Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht

„Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht“ („Silent Night, Holy Night) is certainly one of the most famous Christmas carols in the world. It has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects, is on the UNESCO list as an intangible cultural heritage of Austria since 2011, and is the favourite hymn of Pope Francis and certainly of many others. This hymn was first performed at St. Nikola Church in Oberndorf near Salzburg in 1818 by the curate Joseph Mohr, who had already written the text in 1816, and by the village schoolteacher and organist Franz Xaver Gruber. Unusual for a church hymn is the (original) instrumentation of two male voices (tenor and baritone) with guitar accompaniment, an instrument which in those days was associated more with the tavern than the church.
The fact that this instrumentation is due to a hungry church mouse that would have gnawed the bellows in the days before Christmas is a legend from the 1950s, but this does not prevent the confectioners in Salzburg Land from selling „Stille Nacht-Mäuschen“ (Silent Night Mice).

It is not surprising that this hymn is honored on more than one stamp. This imperforated copy of the Austrian Christmas stamp from 1968 was issued to mark the 150th anniversary of the first performance. Pictured is the nativity scene from the „Silent Night“ memorial chapel in Oberndorf/Austria. 

This quite rare stamp will be auctioned in our 52nd auction in March 2022. In addition, there will be an extensive offer of imperforated stamps and stage proofs of Austria from the period 1966 to 2001. In particular, we can already recommend the Austria section of the upcoming auction to thematic collectors.