Koliadka are traditional

song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

s usually sung in

Eastern Slavic East Slavic may refer to: * East Slavic languages, one of three branches of the Slavic languages * East Slavs, a subgroup of Slavic peoples who speak the East Slavic languages See also * Old East Slavic Old East Slavic (traditionally also Ol ...

, Central European and

Eastern European Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountains, and ...

countries during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

holiday season. It is believed that everything sung about will come true.

History

Koliadka have been sung since pre-Christian times in

Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...

. Those songs were used with ritual purposes. In early times, koliadkas expressed ancient people's ideas about creation, natural phenomena, and the structure of the world. With the advent of Christianity, the content of koliadkas began to acquire the relevant religious meaning and features. Now koliadkas are mostly Christmas carols, which tell of the birth of Jesus Christ and biblical stories that happened in connection with the event. Heathen roots are still there.

In modern culture

Serbians The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

and

Montenegrins Montenegrins (, or ) are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common ancestry, culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Montenegrins are mostly Orthodox Christians; however, the population also includes ...

sing koliadkas dedicated to Saint Nicholas in their churches.

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

Czechs The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...

and sometimes

Belarusians Belarusians ( ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Belarus. They natively speak Belarusian language, Belarusian, an East Slavic language. More than 9 million people proclaim Belarusian ethnicity worldwide. Nearly 7.99&n ...

sing koliadkas not only on Saint Nicholas Day (which they celebrate on December 6), but on Saint Stephen Day (December 26) too. Ukrainians sing koliadkas and on Saint Nicholas Day (December 6) and on

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas, the festival commemorating nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus. Christmas Day is observance of Christmas by country, observed around the world, and Christma ...

(December 24). There are other types of winter holidays ritual songs in Ukraine named schedrivkas and posivalkas. Traditionally, their purposes are clearly divided, but in modern Ukrainian culture these concepts have intertwined, mixed and acquired traits of each other. Koliadkas are also sung in countries where big diasporas are present, including Ukrainians which live in Canada.

Koliadkas dedicated to saints

There are several koliadkas which are dedicated to Saint Nicholas in Ukraine. Among them: "Ой, хто, хто Миколая любить" ("''Oh, who Loves'' ''Saint'' ''Nicholas''"), "Ходить по землі Святий Миколай" ("''Saint Nicholas Walks Around The World''"), "Миколай, Миколай ти до нас завітай!" (''Nicholas, Nicholas, Come To Visit Us!'').

"The Little Swallow"

Ukrainian "Щедрик" ( "''Shchedryk"''), known in English as "The Little Swallow", is a famous folk song that has pre-Christian roots. The song was arranged by the Ukrainian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and teacher

Mykola Leontovych Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (, ; 23 January 1921) was a Ukrainian composer, conductor, ethnomusicologist, and teacher. His music was inspired by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko and the Ukrainian National Music School. Leontovych spec ...

in 1916. "Shchedryk" was later adapted as an English

Christmas carol A Christmas carol is a Carol (music), carol on the theme of Christmas, traditionally sung at Christmas itself or during the surrounding Christmas and holiday season. The term noel has sometimes been used, especially for carols of French or ...

, "

Carol of the Bells "Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, which is based on the Ukrainian New Year's song " Shchedryk". The music for the carol comes from the song written by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in or before 1916; the English-la ...

", by popular American composer, educator, and choral conductor of Ukrainian ethnic origin Peter J. Wilhousky following a performance of the original song by Alexander Koshetz's

Ukrainian National Chorus The Ukrainian Republic Capella (; later known as the Ukrainian National Chorus) was a musical company during and after World War I which toured Europe and North America with the intent to promote Ukrainian culture abroad. The main sponsor of the ...

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

on October 5, 1921. Peter J. Wilhousky copyrighted and published his new

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

(which were not based on the Ukrainian lyrics) in 1936. Conceptually, Ukrainian lyrics of this song meets the definition of schedrivka (

Malanka ''Malanka'' (, or ) is a Ukrainian folk holiday celebrated on 31 December, which is New Year's Eve in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Formerly it was celebrated on 13 January corresponding to 31 December in the Julian calendar (see Ol ...

song) while English content of "

" indicates it as koliadka (Christmas song). On December 9, 2016, Georgian-born British singer

Katie Melua Ketevan Katie Melua (; ka, ქეთევან "ქეთი" მელუა, ; born 16 September 1984) is a British singer and songwriter. She was born in Kutaisi, Georgia and raised in Belfast and London. Under the management of composer ...

and

The Gori Women's Choir ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

(which is conducted by Teona Tsiramua) sang original Ukrainian "Shchedryk" on

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Notes

References

{{reflist Culture of Ukraine Culture of the Czech Republic Culture of Slovakia Ukrainian-Canadian culture Slavic culture Russian folk songs Belarusian folk songs Ukrainian folk songs Slavic Christmas traditions