Christmas Carol stamps 2017 500 Permanent

Description：

The story goes that the organ at St. Nicholas’ parish was broken and could not be repaired before Christmas.  A young priest named Joseph Mohr remembered a poem he had written in 1816.  The poem described the tranquil scene of Jesus’ birth. 

Mohr brought the poem to the church’s organist Franz Xaver Gruber and asked him to create a melody and guitar accompaniment.  At Christmas Eve mass, the duo performed the new carol.  

Although today we know “Silent Night” as a slow song, Gruber had written a slightly more upbeat melody that was in 6/8 time.  The English version of “Silent Night” was translated in 1859 and can now be found in hundreds of different languages.

In 2011, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared “Silent Night” an “intangible cultural heritage.”  St. Nicholas’ church, where the song was first performed, was severely damaged by flooding and was demolished in 1913.  A new church was built in 1906 in the new town center (the entire town was moved upstream to avoid the heavy flooding.)  During World War I, the citizens of Oberndorf sought to honor the centennial of “Silent Night” but little was done due to the war.  Then in 1924, construction began on a memorial chapel.  It was completed in 1937 and named Feast of the Assumption, though it is also known as the Silent Night Chapel.

 
Product Specs：

Issue: Christmas Carols Stamps
Item Number: 677300
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail« Forever
Format: Double-sided Booklet of 20 (4 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: October 5, 2017, New York, NY 10199
Art Director: Howard E Paine