The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1930-12-05

Was born on Christmas day.
Nov to the Lord sing praises,
All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All others doth deface.
o tidings of comfort and ioyl
For Jesus Christ, our Savior,
Was born on Christmas day."
In early times the carol also meant
a song accompanied by a ring dance
Many performers took hold of hands,
formed a circle, and sung while dane
ing. At the churches on Christmas
eve, a crib was the center of the ring.
Almost every land has its own
Christmas carols. They are called
Wiegenlieder or Kristlieder in Ger
many, Noels in France, and carols in
England. In Russia the ancient
KoIyada songs, once sung to pagan
gods, now dedicated to the Christian
saints, are sung about the streets.
1t is to Austria, however, that we
are indebted for one of our best
known of all Christmas songs. For
Silent Night" had its origin in a
simple pre-Christmas party to which
a young priest, Joseph Mohr, was in
vited in OberndOrf, near Salisbury,
Austria, in 1918. At OberndOrf it was
the custom shortly before Christmas
for wandering comedians from the
nearby village of Laufen to give
crude representations of the Christ
mas story as recounted in the Bible.
A shipowner named Maier invited
Joseph Mohr, young assistant priest
who had recently come to the village
from Salzburg, to he his guest at a
little party AS a special surprise for
the priest, Maier arranged for the
comedians from Laufen to stage their
festival play at his home.
The thoughtful hospitality of the
Maier couple and the touching SIM
plicity of the festival play so stirred
the young priest that instead of going
straightway home he climbed the So
called "Totenbarg" (mOuntain of the
dead), overlooking Oberndorf, and
stood there in silent meditation.
The silence of the night, the blink
ing of the stars, the murmur of the
Salzach river all inspired him. Quickly
he descended to his parish house, and
late that night the words to "Stille
Nacht' were written.
The next day he hurried to his
chum and co-worker, Franz Gruber,
village organist and school teacher.
He requested his friend to write the
music for his song. Happy at this
opportunity, Gruber composed the
melody that is known perhaps to more
people than any other single melody.
Christmas eve of 1918 came and the
priest and the teacher we're ready to
offer the song for the first time. Un-
fortunately the organ of ST. Nicola
was out of commission that night. For
a moment it seemed as though the
congregation were to be cheated out
of this unique premiere. But Gruber
ran back to his home and got his gui-
tar. To its accompaniment Mohr and
Gruber then sang "Stille Nacht" for
the first time as duet.
Many of the carols written in these
early times have never been surpassed
in beauty and tenderness. The old
carols still remain the most popular,
because they are set to pleasing and
easy melodies. That may account for
the recent revival Of more carol sing
ing in America which became evident
back in 1917 when the old custom of
singing carols in the streets was no.
ticed in a number of cities and towns.
The next year more than 80 cities had
taken up the practice and now the
singing Of Christmas carols is becom-
ing community affair everywhere on
Christmas eve-on the streets, In the
parks. in railway stations as well as
in churches, schools and public in
stitutions.
90 by western Newspaper Union,