On Christmas eve

Kupalo songfolkComposerArranger

Mar 20

Written By andrew waller

Translated Text

Score Ukrainian

Score Transliterated

On Christmas eve | На святий вечір | Na svjatyj vechir

Arranger: Mykhailo Haivoronskyj | Михайло Гайворонський

In this carol, the story of Christ is told starting from the night of His birth, to when the Virgin Mary bathed him in the river Jordan and swaddled him by the warmth of a campfire, and then, as an adult, going out among the people to perform miracles and teach them the road to salvation. A refrain to God the Father throughout beseeches Him to grant this Divine Path. Ukrainian Christmas traditions reflect achievements of an ancient culture, impressive in the musical and contextual diversity of its songs and in the number of its carols and epiphany carols. There are two distinct groups of Ukrainian Christmas music. Koljadky (Ukrainian Christmas Carols) are sung in church alongside traditional liturgical texts and hymns from Christmas Eve (January 6, according to the Julian Calendar) to Epiphany (January 19). Shchedrivky (New Year’s songs), being much older and having pagan roots, are rarely sung in a liturgical setting given their secular themes of bounty and prosperity. These delightful and festive new-year folk songs of felicitation, with their charming and rhythmic melodies, reflect sectarian life and express wishes for health, happiness and bountiful harvests.

Koljadky and shchedrivky are an important part of Vesnivka's repertoire and have been sung annually since the ensemble was established in 1965.