In the fall of 1847, a French wine merchant, Placide Cappeau, was asked by his local priest to write a Christmas ... dates from 1855. “O Holy Night” is one of the most dramatically beautiful ...

In the fall of 1847, a French merchant, Placide Cappeau, was asked by his local priest to write a Christmas poem. Cappeau showed this poem, “Minuit, chrétiens,” to the famed French composer ...