This is one of the rare Berlioz compositions which was a rousing, non-controversial success from its first full performance. But it was preceded by a curious episode. As is the case of many Berlioz works, this gentle and popular oratorio was developed by incorporating and expanding upon an earlier composition. In 1850, Berlioz conducted a work he described as "The Flight into Egypt." This, he said, was a mystery play by a composer named "Pierre Ducre," written in 1679. This was a scam, and it worked. The music was his own, and he presented it under this ruse to see what reaction would occur among the critics who habitually attacked anything from his pen. Sure enough, some critics took the occasion to express their insincere "hopes" that Berlioz would learn something from this music about how to write sincere, devout music.

Berlioz retained "The Flight into Egypt" as the centerpiece of the larger work. In it the shepherds arrive to worship and say farewell to the Baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, who have already been warned by the angels to flee towards Egypt. The central section ends with the lovely "Sleep of the Holy Family." The new opening section, "Herod's Dream" which begins with Jesus' birth, transitions to Jerusalem to Herod's dream that a new king has been born, and the King's bloody determination to secure his throne for his own line by slaughtering all newborns, and closes with the aforementioned angelic warning. The final part depicts the Holy Family having arrived in Sais, where the Romans and Egyptians turn them away, but they are given safe haven, finally, by the Ishmaelites.

This tender and lovely music—scored with the skill and imagination for which Berlioz is famous but not employing sensational orchestral effects—was an instant success and went on to growing fame. It was an age of interest in the form of the religious oratorio; Handel's were being revived, as was Haydn's The Creation; Mendelssohn wrote Elijah and Paulus, and a host of lesser composers attempted their own. Berlioz's stands somewhat apart from these in its general sense of intimacy; in few if any works of this general character do we get such a sense of the humanity of the main characters. The Holy Family is presented as a baby, loving and concerned parents, and husband and wife.

The December 10, 1854, premiere was so successful that a Christmas Eve performance was quickly laid on, and repeated again about a month later. Berlioz conducted it in several cities, once receiving a laurel wreath from a rapturous audience.

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