Although certainly a miraculous event, I do not believe this meteor shower was the inspiration for the hymn "Now Let us Rejoice." The hymn was published in the March 1833 edition of "the Evening and Morning Star," a full 7-8 months before the meteor shower occurred.
Becky PirenteNovember 14, 2014
This was truly a momentous event in many ways:
"The Leonids can, once every 33 years, produce a storm of magnificent proportions. The history of Leonid observation may even extend back as far as 902 A.D., which was recorded in Arab annals as the "Year of the Stars."
But it was the morning of November 13th, 1833 that really gained notoriety for the Leonids, and really kicked the study of meteor showers into high gear.
The night was clear over the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, and frightened townsfolk were awakened to moving shadows on bedroom walls. Fire was the first thing on most people's minds, but they were instead confronted with a stunning and terrifying sight: a sky seeming to rain stars in every direction. Churches quickly filled up, as folks reckoned the Day of Judgment had come. The 1833 Leonid storm actually made later historical lists as one of the 100 great events in the United States for the 19th century. The storm has also been cited as single-handedly contributing to the religious fundamentalist revivals of the 1830s. Poet Walt Whitman witnessed the 1833 storm, and the song The Stars Fell on Alabama by Frank Perkins was inspired by the event as well."
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2014-11-leonid-meteors.html#jCp
Bob SiskNovember 12, 2014
Very good story.
If you want another good story, contact Brother and Sister Klopfer about Hymn 298. His escape from east Germany would be a good starting point.
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BrentSeptember 9, 2025
Although certainly a miraculous event, I do not believe this meteor shower was the inspiration for the hymn "Now Let us Rejoice." The hymn was published in the March 1833 edition of "the Evening and Morning Star," a full 7-8 months before the meteor shower occurred.
Becky PirenteNovember 14, 2014
This was truly a momentous event in many ways: "The Leonids can, once every 33 years, produce a storm of magnificent proportions. The history of Leonid observation may even extend back as far as 902 A.D., which was recorded in Arab annals as the "Year of the Stars." But it was the morning of November 13th, 1833 that really gained notoriety for the Leonids, and really kicked the study of meteor showers into high gear. The night was clear over the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, and frightened townsfolk were awakened to moving shadows on bedroom walls. Fire was the first thing on most people's minds, but they were instead confronted with a stunning and terrifying sight: a sky seeming to rain stars in every direction. Churches quickly filled up, as folks reckoned the Day of Judgment had come. The 1833 Leonid storm actually made later historical lists as one of the 100 great events in the United States for the 19th century. The storm has also been cited as single-handedly contributing to the religious fundamentalist revivals of the 1830s. Poet Walt Whitman witnessed the 1833 storm, and the song The Stars Fell on Alabama by Frank Perkins was inspired by the event as well." Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2014-11-leonid-meteors.html#jCp
Bob SiskNovember 12, 2014
Very good story. If you want another good story, contact Brother and Sister Klopfer about Hymn 298. His escape from east Germany would be a good starting point.
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