#4 most-searched carol in the US · 1847
O Holy Night: the story behind the carol
Also known as Cantique de Noël
⛪ Church & choir
- Words
- Placide Cappeau (1847); English by John Sullivan Dwight (1855)
- Music
- Adolphe Adam (1847)
- From
- Roquemaure, France
- Type
- Sacred carol
The story behind “O Holy Night”
A parish priest in the French town of Roquemaure asked a local wine merchant and poet, Placide Cappeau, for a Christmas poem to celebrate the church's restored organ. Cappeau wrote it on a stagecoach ride in December 1847, and the opera composer Adolphe Adam set it to music in a few days.
The American writer John Sullivan Dwight made the English version in 1855. An abolitionist, he gave the third verse its line about breaking the chains of the slave.
It's famously hard to sing: the climax sits near the top of most voices, which is why it's more often a solo than a caroling song.
More carols like this
- Silent Night1818 · Oberndorf, Austria
- Joy to the World1719 · England; tune from Boston
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing1739 · England
- O Come, All Ye Faithful1743 · England / France (Latin hymn)
- Away in a Manger1885 · Pennsylvania, USA
- Go Tell It on the Mountain1907 · Southern United States
History retold from the carol's Wikipedia article and its sources; checked 2026-09-30.