In the fall of 1847, a French wine merchant, Placide Cappeau, was asked by his local priest to write a Christmas poem. Not long after, Placide Cappeau showed this poem, “Minuit, chrétiens,” to the ...
Already controversial in in France, “Cantique de Noël” made some people uneasy; but in America, the English translation into “O Holy Night” dumped gasoline on a fire.