"O Holy Night" is the one hymn I need to hear on Christmas Eve. It goes back to when I was a kid. There was a guy named Nick, who for over 40 years played it on the trumpet at the midnight service. In the late 60s to the early 70s he always hit the high note at the end of the song without fail. Once you heard that high C, you knew it was Christmas. Then came the year he missed it. Everyone just sort of looked at each other in disbelief. From the end of the 70's to the mid 80s he would make a game time decision as to whether he should attempt the high note or drop down an octave. That lead to some rather interesting church prop bets (especially for a church that frowned on gambling): Would he go for the high note or take the easy way out? Then, if you bet on the high note you could double down on whether or not he would actually hit it or crack it! Eventually he just went with the low C, but there was always that hope that just maybe he would try it one more time! However, no matter how he played, it was still an awesome rendition.
Eventually my folks moved away and we weren't around to attend the service. About 12 years ago, the first Christmas after my dad died, I was feeling a bit nostalgic for the Christmas Eve services of my youth. I decided to go back with my kids who were about 10 and 12 at the time. I was unsure who would even be around from back in the day. But when we got there the greeters were still the same old guys and they shook my hand like a long lost friend. They showed us to the usual pew where we always sat. Sure enough, as the service came to a close, Nick stood up with his trumpet and played O Holy Night. It was the last year the church held a midnight service and it may have been the last time he played it. I was glad my kids had a chance to attend and catch a glimpse of what I remembered Christmas being about.
Since I now have the opportunity to organize Christmas Eve services, I always make sure O Holy Night is a part of worship. At one church there were two women who always played it as a piano and organ duet, at another a young woman sang it a cappella, this year there is a very gifted musician playing it outdoors on an alto sax. Each version is unique in its own way, but they have always been moving and I usually find myself fighting back a tear.
