Holy Night Part 2 – Law of love
“Oh Holy Night” continued to be sung throughout Europe and America, blessing many and expressing the beauty and wonder of Christ.
In 1906, technology enabling the first radio broadcast was ready to be tested. Live. On December 24, in a Massachusetts station, Thirty-Three-year-old Reginald Fessenden, his wife Helen, his secretary Miss Bent and his associate Mr. Stein gathered to broadcast out to ships at sea. A university professor and Chemist, he began by playing Handel’s “Largo” on an Ediphone phonograph, and followed it by reading from Luke 2 on the birth of Christ. He then picked up his violin and played “Oh Holy Night” into the microphone, singing the third stanza with all his might. The group completed the broadcast by wishing their listeners a Merry Christmas and then saying that they proposed to broadcast on New Year’s Eve. The Christmas program was picked up as far south as Norfolk, Virginia. And when the program was repeated on New Year’s Eve, it was heard as far away as the West Indies.
“Oh Holy Night” was one of the first songs to be broadcast over the radio, as well as being part of the first radio broadcast. From its literal translation to its many versions, O Holy Night is a still one of the most recorded and broadcast carols in history.
New technology drenched in Christ’s story.
What an incredible journey this song has had… Written by a faithless man who was shown a glimpse of glory, composed by someone of Jewish faith, banned by the French Church, sung by American abolitionists, it brought armies together for a ceasefire in the trenches over Christmas, and part of the first radio broadcast in the world… What a picture of God’s grace it carries. His inclusiveness, transcendence, and openness shown beautifully through its history…
It’s not just a song, but a beacon of hope for any and all who will listen.
“Oh Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
Oh night divine, the night when Christ was born;
Oh night, Oh Holy Night, Oh night divine!”
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