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A Christmas Carol That Changed History
This carol has the power to make us pause, reflect, and hope for peace on earth and goodwill to all.
When the first notes of “O Holy Night” rang out in a small French church in 1847, no one could have predicted how this Christmas carol would weave itself into the fabric of Christmas traditions worldwide. Far more than just another festive melody, this song would play a role in technological breakthroughs, create moments of peace amid warfare, and challenge social hierarchies in pre-Civil War America.
A Voice in the Dark
On Christmas Eve 1906, the night air crackled with possibility as radio operators on ships across the Atlantic, accustomed to hearing only the dots and dashes of Morse code, suddenly heard something extraordinary — a human voice reading the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke! In this groundbreaking moment, as the first human voice ever transmitted over radio waves pierced the darkness, it was followed by the beautiful melody of “O Holy Night” played on violin. Like the star over Bethlehem, this technological marvel guided listeners into a new era of human communication.
Silence in the Trenches
The power of this carol to transcend human divisions revealed itself most poignantly in 1871, when French and German soldiers, entrenched…