Columnists
'Stille Nacht' / 'Silent Night' -- A study in contrasts
By Don Mathis
Dec 25, 2020

"7 O'clock News/Silent Night" by Simon & Garfunkel came out in the mid-60s, about the time I began to think. The traditional song starts out strong but then a voice-over comes in with the evening news. The events of the day (crime, politics, war) become louder as the carol grows fainter until only the news is heard. The end is a Walter Cronkite-type voice bidding all a good-night.

"Silent Night" by Johnny Cash provides a traditional melody, but his harsh voice offers a juxtaposition in this folk song. A dozen seasons later, my neighbor's son sang it in the original German at a Christmas concert. The voice of a 10-year-old child is heartrendingly beautiful while the Germanic language is so opposingly guttural, yet Chad Wood combined the words and music so hauntingly.

Years later, I heard the story of the Christmas truce during World War One. German troops singing “Stille Nacht" were answered by British solders singing "Silent Night." The suspension of hostilities that followed allowed enemies to become friends for a spell. Cigarettes and stories were shared. Each viewed the other's photographs of loved ones. And, for a while, the combatants saw each other as human. Again, I appreciate the friction in this 200-year-old song, this time between war and peace, between enmity and fraternity.

What is it about this song -- what is it about me -- that finds the antithesis of "Silent Night" so fascinating? I think it allows me to see the peace that should be, the compassion that lives within each of us, and the love that is. May your Christmas be calm and bright. And may you sleep in heavenly peace.