Ready or not, the holidays are here, and from now until New Year’s your ears will be filled with the glorious “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” “Silent Night,” and “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” tunes. To see how the rest of the world pa-rum-pum-pum-pums, tune into one of these global holiday carols for a toe-tapping, enjoyable change of pace.
1. “PASKO NA NAMAN” // PHILIPPINES
This popular Filipino Christmas sing-a-long, translated as “It’s Christmas once again,” shares the same sentiment we all have this time of year: How the heck are we already back here?
“It’s Christmas again
How fast time flies
Christmases past
Seem just like yesterday”
2. “PŮJDEM SPOLU DO BETLÉMA” // CZECH REPUBLIC
The Czech Republic’s holiday anthem—”Půjdem spolu do Betléma”—will have all the children up and dancing right from the beginning. The lyrics start out with a call to visit Bethlehem, before the narrator entirely shifts gears, ordering members of the band to get movin’ with their instruments.
“And you Johnny, let your pipe sound,
Dudli, tudli, dudli, da!Start, oh, Jimmy, on your bagpipe,
Dudaj, dudaj, dudaj, da!And you Nicol on the violin,
Hudli, tydli, hudli, da!And you Lawrence, let your bass play,
Rumrum, rumrum, rumrum, da!”
3. “EN ETSI VALTAA LOISTOA” // FINLAND
As one of Finland’s most popular holiday songs, “En Etsi Valtaa Loistoa”—translated, “Give me no splendor, gold, or pomp”—reminds listeners that Christmas goes well beyond material desires. The song was composed by the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius in 1904, and remains much more of a church-type hymn than lighthearted carol.
4. “AISIM MERGOS, AISIM BERNAI KALĖDA” // LITHUANIA
This Lithuanian carol will put the party back in your holidays. Translated as “Let’s go girls, let’s go guys,” this song is all about living the good life. It tells the age-old tale of strong workers, chasing dogs, drinking booze, and … drinking more booze. We’ll toast to that.
“Those of you who are quick to shew away the dogs
Those of you who are strong to carry the sacks
Those of you who are brave to ask for bread
The lassies are drinking sweet mead
The women are drinking beer
The men are drinking spirits.”
5. “BETHLEHEM’S STJÄRNA” // SWEDEN
Translated as “The Star of Bethlehem,” this popular Swedish carol is about—you guessed it—that oh-so-famous holiday star. The peaceful song paints a beautiful picture of Christmas night in Bethlehem, with nods to nature and the night sky along the way.
“Night (reigns) over the Land of Juda, and (likewise) over Zion.
At the western horizon, Orion is dying down.
The tired shepherd who sleeps; the peacefully slumbering child:
wake up to a wondrous chorus of voices,
(and) behold a gloriously bright star in the East.”
6. “LES ANGES DANS NOS CAMPAGNES” // FRANCE
We’ve all heard—and likely sung—”Angels We Have Heard On High,” but did you know this holiday playlist staple actually originated in France? There’s something mesmerizing (or shall we say glooorious) about this carol sung in French.
7. “AMEZALIWA” // EAST AFRICA
This beautiful African hymn, sung in Kiswahili, celebrates the birth of Jesus with an uplifting, traditional rhythm. While it originated in East Africa, choirs across the world perform this song around the holidays—tribal drum, kangas, and all.
8. “В лесу родилась ёлочка” // RUSSIA
“The Forest Raised a Christmas Tree” is an agnostic, popular Russian carol that explains how the forest helps its fir tree prepare for Christmas. The lyrics, focused entirely on this tree and its surrounding wilderness, will strike a particular chord with nature lovers who spend the majority of their holidays outdoors.
“The forest raised a Christmas tree,
”Twas silent and serene
In winter and in summer
It was slender and so green
…
Some sleigh bells rang throughout the woods,
The snow was crisp and clean,
A horsey brought a forester
To hew that tree so green.”
9. “O TANNENBAUM” // GERMANY
“O Tannenbaum,” which we now associate with “O Christmas Tree,” actually got its start in 1824 as a German folk song about the fir tree. As the Christmas tree tradition grew, “O Tannenbaum” became associated with the holiday season, and morphed from a lively tune into the Christmas carol Germans (and the rest of us) know and love today.
10. “MI BURRITO SABANERO” // VENEZUELA
Sure, “Feliz Navidad” may have the popular vote when it comes to Spanish-language Christmas carols, but “Mi Burrito Sabanero” gives the classic song a run for its money. While it’s not a Christmas song about a burrito (although we’d be down for that, too), “Mi Burrito Sabanero” wins for cute factor because it’s almost entirely about a donkey. Yes, a donkey—and this little donkey and its owner are on their way to Bethlehem. Can we join?
“With my little donkey I go singing,
my little donkey goes trotting
With my little donkey I go singing,
my little donkey goes trotting
If they see me, if they see me
I’m on my way to Bethlehem.”
11. “STICKY BEAK THE KIWI” // NEW ZEALAND
OK, if a donkey didn’t have enough cute factor for you, we’ll do you one better. “Sticky Beak the Kiwi” is a 1960s holiday carol highlighting how—when Santa arrives in New Zealand—this “bird from down under” will take charge of the sleigh. Oh and there’s mention of a platypus. And a kangaroo. And a wallaby. Yeah, Sticky Beak definitely takes the cake for cutest Christmas carol at the children’s holiday concert.
“Lots of toys for girls and boys load the Christmas sleigh
He will take the starlight trail along the Milky Way.
Hear the laughing children as they shout aloud with glee:
‘Sticky Beak, Sticky Beak, be sure to call on me.’Now every little kiwi, and every kangaroo, too,
The wallaby, the weka, and the platypus and emu,
Have made themselves a Christmas tree with stars and shining bright,
So Sticky Beak will see the way to guide the sleigh tonight.”
December 16, 2016 – 12:00pm