Cantique de Noël (O Holy Night) is a Christmas carol composed by French composer Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the poem 'Minuit, Chrétiens' (Midnight, Christians) by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877), a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem. In both, the French original and in the two familiar English versions of the carol, the text reflects on the birth of Jesus and of mankind's redemption. 'Cantique de Noël' became one of the most popular christmassongs in as wll the French as the English version (O Holy Night).