Koliadka[1][2][3][a] are traditionalsongs usually sung inEastern Slavic,Central European andEastern European countries during theChristmas holiday season. It is believed that everything sung about will come true.[4]
Koliadka have been sung since pre-Christian times inKievan Rus'. 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 Ukraine under the Soviet rule, organized public singing of koliadkas (vertep) on Christmas Eve was persecuted by authorities, so it frequently took place on the night before theNew Year instead. In some cases people taking part in such events would be arrested by theKGB for "hooliganism". Especially notable were the mass arrests which took place on 1 January 1972 and targeted participants of a festive procession accompanied by koliadka singing, which took place in centralLviv and was led byIhor andIryna Kalynets.[5]
Despite repression, the traditions of koliadka and vertep survived both among the rural and urban population inWestern Ukraine, and in 1986 reached the local theatre scene. Koliadka performances even spread to Soviet prison camps, where many Ukrainiandissidents were held at the time. Among others,Myroslav Marynovych organized the singing of koliadkas with fellow inmates after his imprisonment in 1978. Starting from 1988, koliadka singing and vertep performances in Lviv were official permitted by authorities through the efforts ofLion's Society, although some elements of the processions, such as figures ofangels, were still banned by the Communist regime. Starting from the 1990s the tradition of koliadka and vertep theatre has also seen a revival in other regions of Ukraine, includingKyiv.[5]
Serbians andMontenegrins sing koliadkas dedicated to Saint Nicholas in their churches.Slovaks,Czechs and sometimesBelarusians sing koliadkas not only on Saint Nicholas Day (which they celebrate on December 6),[6] but on Saint Stephen Day (December 26) too.[7]
Ukrainians sing koliadkas andschedrivkas [uk] on Saint Nicholas Day (December 6) and onChristmas Eve (December 24).[8][9]There are other types of winter holidays ritual songs in Ukraine named schedrivkas and posivalkas. Traditionally, their purposes are clearly divided,[10] but in modern Ukrainian culture these concepts have intertwined, mixed and acquired traits of each other.[citation needed]
Koliadkas are also sung in countries where big diasporas are present,[citation needed] includingUkrainians which live in Canada.[11]
There are several koliadkas which are dedicated to Saint Nicholas in Ukraine. Among them: "Ой, хто, хто Миколая любить" ("Oh, who LovesSaintNicholas"),[12] "Ходить по землі Святий Миколай" ("Saint Nicholas Walks Around The World"),[13] "Миколай, Миколай ти до нас завітай!" (Nicholas, Nicholas, Come To Visit Us!).[14]
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 Ukrainiancomposer and teacherMykola Leontovych in 1916. "Shchedryk" was later adapted as an EnglishChristmas carol, "Carol of the Bells", by popular American composer, educator, and choral conductor ofUkrainian ethnic originPeter J. Wilhousky following a performance of the original song byAlexander Koshetz'sUkrainian National Chorus atCarnegie Hall on October 5, 1921. Peter J. Wilhousky copyrighted and published his newlyrics (which were not based on the Ukrainian lyrics) in 1936.
Conceptually, Ukrainian lyrics of this song meets the definition of schedrivka (Malanka song) while English content of "Carol of the Bells" indicates it as koliadka (Christmas song).
On December 9, 2016, Georgian-born British singerKatie Melua andThe Gori Women's Choir (which is conducted byTeona Tsiramua) sang original Ukrainian "Shchedryk" onBBC.[15]