It was Christmas Eve, 1818. In Hallein, at the Austrian Alps, father Joseph Mohr was reading the Bible.

While engaged in the verses regarding the words of the celestial visitor to the shepherds in Bethlehem: Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people: for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord..., someone knocked at his door.

A countrywoman was asking him to go bless the newborn child of some poor colliers. The priest donned his snow shoes and put on his overcoat. He crossed the woods and climbed the mountain.

At a pauper two-room shack, full of smoke from the wood stove, he found a woman with a baby in her arms. The child was asleep.

Father Mohr blessed the little one and his mother. A strange feeling was taking him over. The shack was not the Bethlehem stable, but reminded him the birth of Jesus.

Climbing down the mountain, back to the parish, the words from the Gospel seemed to resonate in his soul.

Approaching the village, he noticed that there were torches glowing in the night, rivaling the starlight.

Those were from people going to church, to celebrate there, with prayers, the birthday of the Divine child. The millennial promise of peace vibrated in the silence of the woods and at the twinkle of the stars.

Father Mohr could not sleep that night. Feverishly, he rose from his bed, grabbed a pen and wrote a poem, expressing what he was felling in his soul.

By morning he called the maestro Franz Gruber, his friend, and showed him the verses.

The musician read the poem and exclaimed enthusiastically: Father, this is just the Christmas song we need!

He wrote the song for two voices and a guitar, because the church organ, the only one in town, was out of order.

At the Christmas of 1818, children gathered by the window, outside the parish house to listen to Father Mohr and Maestro Gruber singing.

It was different from anything they had ever heard. Silent night, holy night...

Some days later, the organ repairman arrived in town. Once the church instrument was fixed, Maestro Gruber played the new melody, accompanied by the priest's voice.

The organ technician was also an excellent musician, and quickly learned the music and lyrics for the new song.

As he liked singing, while fixing organs all throughout the villages in the Tirol, he spread the new Christmas Song. He did not know who had written it, as neither Father Mohr nor Maestro Gruber had told him they were authors themselves.

Among many who learned the Song, four children, the Strasser brothers, started singing it.

The Music Director of the Saxon Kingdom, hearing their such clear and tuneful voices, was interested and took them for a presentation in a concert.

The fame of the little singers spread throughout Europe, and the Song captivated everyone's hearts.

But no one knew who had written it.

A maestro named Ambrose was finally able to locate Franz Gruber.

More than 30 years had passed. And the story of how the Christmas Song was composed was written on December 30, 1854.

No other songs by Franz Gruber are known. Silent Night seems to have been his only composition.

Is it not possible to believe that the actual heavenly voices heard in the blessed night of Jesus' birth inspired the verses and the exquisite melody, so that we human beings could also sing along with the celestial messengers, declaring our joy for celebrating every year the birthday of our Master and Lord?

Spiritist Moment Team, based on information
extracted from the book Remotos cânticos de
 Belém, by Wallace Leal Rodrigues, Publishing House O clarim.
May 10.2010.