Based on the French-language poem Minuit, chrétiens, written in 1843 by poet Placide Cappeau, it was set to music by composer Adolphe Adam.

[1] Cappeau wrote Minuit, chrétiens in celebration of recent stained glass renovations at a local church in Roquemaure, France.

[4][5] Cappeau's understanding of Christian theology was derived from Jesuit educators at the Collège de France in Paris.

[6] Cappeau was proud of his work on Minuit, chrétiens, and requested Adolphe Adam set the poem to music within the same trip.

His exact beliefs regarding Christianity are unknown, although it is known that he was raised in a non-Christian environment,[5] and he would frequently play organ in churches within Paris and had a Catholic funeral.

[4][5] The composition was completed within a few days of the original request,[7] and Cappeau referred to the new carol as "Cantique de Noël".

[5] The most popular English rendition of "Cantique de Noël" was translated by American music critic and minister John Sullivan Dwight in 1855.

"[8] An additional English translation of the song, "O Night Divine" was done by American musician Hart Pease Danks, who was influenced by Dwight's version as early as 1885, and both competed in popularity.

Chrétiens, c'est l'heure solennelle Où l'homme Dieu descendit jusqu'à nous, Pour effacer la tache originelle Et de son père arrêter le courroux: Le monde entier tressaille d'espérance A cette nuit qui lui donne un sauveur Peuple à genoux, attends ta délivrance Noël !

Long lay the world in sin and error pining, Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

"Within a generation or so", according to Christmas carol historian William Studwell, "Cantique de Noël" has been translated into many languages and received many renditions.

[5] Additionally, many leaders within the Christian church criticized the song's "militant tone and dubious theology", according to America magazine.

They particularly opposed the line "Et de son Père arrêter le courroux” ("to cease the wrath of his Father"), which they felt depicted an angry and vengeful God in contrast to Jesus.

[2] On 22 September 1936, the Catholic Church in Canada banned "O Holy Night" from being performed in churches, along with other songs and wedding marches, the Canadian national anthem, and many versions of Ave Maria, including those by composers such as Franz Schubert, Charles Gounod, Pietro Mascagni, and Jules Massenet.

This perfectly captured views of abolishing slavery, which was the primary source of opposition amidst the ongoing American Civil War.

[3] Although disputed due to a lack of formal documentation, the first song played over a radio broadcast is usually attributed to inventor Reginald Fessenden's performance of "O Holy Night" on violin in 1906.

By 1956 the song was "expunged from many dioceses due to the emphatic aspect of its lyrics as much as the music itself, and the contrast they provide with the holiday liturgy", according to Paris publication Le Dictionnaire du Foyer Catholique.

One legend states that in 1870, French troops sung the song on Christmas Eve during the Franco-Prussian War during trench warfare, and combat temporarily ceased.

In 2004, the song was sung by a Catholic priest to a dying American Marine soldier while deployed in Fallujah, Iraq.

Popular covers of the song include renditions by Michael Crawford, Mariah Carey, NSYNC, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Josh Groban, Celine Dion, Ella Fitzgerald, Carrie Underwood, Andrea Bocelli, Jennifer Hudson, and Kelly Clarkson.