Carol Story: Songs of "The Night"

"O, Holy Night" by Danny Gokey: From worship leader to recording evangelist.

This carol is one of 61 on the playlist of "Carol Story,"  a 10-minute play that tells the story of Christ solely through lyrics of Christmas songs as dialogue.  Learn More.

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"O Holy Night" is an English translation of the French carol "Le Christien Minuit" that was translated and became a rallying cry of abolitionists during the Civil War. The third verse of "O Holy Night" was a direct Christian call to eradicate slavery, a sentiment that led to the song begin edited  or outright banned in some sections of the country. We address this story more in our production, "Freedom Song."

​In the context of #CarolStory, "O Holy Night" is woven with five other standard carols -- "Silent Night," "Hark! The Herald," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and "The Hallelujah Chorus" to establish the atmosphere of fear, awe and respect that the shepherds experienced when the Heavenly Host appeared on "The Night" when Christ was born. (The Gospel of Luke, Chapter 2, verses 8-15).

Danny Gokey, a former American Idol runnerup, cleanly expresses those emotions and the abolitionist sentiment in this elegant yet simple video.

LEARN MORE:  Original French Lyrics

LEARN MORE:  Beloved Carols with non-American Origins

O Holy Night:  Variations

O  Holy Night -- Danny Gokey (English)

Le Christien Minuit -- Cantique de Noel (French)

About the Singers

Danny Gokey

Daniel Jay Gokey is an American singer and former church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was the third-place finalist on the eighth season of "American Idol." After his placing on the show, Gokey signed to 19 Recordings and RCA Nashville at the beginning of a career in country music, releasing the single "My Best Days Are Ahead of Me."  Learn more.

Trudbol A Cappella

Trudbol A Cappella (Julien Neel) is a one-man barbershop quartet. Julien sings all the parts from bass, to baritone, to tenor.  He typically covers classic barbershop tunes, but also Beatles songs, video game and TV theme songs, choral music, etc..  Julien lives in France and sings in French, English,  German, Swedish and will try other languages. Julien sells audio learning tracks and publishes a cappella videos each Thursday.  Learn More.