“Silent Night” was composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. Originally titled “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,” it was translated to English in 1859 by Episcopal priest John Freeman Young, then serving at Trinity Church, New York City. This is the version most frequently sung today, translated from three of Mohr’s original six verses.

The hugely popular Christmas carol has been translated into about 300 languages.

Watch The Petersens sing through a tasteful version of this Christmas classic: