(1)
On the night of December 23, 1818, in the Austrian village of Auburn on the banks of the Salzach River, a mouse boldly slipped into the organ wing of the village's old St. Nicholas Church. The hungry little thing scurried around, biting and devouring, and finally did something 'far-reaching' that led to the birth of a popular Christmas hymn.
Early the next morning, a middle-aged man in a black dress coat walked into the church and went straight to the organ to sit down. His name was Franz Gruber, and he was thirty-one years old, with dark hair, a high nose, and emotional eyes. Although he was unknown, he was respected by the villagers in this remote area. He was the elementary school teacher of the village and the organist of St. Nicholas Church.
He sat down, stepped on the pedals, and pressed the keys. But the organ emitted only a few whimpering breaths.
As Gruber was about to lean over to see what was going on, his good friend Joseph Mohr arrived. Moore was a clergyman and a musician. The official priest of the church in the village of Auburn has not yet been assigned, and Moore has been temporarily sent to fill the position.
Gruber was startled to see him, and asked, 'Blessed be God! What is it, Joseph?' The young priest-in-charge threw up his hands in a gesture of despair, and signaled for his friend to get up and follow him.
Moore led Gruber behind the keyboard of the organ in the wing, and pointing to a large hole in the leather bellows, said: 'I found this hole this morning, which must have been chewed by a mouse. Now when I step on it, there's no sound at all!'
Gruber carefully examined the hole in the bellows. It was unthinkable to have Mass on Christmas Eve without an organ to play the music! He could not help crying out, 'Damn it! What are we going to do now?'
'There is a way,' said Fr. Moore, a little shyly, 'I have written a short poem, which can be used as a libretto. Then he added gravely, 'This is not "that kind" of song.
Gruber smiled at the excitement of his friend. For we all knew that Mohr was indeed fond of "that sort of" song - the so-called vulgar ditties sung to the zither by peasant women and shipwrights as they drank. It was the sort of thing that tended to raise the hackles of the stubbornly old-fashioned pious, and made the moralistic elders frown.
Gruber picked up the poem Moore had written and read the first few stanzas, and felt a strange aura run up his spine. It really wasn't 'that kind' of song. It seemed to grab him by the heart and speak to him in a gentle, pure and moving way. He had never been so profoundly moved before. The music of these verses rang faintly in his ears.
Moore said, almost apologetically, 'I was just thinking this way, since our organ doesn't play anymore, would you mind setting this to our guitar organ, and maybe getting a little children's choir to sing it, ...... what do you think?'
Gruber said, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah! Maybe we could do that. Give it to me, and I'll take it back and see if I can work the tune out.'
Gruber walked slowly back to the village of Anse through the snow on the ground. He was immersed in his ideas for the piece.
'On Christmas Eve, the Night of the Holy Goodness,
In all darkness, light shoots.
Like a deaf Beethoven, he heard within him all the melody:
Shine on the Virgin as well as on the Child,
How much kindness as well as how much innocence,
Be still and enjoy the heavenly rest,
Be still and enjoy the heavenly rest."
The tune he was going to write for the children's chorus was already echoing in his head. He went back to his simple house, sat down at his ancient piano, faced the crucifix hanging on the wall, and finally composed the full song.
That afternoon, twelve boys and girls gathered in Moore's study. They were neatly and beautifully dressed in woolen stockings, coats and aprons. They stood side by side under a circle of holly wreaths, looking even more alive.
Rehearsal began, and Gruber and Moore each strummed their guitars, smiling at each other in satisfaction. At first, the group was unfamiliar with the songs, and the playing and singing were a little rough. The third part wasn't quite right either, but it was soon changed. The song was finally finished.
On Christmas Eve, hundreds of candles were lit in the church, reflecting on the polished gold plates and communion cups, giving the stiff Gothic statues of the Virgin Mary a vibrant and tender look. Everywhere the church was decorated with pines, lilies of the valley, and holy berries. The whole congregation sat on long, hard benches. The men wore bulky woolen coats, and the women were draped in eye-catching aprons and colored shawls.
When Moore and Gruber carried their guitars and accompanied the twelve boys and girls up to the altar, the astonished crowd roared. Gruber gave a slight nod to his band and the strings were plucked. Then Father Moore's tenor and Mr. Gruber's baritone resounded in harmonious **** through the old church.
And so the old Christmas hymn, Christmas Eve, was sung for the first time. However, it was forgotten the next day. No one among the faithful attending Christmas Mass had any idea that the song would become a worldwide phenomenon.
It was only by chance that this masterpiece was saved from being drowned. The following spring, an organ repairer, Karl Maurach, came from Zillertal. Karl Maurach. He casually asked in casual conversation: How do you perform Christmas Mass, since the organ is broken? Only then did Gruber bring up the tune, saying, 'It's such a worthless thing, I've even forgotten where I shoved it.' At the back of the church there was a small cupboard stuffed with dusty piles of paper. It was here that Gruber found the score.
The organ repairman looked at the sheet music, moved his lips slightly, and hummed the tune from his broad chest. 'Interesting,' he said softly, 'may I take it home with me?'
Gruber burst out laughing. "Yes, yes, you can have it. Besides, after you have repaired the instrument, it will be even more of no use at all.' After Maurach left, Gruber forgot about it. But Christmas Eve echoed in the lovely Zillertal Mountains, and from then on it began its journey far and wide across the world.
The song spread from Austria to Germany as folk music. It crossed borders and traveled far and wide with German immigrants. But it wasn't until recently that Moore and Gruber were recognized as the song's creators. They had nothing to show for it then, and they died as poor as they had lived. But Gruber's ancient guitar instrument still sings for him today, and it has become a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation in the Gruber family. Now, every Christmas Eve, the guitar instrument is brought to the village of Auburn. And congregations around the world, once again, sing the beloved Christmas hymn ...... Christmas Eve in unison.
(2)
The Alpine region of Austria is home to a number of country poets, and the Austrians are a music-loving people. The majority of the people believe in Jesus Christ. Therefore, every Christmas, in this mountainous countryside, some towns and villages, many singing family men and women, like the medieval minstrels, continue to improve or innovate the words and music of Christmas carols. Many of them were skilled at playing musical instruments, and a few of them gathered around the fire could make new Christmas songs on the spot, which became a treasure trove of later Christmas carols. There are some songs that may have been sung at the time, or sung a year or two later, that have been replaced by new Christmas songs. But one of them, which has not only survived, but is the most famous Christmas song in the world, is the familiar 'Christmas Eve'.
It is said that this Christmas song was written in 1818 by Fr. Joseph of Chassebourg, in the lower Alps, and that the music was composed by the musician Francis Gruber. Unfortunately it was buried for more than ten years in the copybook of that rural sanctuary singing group. Later, it was discovered by a music lover who took the Christmas song and sang it at a concert in town, where it was very well received. Gradually it spread throughout Austria and then to Germany. In 1839, this Christmas carol was introduced into the United States, and within a few years, it was universally loved by the people. After being sung by famous singers and broadcast on the radio, this Christmas song, Christmas Eve, was widely spread around the world, and the lyrics were translated in all countries. Whether they are Christians or not, almost all of them are familiar with the song "Christmas Eve" and hum it when they listen to it.
There are many legends about the writing of the words and tune of this Christmas song, and the following story is the most touching and beautiful.
It turns out that in a small village near Schaumburg, there lived a musician, Francis Gruber, and his wife, Jana, and they had an innocent and lively son, little Francis. Gruber taught music at Father Joseph's school, and on Sundays he led the hymn team at church. Every evening when he returned home, he liked to sit under the big tree in the yard, playing the piano and composing songs, and the family lived happily ever after. Unfortunately, in the fall of 1818, the lovely little Fonzie suddenly passed away due to illness, and the family lost their joy, and Mr. and Mrs. Gruber never smiled again. On Christmas Eve of that year, Gruber went alone to the sanctuary to attend midnight mass, but his heart was not as active and joyful as it had been before. The joy of Christmas seemed to have nothing to do with him. After Mass, Gruber hurried home, and his heart became heavier as the children sang and laughed by the roadside. When he entered the house, it was desolate. He called his wife's name, and there was no answer. Lighting the lamp, he saw his wife, Yana, lying on her side of the bed where little Francis used to sleep, sobbing. Gruber called her again, she ignored. Gruber sighed helplessly and had to pick up a musical instrument, trying to play music to relieve his wife's grief.
When Gruber opened the lid of the instrument, a note fell on the floor. He picked it up and saw that it was the lyrics of the song "Christmas Eve" written by Fr. Joseph, who had asked him to set it to music, and that he had forgotten to do so because he was thinking of Little Francis. At this time, the night outside the window was silent, Gruber associated with the past, so he sat down on a chair in front of the lampstand, facing his wife, and began to compose the "Christmas Eve" song. He played and sang as he composed. At that moment, his wife, Yana, heard the beautiful song and forgot about everything else. She slowly approached her husband, Gruber, and said with tears in her eyes, "Dear Gruber, ask God to forgive us! Now I understand God's holy will, that we should not grieve, but love, the death of little Francis! For when you sang, I saw a great crowd of cherubs coming into our house, with little Francis in the center, and singing with them joyfully, 'The Savior is born!
The melody and lyrics of "Christmas Eve" are so well matched that anyone who listens to it, Christian or not, is moved by it. No one would disagree that it is one of the most beautiful and moving songs in the world.