Esau McCaulley

“Silent Night” is one of the most popular Christmas hymns, often sung in churches lit only by candles. The song describes a “tender and mild” infant Christ slumbering undisturbed in “heavenly peace.” Another beloved hymn, “Away in a Manger,” also focuses on the theme of divine serenity: It speaks of animals making noises but the child Christ being different. “The cattle are lowing,” goes one verse. “The baby awakes / But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.

My father and mother met in the winter of 1976. I’ve seen photos. There they are, looking as young and untroubled as any two high-school students on a Friday-night date. Not yet parents, not yet weighed down with the responsibility of caring for four children, both are smiling, my father standing behind my mother, who sits on a stool with her head nestled into his chest.