army and Navy Hymnal (1920), no. 37, public domain (Wikisource).
- German: Joseph Mohr, Weyhnachts-Lied (autograph, about 1820), public domain (German Wikisource).
- The prayer was written for this page.