Silent Night is the country’s favourite hymn this Christmas according to a poll of radio listeners.
It is the first time the tune has been top of Classic FM’s annual poll since 2002.
The carol has featured prominently this year in commemorations of the First World War Christmas truce a century ago.
Top of the list
Thousands of Classic FM listeners have been voting for their favourite carols since the beginning of December.
Silent Night tops a list of ten carols including old favourites such as Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful and O Holy Night.
The carol was first translated into English in 1863 having originally been written in German, in the form of a poem.
History
The sound of soldiers singing the carol is said to have precipitated the truce which occurred between British and German troops during the First World War.
On Christmas Day 1914, they emerged from the trenches and spent the day amicably with one another along certain stretches of the Western Front.
The words of Silent Night speak of the central Christmas message, the birth of Jesus. The second verse includes the line “Christ, the Saviour is born”.
Christmas message
However, a recent study has found that a third of children between the ages of ten and thirteen do not know that Christmas marks the birth of Christ.
The poll of 2,000 families, by a group called Christmas Starts With Christ, also found that only ten per cent of adults can correctly state four facts about Jesus’ birth.
Earlier this month a church in Norwich sought to highlight the truemeaning of Christmas by making their own version of a popular John Lewis advert.
Satisfaction in Christ
In the church production, a little boy dreams of real friendship with his toy tiger but his longing is only satisfied in the shadow of the cross.
The video has already received over 40,000 views on YouTube and featured on the ITV news website.