The Story of Silent Night - Paul Gallico - ★★★.½

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AUTHOR: Paul Gallico
GENRE: Nonfiction
RATING: 3.5 stars.

In a Nutshell: A narration of the origin of the carol, ‘Silent Night’. Great start, a bit dragged in between. Quite informative. Not for everyone.


‘Silent Night’ is one of the most popular Christmas carols, with its tune conveying the spirit of Christmas night in an unparalleled way. But how did it come into being?

According to this little book, the song was developed by fluke. When the organ of a small church near Salzburg in Austria was damaged by mice on Christmas Eve 1818, the young assistant priest called the organist and presented a simple Christmas poem he wrote. The organist put it to a simple melody. But will the congregation accept this last-minute substitute for such an important celebration? Would the guitar be an adequate replacement for the sonorous organ? How did the tune go from this one-time performance to becoming one of the most beloved carols even more than two hundred years later? You will find out if you read this little 53-page book.

I loved:
🎄 The depiction of Christmas 1818, where the festival was more meaningful than commercial, with celebrations focussed on the solemnity of the day and mass being an essential component of the occasion. My kind of Christmas!

🎄 The history of the carol, and how the tune became an evergreen one. I never thought about the origin story of any carol, and now, I feel an urge to find out more about my favourites.

🎄 The spotlight on the beauty of improvised music, and how a musician’s mind works.

🎄 The humble background of the lyricist and composer – an orphaned priest and a weaver’s son – who came together and developed such a touching melody, and did not even realise the significance of their creation.

🎄 The mention of the choir children, and how they stepped up to learn the tune so that they could be ready in time for mass. I conduct for the children’s choir in my local church, so this aspect especially touched my heart.

🎄 The sad-but-realistic depiction of how destiny doesn’t always offer instantaneous fame or rewards for your efforts, and how some accomplishments end up doing nothing for their creators. Delayed gratification isn’t always rewarding.


This book is quite old, published in 1967, so some of the data is outdated, and the writing style is more like a teacher’s report than an engaging anecdote. However, if you want to see how ‘Silent Night’ ruffled quite a few conservative feathers when it was first sung, and what a meandering journey it took towards success, you might find this an interesting read. I liked it a lot, but I would have loved it even more had it being more linear in its narrative, avoiding repetition, and keeping a tighter control on the narrative. The information is excellent; the implementation is decent.

Recommended only to those interested in the topic.

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