Crossing Lines with Silent Night

Music for the Holidays from Strings Attached

Translated into hundreds of languages and recorded by just as many artists; this song was sung by the French, English and German troops at the Christmas truce in 1914, during the First World War.The Christmas truce was a succession of widespread unofficial cease fires across the western front lines. It was a symbolic moment of peace and humanity where many soldiers crossed enemy lines to openly congregate and interact with their counterparts amidst the violent war. They allowed each other to recover bodies, rest and exercise without the fear of being shot by the enemy. Some exchanged souvenirs, played football and even participated in joint burials.

Composed by Franz Xaver Gruber in 1816, Silent Night is a carol of Austrian origin written by Josef Mohr. Austria’s Silent Night Society says that the history behind the song’s guitar accompaniment is from Mohr and Gruber’s discovery of an out of commission church organ. Or, it could be that Mohr just wanted something he could play on his new guitar.