Christmas Traditions * Origin of the Carol * Hymns & Carols of Christmas *

"Carol of the Bells is an adaptation of an ancient Ukrainian folk song called a "shchedrivka". An arrangement by Mykola Leontovych (1877-1921) was popularized in the 1930's by Oleksander Koshyts (1875-1944), a Ukrainian choir director who worked in the US and Canada. It has since become an American Christmas classic."

Hark how the bells, Sweet silver bells, All seem to say, Throw cares away Christmas is here, Bringing good cheer, To young and old, Meek and the bold, Oh how they pound, Raising the sound, O'er hill and dale, Telling their tale, Gaily they ring While people sing Songs of good cheer, Christmas is here, Merry, merry, merry, Merry Christmas, Merry, merry, merry, Merry Christmas, On on they send, On without end, Their joyful tone To every home Dong Ding dong Ding, dong Bong

"Carol of the Bells" (also known as the "Ukrainian Bell Carol") was adapted from "Shchedryk" by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych, which was first performed in December 1916 by students at Kiev University. It was a part of the Ukrainian National Chorus reportoire during its 1,000-plus concert tour around Europe and the Americas. It was introduced to American audiences on October 5, 1921 at Carnegie Hall. The song is originally a Ukrainian folk song that was written as a winter well-wishing song. "Shchedryk" "tells the tale of a swallow flying into a household to proclaim the plentiful year that the family will have."1 The title is derived from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful." In Ukraine, the song is sung on the eve of the Julian New Year (January 13th). One popular (but inaccurate) interpretation is that the original Ukrainian song is based on an old Slavic legend that every bell in the world rang in honor of Jesus on the night of His birth. It is somewhat unusual among Christmas carols for its minor key, fast pace and brevity. The English language lyric below was written in 1936 by Peter Wilhousky of NBC Radio. The song reminded of Wilhousky of ringing bells and he captured that imagery in his lyric... (from the Wikipedia, the Eree Encyclopedia)

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