“Silent Night” is a Tirolean song

The claim that “Silent Night” is a Tirolean song likely originates from the fact that the song became internationally known by way of many various singing families from the Zillertal valley in Tirol. The organ builder Carl Mauracher brought the song to his home in the valley after completing his work in Oberndorf. This is probably also how the various singing families, who worked as travelling merchants across Europe during the winter months, first heard about it. They added the song in their repertoire and sung it and many other Tirolean folk songs at the Christmas markets where they were selling their goods. Ahead of everyone else were the Strasser Family and the Rainer Singers, who popularised the song well outside the borders. An early publication of the song was released in the 1830s in Dresden: The publisher August Robert Friese released the song as part of a collection of four authentic Tirolean songs. This is how the myth of “Silent Night” being a Tirolean song was created.