By: Julie Montanaro | WCTV Eyewitness News

December 21, 2018

TALLAHASSEE (WCTV) -- The popular Christmas carol 'Silent Night' is now 200 years old.

The carol was penned by a priest in Austria and sung for the first time back In 1818.

It was translated into English years later and the Episcopal priest who did it has religious roots right here in Tallahassee.

The choir at St. John's Episcopal Church has been practicing for their Christmas Eve service. Silent Night and candle light will soon fill the historic church in the heart of Tallahassee.

"I think it's one of the most beloved hymns," choir member Joanna Hunt said. "People get a sort of warm and fuzzy feeling when they sing it."

Even those in the choir were surprised to discover an Episcopal priest ordained here in 1846 would later be the one to translate that German carol into English.

John Freeman Young's translation became the definitive English translation. His name is right there in the hymnal.

"We had no idea," said St. John's Music Director Betsy Calhoun. "How grateful I am that he did translate it, because it's just become a wonderful tradition."

"I thought, 'Wow. That's really neat,'" choir member Bill Burleson said. "How wonderful that this church has such a connection to Silent Night."

"How cool is that?"

10 year old choir member Nate McNamara gave it two thumbs up.

FSU musicologist Sarah Eyerly is taking a historic look at this beloved carol. It was first sung in a tiny church near Salzburg, Germany in 1818, she said. John Freeman Young included his English translation in a book of carols 40 years later.

Its powerful message of peace still resonates 200 years later.

"When a piece has been performed continuously, it means it's been very valuable to people," Eyerly said, "And this has been translated into 300 different languages and dialects and been sung in almost every country in the world."

Silent Night even filled the air on the battlefield during a Christmas truce in World War I.

"The British and Germans agreed to a cease fire and, in honor of that both sides sang Silent Night," Eyerly said.

Silent Night, a staple of Christmas celebrations around the world, was translated and made famous by a priest who once worshiped at St. John's.

"i think i'm really going to enjoy it. I love tradition and I love that connection, so it's that much more special to me," choir member Joanna Hunt said about singing it this year.

Eyerly says even though Freeman didn't translate the lyrics while he was at St. Johns, he later returned to Florida to become a bishop.

A new poll released Friday by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows "Silent Night" is the most popular Christmas carol in America.