Leise rieselt der Schnee

Leise rieselt der Schnee (which translates as "softly falls the snow") is one of the most famous Christmas songs in the German language.

It was composed in 1895 in Graudenz by the Protestant pastor Eduard Ebel (1839–1905) and published under the title Weihnachtsgruß ("Christmas greeting") in his volume Gesammelte Gedichte.

[1] According to other sources, the melody is a folk tune,[2] which Ebel himself possibly adopted for his song.

In den Herzen ist’s warm, Still schweigt Kummer und Harm, Sorge des Lebens verhallt: Freue Dich, Christkind kommt bald.

Bald ist heilige Nacht; Chor der Engel erwacht; Horch’ nur, wie lieblich es schallt: Freue Dich, Christkind kommt bald.

Instrumental version for guitar and cello
Lyrics of "Weihnachtsgruß" in Eduard Ebels Gesammelten Gedichten (1895), p. 86