Translated, it read ‘Midnight, Christian is the solemn hour.’ The English lyrics came later when the music critic and minister John Sullivan Dwight translated it into O Holy Night in 1855.

Learn more about 'O Holy Night' as performed by Lea Salonga with the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra in the 'Season of Light' Christmas special.

“O Holy Night” is one of the most dramatically beautiful Christmas carols ever penned but is unfortunately performed only rarely because of the melody’s extended range.

No stranger to the dramatic moment, Rufus Wainwright sings “O Holy Night” at all his Christmas concerts. “It’s the most operatic of all Christmas songs, for sure.

These are the knees of “O Holy Night”: wonderstruck, joyous, and yes, a little wobbly. Fall on your knees, the song commands. Jesus has been born, and even the angels are singing.