This week in Christian history: Hagia Sophia consecrated; ‘O Holy Night’ becomes first song on radio

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Sunday, December 24, 2023

'O Holy Night' becomes first song ever aired on radio – Dec. 24, 1906

Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932), a Canadian inventor who played 'O Holy Night' in the first reported instance of a song being aired on a radio broadcast in 1906. — Reginald Fessenden (1866-1932), a Canadian inventor who played "O Holy Night" in the first reported instance of a song being aired on a radio broadcast in 1906. | Wikimedia Commons

This week marks the anniversary of when the sacred Christmas hymn “O Holy Night” became the first song to ever air during a radio broadcast, followed by a reading from the Bible.

Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden oversaw the milestone, performing the hymn with a violin at a studio in Brant Rock, Massachusetts, with the program reaching as far as 12 miles away.

“Fessenden's voice transmission to the public was the first of its kind,” noted The Washington Post in a 2013 piece commemorating the anniversary of the historic broadcast.

“Until then, even though the telephone was already three decades old, Morse code was still the lingua franca among wireless operators like those on board ships owned by the United Fruit Company, whose crews were among those to hear Fessenden's inaugural broadcast.”