"Silent Night" (German: Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht) is a popular Christmas carol, composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber to lyrics by Joseph Mohr in the small town of Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. The song has been recorded by a large number of singers from every music genre. The version sung by Bing Crosby is the third best-selling single of all-time.

History

The song was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas parish church in Oberndorf, a village in the Austrian Empire on the Salzach river in present-day Austria. A young priest, Father Joseph Mohr, had come to Oberndorf the year before. He had already written the lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" in 1816 at Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father in the Salzburg Lungau region, where Joseph had worked as a coadjutor.

The melody was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber, schoolmaster and organist in the nearby village of Arnsdorf. Before Christmas Eve, Mohr brought the words to Gruber and asked him to compose a melody and guitar accompaniment for the church service. Both performed the carol during the mass on the night of December 24.

"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol.

Silent Night(s) may also refer to:

Comics

Film and television

Music

See also

Silent Night is a Sri Lankan silent film written, directed, and edited by Madhawa Srinath Thirimanna.

Synopsis

When a young boy loses his first love, he becomes lonely and sad. He tries desperately to find a solution to his loneliness, while still believing that his lost love will eventually return to him. He uses drugs and alcohol to forget, but it is not successful. He keeps waiting, expecting his ex-girlfriend to return, but she never comes back. The beautiful young girl feels remorse for what she did to her boyfriend. Even though she was the one who ended the relationship, she still loved the young boy. She thinks about asking for forgiveness and starting their relationship over again, and eventually sends a text message to her ex-boyfriend saying that she still loves him.

The boy, giving up all hope on his lost girlfriend's return, decides to end his life and hang himself. Soon after his death, he receives a message from his ex-girlfriend, reading "I LOVE YOU".

William or Will or Willie Harris may refer to:

Politicians and political activists

Sportsmen

William Harris (born in 1812 or 1813, presumed dead in 1889) was a British-born beachcomber who settled in pre-colonial Nauru and adopted a Nauruan lifestyle.

A convict sentenced to the penal colony on Norfolk Island, he escaped and made his way to Nauru in 1842. There he "assimilated native culture [...,] took a Nauruan wife, fathered several children, and was adopted as a Nauruan. He became perhaps the only beachcomber the Nauruans ever fully accepted and trusted." He acted as an intermediary between his people of adoption and passing European trade vessels.

In 1881, Harris informed the Royal Navy that civil war had broken out on the island.

In 1888, when Nauru became a German protectorate, he assisted the German authorities in informing the Nauruans of the way in which the country would be governed, and in persuading them to relinquish their firearms, with which a third of the population had been killed during the civil war.

In 1889, his canoe was swept away to sea by strong currents, and he was not seen again.

William "Bill" Harris (January 14, 1947 – March 8, 2002) was an American tennis player in the mid-20th Century.

Harris began playing tennis at the age of 8, and started playing tournaments at age 11. Harris was one of the best junior tennis players of the mid 20th century.

Born in West Palm Beach, Florida, he won the singles title at the Cincinnati Masters in 1968. He knocked Premjit Lall of India out in the semifinals and Allan Stone of Australia in the final for the title. He also reached the singles final in Cincinnati in 1966.

In junior tennis, Harris was the No. 1 ranked player in the World, and won the National Boys championship in the 14, 16 and 18 age divisions.

He attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Harris practiced with his brother Robert Harris during the summers for nine hours a day or more at Howard Park. "I won't leave this park until I hit the ball 500 times back and forth without missing," Bill would tell his brother Robert. Bill reached the world record to be No. 1 ranked player in the world with the highest number of tennis balls hit on the backboard without missing. Bill said, "I caught the ball at 966 and people were amazed and stared at me like I was crazy, but I just didn't want to take that little girl's world record away of 967."