Christmas Eve is the night before the birth of Jesus. It is set to commemorate Jesus and is held on December 24th every year. For Westerners, Christmas Eve is equivalent to Chinese New Year's Eve, because on Christmas Eve, people clean their houses, hang up Christmas trees, and sing Christmas songs to welcome the arrival of Christmas. This is an ancient tradition in Western countries.
Traditionally, many Christians will attend midnight masses or gatherings on Christmas Eve, usually held in churches, to mark the beginning of Christmas Day. Some churches will hold candlelight services earlier in the evening, usually with a drama performance of the Nativity story and a feast.
The story of the origin of Christmas Eve
On the night when Jesus was born, the shepherds who were guarding their flocks in the wilderness suddenly heard a voice from heaven telling them about the birth of Jesus. According to the Bible, Jesus came to the world to save the world and be the savior of all mankind. Therefore, angels spread the news to more people through these shepherds. ?
Later, people imitated the angels and preached the news of the birth of Jesus everywhere on Christmas Eve. To this day, it has evolved into the activity of reporting good news. ?
On the evening of December 23, 1818, in the village of Oban on the Salzach River in Austria, a mouse boldly slipped into the ancient St. Nicholas Church in the village. In the church organ room. This hungry and cold little thing ran around, biting everywhere, and finally did a "far-reaching event", which led to the birth of a popular Christmas hymn.
The next morning, a middle-aged man wearing a black dress coat walked into the church and went straight to the organ and sat down. This man's name is Franz Gruber. He is thirty-one years old. He has black hair, a high nose and a pair of emotional eyes.
Although he is unknown, he is very respected by the villagers in this remote area. Because he is a primary school teacher in his village and an organist at St. Nicholas Church. He sat down, stepped on the pedals, and pressed the keys. But the organ only gave out a few faint whimpers. ?
As folk music, this song spread from Austria to Germany. It crossed national borders and spread throughout the world as German immigrants traveled across the ocean. But it was only recently that Mohr and Gruber were recognized as the song's creators. They received nothing then, and they died as poor as they had lived.
However, Gruber's ancient guitar still sings for him today. It has become a family heirloom and has been passed down from generation to generation by the Gruber family. Now, every Christmas Eve, people take this guitar to Auburn Village. And believers from all over the world once again sang this beloved Christmas hymn.