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 Adolphe ...

Twenty-six years ago, George W. Hunt, S.J., then editor in chief of America, wrote that “O Holy Night” was one of his favorites among Yuletide songs, modestly adding: “I’ve sung it countless times in ...