The Hidden Story Behind I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Evan Swensen
December 18, 2024

Few Christmas carols carry the weight of history quite like I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. It’s a beloved hymn, yes—but did you know its origins are steeped in sorrow, hope, and even the American Civil War? For those who enjoy trivia connecting the literary and the historical, this tale is worth sharing over the holidays.

The carol’s journey begins on Christmas Day in 1863, when the renowned American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow sat down to write a poem titled Christmas Bells. At the time, Longfellow’s life was overshadowed by grief. Just two years earlier, in 1861, his wife, Frances Appleton, tragically died after her dress caught fire. Longfellow himself was injured trying to save her, and her loss left him devastated. To make matters worse, the nation was at war. The Civil War had torn the United States apart, and its horrors weighed heavily on Longfellow’s heart.

Adding to his sorrow, Longfellow’s eldest son, Charles Appleton Longfellow, had defied his father’s wishes by joining the Union Army. In November of 1863, Charles was severely wounded in battle. While he survived, the injury brought Henry to yet another breaking point. And so, on Christmas morning that same year, as the world outside his window echoed with the sound of church bells celebrating the holiday, Longfellow picked up his pen to wrestle with the turmoil within and around him.

The result? Christmas Bells, a poem of profound beauty and conflict. It opens with the familiar joy of Christmas:

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day, / Their old, familiar carols play, / And wild and sweet / The words repeat / Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

But as the poem progresses, Longfellow’s tone darkens. He acknowledges the stark contrast between the promise of Christmas and the violence of war:

“And in despair I bowed my head; / ‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said; / ‘For hate is strong, / And mocks the song / Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’”

Yet Longfellow does not leave his readers in despair. The poem concludes with a message of hope and resilience—a reminder that faith can endure even in the darkest of times:

“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: / ‘God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; / The Wrong shall fail, / The Right prevail, / With peace on earth, good-will to men.’”

So, how did Longfellow’s poem become the carol we know today? While Christmas Bells was first published in 1865, it wasn’t set to music until nearly a decade later. Composer John Baptiste Calkin paired Longfellow’s words with a melody in 1872, creating the version most people recognize today. Interestingly, several stanzas referencing the Civil War were omitted when the poem was adapted into a hymn, likely to make it more universally relatable.

Since then, the carol has seen various arrangements and interpretations. Notably, Johnny Marks, the songwriter famous for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, composed a modern version in 1956. In recent years, artists like Casting Crowns and Bing Crosby have given I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day new life, introducing it to younger generations.

Its enduring message makes I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day so special. Longfellow’s words reflect both the personal and the universal: his grief mirrored a nation’s anguish during the Civil War, yet his hope transcended time and circumstance. This carol reminds us that the promise of peace remains even in moments of profound despair.

So, the next time you hear those familiar bells ringing through a holiday service, a movie soundtrack, or a cozy family gathering, take a moment to remember Longfellow’s story. It’s a carol born of sorrow, yes—but also one that rises triumphantly above it, echoing across centuries with its timeless call for peace and goodwill.

Longfellow’s Christmas Bells may have started as a deeply personal poem, but its message has traveled far and wide. Today, it remains a carol of resilience—one that rings out hope to a world that, even now, can still hear the bells.

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