The year was 1914. War
had broken out mid-year
00:00:49.81\00:00:56.65
in the summer. Here the Germans
on one side and the English
00:00:56.69\00:01:02.29
and French on the other.
We're trying to out-flank
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each other, get around
each other's front line.
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The result was known
as the race to the Sea.
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In its wake, a double line zig-
zagged across the countryside.
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They stretched for hundreds
kilometers from the North Sea
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all the way to the Swiss border.
The trenches were punctuated
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with machine-gun nests and
fortified with barbed wiring
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entanglements. The Germans
particularly had anticipated
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a quick victory but winter
was approaching and both sides
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were digging
themselves in for a long battle.
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Conditions at Christmas
time 1914 were quite difficult,
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it was very cold, most of
the soldiers didn't have proper
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equipment to be out
in open air day and night
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through the winter. It was
very wet, duck boards, A-frames,
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that could prevent you
from getting wet feet were
00:02:18.23\00:02:21.94
non-existent, most of
the time it was just a ditch
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dug into the field,
making conditions very very
00:02:24.97\00:02:28.61
very difficult indeed.
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Then came Christmas Eve,
it was a cold, wet winter,
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Germans shivered in the trenches
dreaming of Christmas goose
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stuffed with apples
and prunes and Stollen,
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delicious fruit bread. Opposite
the English talked of turkey
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with cranberry sauce, Christmas
Pudding flaming with Brandy.
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Gifts had been sent to soldiers
on both sides to keep their
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spirits up, but
they longed for home.
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German soldiers somehow
managed to slip a chocolate cake
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into the English trenches
along with a message asking for
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a cease fire, they
wanted to celebrate Christmas.
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The British sent some tobacco
back and agreed to the time.
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At 7:30 German heads
popped up from the trenches,
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they started to sing.
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Both side applauded at
the end of every Carol.
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They lit candles, placing them
on tops of their trenches and
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set up Christmas trees.
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A few brave soldiers
struck out across no-mans-land
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aware that at any moment
that a trigger happy sniper
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could bring instant death,
but they took the risk anyway.
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They met their
enemies, exchanged small gifts,
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tobacco, food,
hats, and buttons.
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We have a letter in the museum
of two soldiers, two brothers
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in the London Rifle Brigades
who actually are describing
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a truce that has
lasted into the new year.
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and at some point they
had exchanged a big tin of jam
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for a pickle hub, for a German
spike helmet and the Germans
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said, you ought to give me
back the helmet but don't worry
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I'm going to give it back to
you but tomorrow I have a parade
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and I need my helmet.
00:05:03.60\00:05:04.93
In a number of
places along the front line
00:05:04.97\00:05:07.80
no-man's-land became a
play- ground. Someone produced a
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football and the English
and Germans kicked to each other
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it is said, on this field
even thought it wasn't anything
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formal. One soldier
being a bother set up shop
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in no-man's-land and cut
the hair of his men for free.
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A German juggler put on a
show, the Christmas truce was a
00:05:25.39\00:05:30.19
welcome relief.
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One of the few Christmas Carols
the British and German troops
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had in common was Silent
Night, Stille Nacht in German.
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They sang it across the
trenches at each other in their
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respective languages.
There was power in that simple
00:06:05.03\00:06:09.16
melody and the words,
whether in English or German
00:06:09.20\00:06:12.57
spoke a message of comfort
and hope, strangely out of place
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and yet strangely
welcome on this Flander's Field.
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But where did this popular
little Christmas Carol come
00:06:20.58\00:06:24.18
from? And how was it known
to both the Germans and British?
00:06:24.21\00:06:27.85
Ludwick Van Beethoven wasn't
an Austrian, he was a German
00:06:50.94\00:06:55.88
yet he spent much of his adult
life working here in Vienna
00:06:55.91\00:06:59.38
the Austrian capital.
00:06:59.41\00:07:05.72
He only died in 1827 a
short time before Stille Nacht
00:07:05.75\00:07:10.06
became popular.
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His pieces such as The
Moonlight Sonata and Ode to Joy
00:07:16.80\00:07:22.30
had a similarly simple
melody, so for some, the answer
00:07:22.34\00:07:26.37
was obvious, it was
Beethoven who wrote the tune to
00:07:26.41\00:07:30.45
Stille Nacht,
others of course disagreed.
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But the folk singers
who popularized the song
00:07:39.62\00:07:42.62
came from here, the
beautiful Zilla Valley in the
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Austrian Alps. A long way
from the sophistication on Verna
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and Beethoven's pen. So
it made more sense that the
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author of the song was Austria's
favorite musical genius
00:07:53.44\00:07:57.04
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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Mozart was from Salzburg,
one of the most beautiful
00:08:15.26\00:08:18.39
and charming cities in
Europe, a city of soaring spires
00:08:18.43\00:08:22.46
and majestic
castles, and romantic gardens.
00:08:22.50\00:08:25.67
It was in this inspiring city
that the creativity of Mozart
00:08:33.68\00:08:38.15
flourished. There was no
denying his skill as a musician.
00:08:38.18\00:08:44.82
He is considered by many to
be the greatest musical genius
00:08:44.85\00:08:48.89
in western history.
00:08:48.92\00:08:50.63
He died in 1791 about 40 or
so years before the search began
00:08:50.66\00:08:58.30
for the
composer of Stille Nacht.
00:08:58.33\00:09:00.50
Mozart composed over 600 musical
works, could one of them been
00:09:37.97\00:09:43.68
Stille Nacht? So perhaps it
wasn't Beethoven who composed
00:09:43.71\00:09:47.98
the tune to Stille
Nacht but rather Mozart.
00:09:48.02\00:09:50.85
After all, Mozart lived
in Salzburg and was Austrian
00:09:50.89\00:09:55.49
born and bred.
00:09:55.52\00:09:56.86
So about 1853, the song
was widely sung and played
00:10:08.04\00:10:12.44
yet its origin
remained a mystery.
00:10:12.47\00:10:15.04
King Frederick Wilhelm the 4th
of Prussia who had long enjoyed
00:10:15.08\00:10:19.48
Stille Nacht noticed that the
composer was unknown and wanted
00:10:19.51\00:10:23.62
the mystery solved
so he commissioned his
00:10:23.65\00:10:26.42
concertmaster to
find the composer
00:10:26.49\00:10:29.59
A year later this letter turned
up in Berlin, penned by the son
00:10:29.62\00:10:34.30
of a school teacher and
choir master Frantz Gruber.
00:10:34.33\00:10:38.17
It was December 24th, the
year 1818 that the assistant
00:10:38.20\00:10:47.08
pastor Joseph Mohr of
the newly established parish
00:10:47.11\00:10:51.58
was St. Nicholas, handed over
a poem to organist Frantz Gruber
00:10:51.61\00:10:57.09
who at that time was a
school teacher at Arnsdorf.
00:10:57.12\00:11:01.69
He wanted the organist to
write a pleasant little melody.
00:11:01.72\00:11:07.23
He was born here the 26 of
November, 1787, in the village
00:11:07.26\00:11:13.34
of Hochburg, upper Austria.
00:11:13.37\00:11:15.70
Although his house no longer
stands, this replica gives us
00:11:15.74\00:11:23.24
a good idea of what
it would have been like.
00:11:23.28\00:11:25.68
His parents Joseph and
Anna were poor linen weavers,
00:11:25.71\00:11:30.85
by rights, Frantz should
have learned his father's trade
00:11:30.89\00:11:35.62
and taken over
the family business.
00:11:35.66\00:11:37.56
However Gruber's school
teacher Andreas Peter Lichna
00:11:37.59\00:11:43.13
recognized his musical
talent and convinced his father
00:11:43.16\00:11:46.84
to allow young Frantz to attend
a teacher training college
00:11:46.87\00:11:51.11
where he trained to be
a teacher and a musician.
00:11:51.14\00:11:53.48
He became a proficient musician
and mastered the organ, violin,
00:11:53.51\00:11:58.11
and guitar. Frantz soon
became the efficient organist
00:11:58.15\00:12:04.89
here in the
Hochburg Village Church.
00:12:04.92\00:12:07.46
When Frantz Gruber was 20 years
old, he was offered his first
00:12:10.69\00:12:14.26
position as a teacher.
The nearby town of Arnsdorf
00:12:14.30\00:12:18.90
about 20 kilometers
from Salzburg, the teacher at
00:12:18.93\00:12:22.30
Arnsdorf had recently
died leaving a school without a
00:12:22.34\00:12:26.14
schoolmaster, a church
without an organist, and a widow
00:12:26.17\00:12:29.81
without a husband. Gruber rose
to the occasion and even married
00:12:29.84\00:12:34.58
the widow Elizabeth Durenberger.
00:12:34.62\00:12:36.92
They lived here in an
apartment above the schoolhouse,
00:12:36.95\00:12:40.26
he and Elizabeth had two
children but both died young.
00:12:40.29\00:12:44.39
It was very well integrated
in this very small village here,
00:12:44.43\00:12:50.47
just a few farmers, it was not
so easy for him because he was
00:12:50.50\00:12:54.57
was still a foreigner at
that time because he was from
00:12:54.60\00:12:57.64
Hochburg-Ach belonging to
Austria and Sasha was still in
00:12:57.67\00:13:01.71
independent principality.
00:13:01.74\00:13:03.08
So he needed some additional
exams...to get this job here.
00:13:03.11\00:13:08.05
Gruber taught at the
local school here for 21 years.
00:13:08.08\00:13:12.69
He was a dedicated teacher
and his school was reportedly
00:13:12.72\00:13:17.39
the best in the district.
00:13:17.43\00:13:19.09
Nine years after he started
teaching a new church parish
00:13:29.07\00:13:32.07
was established at Obendorf
just a few kilometers away.
00:13:32.11\00:13:35.64
Gruber took on the job of
organist in the hope that that
00:13:39.15\00:13:42.15
would employ him as a full-time
teacher and church musician.
00:13:42.18\00:13:45.22
It was here that he met Joseph
Mohr who had been moved to
00:13:45.25\00:13:50.03
Obendorf as the young assistant
priest. This is the street where
00:13:50.06\00:13:54.40
Joseph Mohr grew up in a
small damp room beside the
00:13:54.43\00:13:58.93
river in Saltzburg with
his mother, grandmother,
00:13:58.97\00:14:02.04
and two half-sisters.
00:14:02.07\00:14:04.17
Joseph Mohr's childhood in
Saltzburg was marred by poverty
00:14:09.51\00:14:13.45
and life could have
gone very badly for him.
00:14:13.48\00:14:15.65
He sang in the choir and played
violin at Saltzburg Cathedral
00:14:15.68\00:14:19.52
and it was here that his musical
talents were first noticed
00:14:19.55\00:14:22.89
by the priest and choirmaster
who took Joseph under his wing
00:14:22.92\00:14:26.43
and helped him to
receive a full education.
00:14:26.46\00:14:29.00
Joseph was an outstanding
student and he was proficient
00:14:29.03\00:14:32.73
on the organ, violin,
and guitar by the age of 12.
00:14:32.77\00:14:36.24
At the age of 19, Joseph wanted
to study for the priesthood
00:14:38.94\00:14:43.08
but because he was
an illegitimate child,
00:14:43.11\00:14:45.61
he had to get special
permission from the Pope.
00:14:45.65\00:14:49.72
He got permission and a few
years later he began serving
00:14:55.82\00:14:58.89
as a priest. It was young Joseph
Mohr who first penned the words
00:14:58.93\00:15:04.30
to Stille Nacht, Silent Night.
00:15:04.33\00:15:06.77
It was here in the Maria Parish
in Lungau in 1816 that the
00:15:13.91\00:15:18.95
24-year-old assistant priest
Joseph Mohr wrote the words
00:15:18.98\00:15:23.35
to the Christmas Carol that
would become popular throughout
00:15:23.39\00:15:26.72
the world. It was his
desire for peace after the loss
00:15:26.76\00:15:34.36
of life and political upheaval
caused by the Napoleonic wars
00:15:34.40\00:15:38.07
which he expressed in the poem.
00:15:38.10\00:15:40.37
It is thought that this painting
of Mary holding the baby Jesus
00:15:44.74\00:15:48.68
in her lap might have inspired
Joseph Mohr's Christmas Poem.
00:15:48.71\00:15:52.88
On Christmas Eve he came to
Gruber and asked if he could
00:15:52.91\00:15:58.72
come up with a simple melody
as an accompaniment to his poem
00:15:58.75\00:16:02.76
Stille Nacht. Joseph Mohr
wanted a melody that would be
00:16:02.79\00:16:08.63
relevant to everyone including
the poor people in his parish.
00:16:08.66\00:16:13.07
He identified with
their suffering and poverty
00:16:13.10\00:16:16.34
and wanted the words and
music to be meaningful to them.
00:16:16.37\00:16:19.94
He asked Gruber to compose
the melody for the guitar
00:16:19.97\00:16:23.88
because it was the
common instrument of the people.
00:16:23.91\00:16:26.95
The melody of Stille Nacht,
Silent Night was composed in
00:17:15.30\00:17:18.93
St. Nicholas Church in Obendorf.
00:17:18.97\00:17:21.24
Carl Mauracher master organ
builder and repairman came from
00:17:25.11\00:17:29.61
the Zilla Valley to
work on the Obendorf organ
00:17:29.64\00:17:32.41
over the next few years, so
the story goes, he took a copy
00:17:32.45\00:17:37.32
of the song back to
the Zilla Valley with him.
00:17:37.35\00:17:39.79
From there it fell into
the hands of singing groups
00:17:39.82\00:17:42.92
and soon was being sung by
families such as the Rainers
00:17:42.96\00:17:46.43
and Strauss's. Joseph Mohr
was easily identified as the
00:17:46.46\00:17:51.63
writer of the words but by
the time the song's tune was
00:17:51.67\00:17:55.20
contested, he'd passed
away. Joseph Mohr, the people's
00:17:55.24\00:17:59.44
priest died penniless.
00:17:59.47\00:18:00.94
His biggest impact was made
here in the town of Wagrain.
00:18:04.85\00:18:08.18
he founded a new school
for children, created a fund
00:18:08.22\00:18:11.75
to allow students from
poor families to be educated
00:18:11.79\00:18:14.52
and set up a system to
give the age, room, and board at
00:18:14.56\00:18:18.09
local farmhouses. The school
here in Wagrain is dedicated
00:18:18.13\00:18:24.50
to the memory of Joseph Mohr.
00:18:24.53\00:18:26.90
The mystery surrounding the
origin of the carol may have
00:18:31.07\00:18:35.41
remained unsolved if not for
a manuscript that was discovered
00:18:35.44\00:18:38.85
just a few years ago. It
was discovered in 1995 by
00:18:38.88\00:18:43.95
Renate Ebeling Winkler
and it contained exciting new
00:18:43.99\00:18:47.46
information. In 1995, I used to
work in the Library of Salzburg
00:18:47.49\00:18:54.13
Museum and this library
was very famous and is now
00:18:54.16\00:18:59.57
because it has many
famous music and manuscripts,
00:18:59.60\00:19:04.51
for instance Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart from his father
00:19:04.54\00:19:07.91
Leopold Mozart, Johan Johansen
as well and a lot of other
00:19:07.94\00:19:12.25
famous composers. A friend of
mine, she came one day into the
00:19:12.28\00:19:17.59
library and I had a lot
of manuscripts on the table
00:19:17.62\00:19:21.59
and one manuscript from
Silent Night Holy Night from the
00:19:21.62\00:19:27.40
composer Frantz Schubert
and she said to me, Oh, I have a
00:19:27.43\00:19:34.04
manuscript by ...Attone, maybe
it's not so, please I take it to
00:19:34.07\00:19:38.71
you next day. And next day
she came again to the library
00:19:38.74\00:19:44.41
and I discovered it's a treasure
we have found, it was the only
00:19:44.45\00:19:52.15
manuscript from the handwriting
of Joseph Mohr. On the bottom
00:19:52.19\00:19:58.29
of the manuscript, he
signed his name Joseph Mohr
00:19:58.33\00:20:01.96
who at...which means
wrote it by himself in 1816.
00:20:02.00\00:20:10.44
On the hand of Joseph Mohr
we know that he was the writer
00:20:10.47\00:20:15.91
of the text and Frantz
Xaver Gruber the composer of
00:20:15.94\00:20:20.42
the melody of
Silent Night Holy Night.
00:20:20.48\00:20:24.52
Finally over 170 years after
the carol was first performed
00:20:24.55\00:20:29.49
in Obendorf the mystery
was solved. It wasn't composed
00:20:29.52\00:20:33.33
by a famous musician like
Beethoven, Mozart, or Haydn,
00:20:33.36\00:20:37.93
it was penned by a local school
teacher, a piece that he said
00:20:37.97\00:20:41.67
a simple composition.
00:20:41.70\00:20:43.74
At 8:30 I fired three shots
in the air, put up a flag with
00:21:02.22\00:21:06.43
Merry Christmas on it and
I climbed up on the parapet.
00:21:06.46\00:21:09.90
He, the Germans put up a
sheet with "Thank you" on it
00:21:09.93\00:21:13.94
and a German Captain appeared on
the parapet, we both bowed and
00:21:13.97\00:21:18.34
saluted and got down
into our respective trenches.
00:21:18.37\00:21:20.98
He fired two shots in the
air and the war was on again.
00:21:21.01\00:21:25.51
How sad it is that our
human selfishness, jealousy,
00:21:25.55\00:21:31.02
and desire to make a mark
bring such pain, yet what a
00:21:31.05\00:21:36.93
promise of hope this story
brings. Here the battle ceased.
00:21:36.96\00:21:40.73
The violence, the
hatred, and the killing stopped,
00:21:40.76\00:21:43.57
soldiers on both sides
were united by the simple yet
00:21:43.60\00:21:47.90
profound message of the
Christmas Carol. They'd been
00:21:47.94\00:21:51.54
given a glimpse of the
difference that message can
00:21:51.57\00:21:55.44
make. The music written by a
young priest, inspired by the
00:21:55.48\00:22:01.48
power of an infant savior and
just a simple tune by a country
00:22:01.52\00:22:05.99
school teacher. But there
was power in that simple melody
00:22:06.02\00:22:09.66
and the words,
whether in English or German,
00:22:09.69\00:22:12.66
or any of the 300 languages
it's been translated to
00:22:12.69\00:22:16.80
convey both comfort and hope.
00:22:16.83\00:22:19.13
The need for this
message is even greater today
00:22:19.17\00:22:22.74
than when it
was first performed.
00:22:22.77\00:22:24.84
Perhaps the carol's message
of hope is something you would
00:22:24.87\00:22:28.78
like to experience in your
life this Christmas Season.
00:22:28.81\00:22:32.41
Round young virgin, mother
and child, holy infant so tender
00:22:32.45\00:22:49.06
and mild, sleep in heavenly
peace, sleep in heavenly peace.
00:22:49.10\00:23:09.65
Silent Night, Holy Night,
Son of God loves pure light
00:24:07.98\00:24:26.13
radiant beams from thy holy
face with the dawn of redeeming
00:24:26.16\00:24:43.24
grace, Jesus Lord at thy
birth, Jesus Lord at thy birth.
00:24:43.28\00:25:03.87
Silent Night, Holy Night, all is
calm, all is bright, round yon
00:25:03.90\00:25:26.05
virgin mother and child,
holy infant so tender and mild
00:25:26.09\00:25:42.30
sleep in heavenly
peace, sleep in heavenly...
00:25:42.34\00:26:07.20
sleep in heavenly peace...
00:26:07.23\00:26:08.56
If you would like to
find out more about Jesus,
00:26:11.90\00:26:15.00
the man who changed the world,
and who can also change your
00:26:15.04\00:26:18.41
life, then I would like to
recommend the free gift we have
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for all our Incredible
Journey viewers today.
00:26:22.61\00:26:26.35
It's the booklet
The Best Gift of all.
00:26:26.38\00:26:30.82
This booklet is absolutely free.
I guarantee there are no costs
00:26:30.85\00:26:35.92
or obligations whatsoever. So
make the most of this wonderful
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opportunity to receive the
free gift we have for you today.
00:26:40.80\00:26:45.03
Phone or text us at
0436333555 in Australia.
00:26:45.07\00:26:52.31
Or 0204222042 in New
Zealand, or visit our website
00:26:52.34\00:26:58.75
TiJ.tv to request today's free
offer and we'll send it to you
00:26:58.78\00:27:04.39
totally free of charge and with
no obligation, write to us at
00:27:04.42\00:27:08.96
GPO Box 274, Sydney NSW
2001 Australia or PO Box 76673
00:27:08.99\00:27:17.97
Manukau, Auckland
2241, New Zealand.
00:27:18.00\00:27:21.50
Don't Delay.
Call or text us now.
00:27:21.54\00:27:24.21
If you've enjoyed our journey
to find out the birthplace
00:27:24.24\00:27:30.61
of the famous Christmas Carol
Silent Night and our reflections
00:27:30.65\00:27:34.72
on the impact Jesus has made
on the world and people's lives
00:27:34.75\00:27:39.52
then, be sure to join us again
next week when we will share
00:27:39.55\00:27:43.56
another of life's
journeys together.
00:27:43.59\00:27:45.83
Until then, let's pray
for God's continued blessing.
00:27:45.86\00:27:50.27
Dear heavenly Father,
thank you for the gift of
00:27:50.30\00:27:54.60
Jesus, whose birth has
changed the world and our lives.
00:27:54.64\00:27:59.17
May the joy, hope, and happiness
associated with His birth
00:27:59.21\00:28:04.08
find a special
place in our hearts.
00:28:04.11\00:28:07.12
We pray for your blessing on
each one of us and our families,
00:28:07.15\00:28:10.82
in Jesus name we pray. Amen!.
00:28:10.85\00:28:14.96