Just hearing the opening notes of this song takes you to an unmistakably Christmasy place.

It's by far the best-known Christmas song in the world, and probably among the most recognizable songs in any genre.

Which makes perfect sense when you consider that it's been recorded more times than any other song in history.

It's a study in minimalism.

With a sparse melody and moderate tempo, it has a tranquil, open feel, like a lullaby,

perfect listening for any time during the season whether or not all is calm or bright.

And if you're like most people, you've never

known a Christmas season where Silent Night wasn't an essential part of the soundscape. And that fact

alone is remarkable. When you consider the song's humble beginnings, its nearly accidental

debut, and its unlikely journey throughout Europe and America.

That's a story populated by a grave robber, singing glove makers,

mice with the munchies, and a pair of friends who wouldn't let a little thing like a broken church organ make for a silent night.

Except that, they sort of did.

I'm Brian Earle.

This is Christmas Past.

Thank you. sort of did. I'm Brian Earle. This is Christmas Past. In 1818 on Christmas Eve, in a tiny village called Oberndorf in Austria, at a church with a

Christmasy name of St. Nicholas Church, Silent Night was performed for the first time.

But that's not really where our story begins. Where the story truly starts is somewhat in the

eye of the beholder. Perhaps it started at the end of the Napoleonic Wars just a few years earlier.

People were recovering from the violence and grateful for peace.

Maybe that's what inspired the young priest named Joseph Moore to write a poem titled Silent Night, Holy Night.

Or we could start with Moore's visit to one of the families in his flock,

...