Commission Six Eight
Covering today's politics and current events through the lens of history and the Bible.
Commission Six Eight
O Holy Night, Unveiled
A single carol sparked devotion, defiance, and even moments of peace on the brink of war. We follow O Holy Night from a stained-glass celebration in 1847 France to a melody that crossed trenches, toppled barriers, and became the first song ever broadcast over radio waves. Along the way, we meet unlikely collaborators—Placide Cappeau, a poet and wine merchant; Adolphe Adam, a composer of Jewish heritage; and John Sullivan Dwight, an American minister and abolitionist—each adding layers of meaning that transformed a parish piece into a global anthem.
We explore why the French church once banned the carol even as the people kept singing it at home, and how Dwight’s English translation carried a moral charge that echoed through the abolitionist movement: “Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother.” That line didn’t just comfort; it confronted, turning worship into witness and inviting congregations to hear the gospel as a call to justice. Then, amid the Franco-Prussian War and later World War I, O Holy Night rose from No Man’s Land to midwinter skies, briefly turning enemies into a choir and proving that music can carve out peace even when politics cannot.
The story culminates with Reginald Fessenden’s 1906 broadcast—scripture read aloud, then a violin performance of O Holy Night—marking the first time a human voice and a song traveled the airwaves to astonished listeners. We break down the carol’s musical lift, the lyrical arc from awe to action, and the reason it still rings true in cathedrals, living rooms, and headphones: it binds wonder to courage and devotion to dignity. Press play for a journey through music history, cultural change, and the enduring power of a song to bend hearts toward hope. If the episode moved you, share it with a friend, leave a rating, and tell us your favorite rendition.
You are listening to Commission 68.
SPEAKER_02:It is Wednesday, December 10th in the greatest country on earth. I'm your host, Raymond Millette, and this is Commission 68. Today we have a very special edition episode for you guys where we're gonna learn the history of your favorite Christmas Carol. So let's go. Alright, guys, welcome to the show. Thank you for listening. And remember to share it with a friend. Share the show. Help us get the word out. Follow me on X, like and subscribe, leave a comment, give us some feedback. Go ahead and rate the show wherever you get your podcasts. And I hope you guys had a wonderful Thanksgiving. And I hope you enjoyed the last two episodes. It was a two-part with my interview with Daniel Quak. If you haven't listened to that, go back and check it out. We had a great conversation about immigration. But today we have a special episode. We're going to be looking at the history of my favorite Christmas carol, O Holy Night. Now, whether you like it or not, it is Christmas time. Thanksgiving is over, and we're in Christmas time, so you're out doing your Christmas shopping, you go into the mall, you go to different places, you get in your car, and everywhere you go, you're hearing Christmas songs. Now, I'm I have to confess to you guys, I'm not a huge fan of Christmas music. Some of them are okay, but it's probably because they get outplayed and overdone, and we just get tired of hearing them. However, one has always stood out to me, and that is O Holy Night. It's a beautiful song with beautiful lyrics, but it has a very rich, uplifting, persistent, and at times controversial history. So sit back and relax, and let's explore the history of O Holy Night.
SPEAKER_00:Le monde entier tressaille d'espérance. Peuple à genoux attend à délivrance. Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur.
SPEAKER_02:Our story begins in a small French town in 1847 called Roquemar, France, where the church in the town had just got new stained glass windows. And to celebrate, the priest approached a poet by the name of Plassi Capot and asked him to write a poem to be recited at the midnight mass on Christmas Eve that year. Capot was a full-time wine commissioner and not a professed Christian, but he took this commission seriously. And as inspiration for his poem, he began thinking about the birth of Jesus. And he wrote a poem called Minuit Christian during a six-hour stagecoach ride on December 3, 1847. He took his inspiration for the poem from the Gospel of Luke. And although the commission was just for a poem, he was so impressed with his work that he traveled to Paris to meet with an opera composer named Adolphe Adam, who would put his poem to music. Adam was Jewish by birth and did not celebrate Christmas, but he was so moved by Capose's lyrics that he set music to them, and the composition was known as Cantique de Noël, which was performed for the first time at midnight mass in 1847. Cantique de Noël, with its moving lyrics and beautiful composition, was well received and celebrated and performed in churches across France during Christmas time for many years. However, it was soon discovered that the author Plessis Capot would leave the church and join a socialist movement, and the composer was Jewish and didn't celebrate Christmas. As a result, Cantique de Noël was banned. The Catholic Church of France had decided that Cantique de Noël was unfit for church services because of its lack of musical taste and a total absence of the spirit of religion. But even though the church no longer allowed the song in their services, the French people continued to sing.
SPEAKER_00:Le roi des rois naît dans une humble crèche, puissant du jour, fier de votre grandeur. A votre orgueil, c'est de là qu'un Dieu prêche. Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur.
SPEAKER_02:In the late 1850s, an American writer by the name of John Sullivan Dwight saw something in the song that moved him beyond the story of the birth of Christ. He was a devout Christian and an abolitionist, and Dwight strongly identified with the lines of the verse Truly he taught us to love one another. His law is love, and his gospel is peace. Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother, and in his name all oppression shall cease. This verse mirrored Dwight's view of slavery, and he published his English translation of O Holy Night in his magazine, and the song quickly found favor in America, and especially among the abolitionist movement. The song would become an anthem among abolitionists, and it would help to redefine people's perspective on the institution of slavery. And although America would be plunged into a civil war, the Thirteenth Amendment would abolish slavery in the United States for good. And all that time, this song would be sung in churches across the U.S. and help serve as a catalyst toward abolition in the United States.
SPEAKER_00:Peuple debout, chante ta délivrance. Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur.
SPEAKER_02:Back in France, the song continued to be banned by the church for almost two decades, while the people still sang Cantique de Noël at home. In 1870, France and Germany were at war. The Franco-Prussian War had raged on for months, and both armies were entrenched in fierce fighting. However, on Christmas Eve of 1870, something miraculous happened. The story goes that in the middle of fierce fighting, a Frenchman showed himself in No Man's Land between the two fighting armies and began to sing Cantique de Noël, to which a German soldier responded by climbing up onto No Man's Land and joining him in a German version of O Heilige Nacht. This would lead to the famous Christmas Eve truce of 1870. This miraculous event would be repeated during World War I, where both armies again were entrenched and fighting, and they called a Christmas truce, where they exchanged gifts, sang Christmas carols, sang their country's version of Cantique de Nuelle, and exchanged gifts. And while both countries would remain at war, thanks to the singing of O Holy Night and the Christmas Spirit for at least one day, the fighting stopped. Using a new type of generator, Fessenden spoke into a microphone, and for the first time in history, a man's voice was broadcast over the airwaves. He read, and it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. He began in a clear, strong voice, hoping he was reaching someone across the distances. Shocked radio operators on ships, and astonished wireless owners at newspapers were amazed as their normal coded impulses heard over tiny speakers were interrupted by a professor reading the Christmas story. To those who caught this broadcast, it must have seemed like a miracle to hear a voice somehow transmitted to those far away. Fessenden was probably unaware of the sensation he was causing on ships and in offices. He couldn't have known that men and women were rushing to their wireless units to catch this on Christmas Eve. After finishing his reciting of the birth of Christ, Fessenden picked up a violin and played O Holy Night, the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves. It has been translated into countless languages and is one of the most recorded songs in history. Since its humble beginnings in a small French town, requested by a priest, the lyrics were written by a socialist, it was put to music by a Jewish composer, it was used by an abolitionist to bring an end to slavery in the United States. It was the first song ever transmitted across the airways, and it was the backdrop of a Christmas truce in 1870 and in 1914. And it lives on in the hearts of Christians around the world and is one of the most famous, most spiritual, and most beloved Christmas songs and my favorite Christmas carol of all time. So I hope you enjoyed this history of this incredible song. And again, I pray blessings, blessings over you and your family. I pray God blesses you coming in and you going out. I pray peace, power, and prosperity. And remember that you live in the greatest country on earth, and it's up to you to keep it.