O christmas tree how evergreen your branches
| Though now it is considered a central part of American Christmas celebrations, the Christmas tree actually comes to us from Germany. So it's not surprising that the song "O Christmas Tree" comes from Germany as well. My understanding is that Tannenbaum technically means "fir tree," although most Christmas trees in Germany ("Weihnachtsbaum") were traditionally spruce. That's okay, since Douglas firs are becoming so popular in America - our last several "cut" trees were firs, so we fit right in. Christmas trees emerged in German-speaking nations in the 16th century (the first Christmas tree is apocryphally attributed to Martin Luther), and by the early 18th century had been brought by German immigrants to the new world. The original German Christmas trees were small by today's standards and stood on tables, usually next to the Nativity scene (or "Putz"). It was after Queen Victoria's family adopted big Christmas trees in a big way (starting in the mid-1800s) that Christmas trees in North America and England grew to the 7-9' trees we are used to today. Though German songs about Christmas trees go back to the 16th century, the most popular German lyrics are probably those reportedly written by Ernst Anschtz in 1824. The English lyrics we are most used to are a rough paraphrase of the German. The catchy folk tune helps keep the song in the songbooks. To hear an MP3 file of the song, arranged by Tess Hoffman click here. German lyrics O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum! English Lyrics: (These are the lyrics I grew up with. I'm sure there are better lyrics out there.) O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree Silly Story Alert! When I was little, we used to sing "O Tannembaum," but once I was out of elementary school, I never remembered more than the first line. On the first Christmas Shelia and I shared together, we bought a $16 Scotch pine from the tree lot around the corner. All the time I was setting it up, I couldn't help humming "O Christmas Tree," over and over. That was when I realized I didn't know very many of the English lyrics either. So I tried remembering the German words, but didn't have much luck there, either. Finally, I came up with a version I have since passed on to my children. I hope it doesn't diminish your enjoyment of this song:
How evergreen your branches! Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, I don't know the next line. We used to sing in German, too, But "tannenbaum" was all I knew, Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, How evergreen your branches! That said, I later wrote a very nice carol that explains why believers see the evergreen as a symbol of rebirth. God bless, and have a wonderful Christmas season this year and every year. - Paul |
Well, either I remembered them wrong, or they were a little weak. Could you really be expected to sing "How evergreen your branches" three times in the same verse? And the line, "Your boughs so green in summertime, stay bravely green in wintertime" seemed especially weak to me for a number of reasons. People don't really talk like that outside of George Lucas movies. 
I've never recorded it, but if you have us out to your place some time, have me bring my guitar and I'll share it with you. O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree) — Another Song that has Very Little to Do with Christmas | by Peter Sanfilippo
Ernst Anschütz — 1824
Part of what makes Christmas music so interesting is its lack of any unified style. The only real rule for writing an enduring Christmas carol is it has to be memorable, but somewhere along the line a few hundred years ago composers started noticing they didn’t even need to start with a song about Christmas to make a new carol. A carol, assuming new lyrics were implemented well and an audience responded positively to it, could be based on melodies from other songs as long as they contained a solid hook. No one seemed to care! And without the technology we enjoy now, where a copycat song can be spotted and called out as soon as its released, a song’s history could be seemingly rewritten a century or two after its original composer had died.
The 19th century carol “O Tannenbaum,” or as it’s more commonly known in the English-speaking world, “O Christmas Tree,” is one of those weirdo cases.
“O Tannenbaum” as we know it has two key credits from two different centuries: the composer of the melody, and the man that connected the song to Christmas.
Melchior Franck impersonating a lizardThe melody originates in the 16th century with folk songwriter Melchior Franck and his piece “Ach Tannenbaum,” a short tune about a fir tree in midwinter. Franck was a prolific composer credited with a great deal of Protestant church music and all-around pretty legendary writer, as he was also credited with bringing many of the musical innovations of the Venetian school north to Germany. Like a lot of music from the time, there aren’t really notes available on what compelled him to write the song, but given the tune’s reassuring melody, it probably didn’t have much to do with his entire family being killed by the typhus and the Thirty Years War.
Around 1819, a slightly edgier version popped up by German preacher, folk song collector, and fellow guy-with-warlock-name Joachim Zarnack repeating the imagery of an evergreen, this time to contrast with a tale of an unfaithful lover. Like the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, this version didn’t win anyone over, so it wasn’t long before another version popped up, this one by Leipzig organist, teacher, and composer Ernst Anschütz in 1824. Anschütz penned a considerably less edgy and more famous set of lyrics, describing a tannenbaum as a symbol of endurance throughout the winter.
The original lyrics have absolutely no references to Christmas, but instead use the evergreen as a symbol of faithfulness and hope through the cold German winters. It does actually make sense that this version would take off as a Christmas song as the lyrics describe the tree as a symbol of spring and hope. “When winter days are dark and drear, You bring us hope for all the year.
O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, with what delight I see you!”
This is where the history of the Christmas tree makes this whole thing more interesting. The Christmas tree tradition as we know it originates in medieval Livonia (present day Latvia and Estonia) and early Germany where Protestants brought decorated trees into their homes. Some say Martin Luther was the first to do it, inspired by the starlight cutting through the branches on a brisk forest stroll on Christmas Eve, but Martin Luther gets credit for a lot of things and there’s very little proof of this one. These trees had a similar design to what we know today, featuring decorations like paper roses and tinsel, plus a bunch of food like apples, because I guess they forgot to fear rats. The idea was that in celebration of Christmas, the trees would be covered in sweets and brought into the town hall, where children could grab a bite while celebrating.
At the time Anschütz rewrote the lyrics to “O Tannenbaum,” German Protestants would have already connected the fir tree as a symbol of Christmas, making the tune a natural fit for the season.
However, this wouldn’t have taken off in pretty well any other part of the world at the time. The Catholics to the south regarded the tree as a Protestant custom, and largely ignored it. It became culturally locked, and by the 19th century, it was considered an expression of German culture.
As the Protestant faith spread across Europe, more and more people became exposed to the custom, and before too long other people started to appropriate the tradition. European nobility started putting up trees in their homes around the holidays, popularised by figures like Princess Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg in Vienna and the duchesse d’Orléans in France. Around this time, candles were also becoming common place on the trees, and before long those were replaced (for reasons obvious to anyone who’s ever watched National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) with electric lights.
So whats the matta with you?In North America, the tradition first popped up in Québec in 1781 among a garrison of German soldiers stationed to ward off impending American attacks.
The general and his wife held a Christmas party for the officers, and along with the sweets and dancing, a decorated tree made an appearance. Over the next hundred years, the tradition spread throughout the United States starting in cities with high German populations, and before long it became pretty common for anyone celebrating Christmas to put a tree in their houses.
As the tradition spread beyond German communities, the song followed, and so somewhere in the 19th century, the song was rewritten for Anglophonic Christians. By who? Weirdly there’s no clear author. “O Tannenbaum” doesn’t directly translate to “O Christmas Tree” at all; it seems to have just happened, most likely by an American priest or preacher.
Now what do you do when you have a super recognizable, catchy melody that people seem to really enjoy? You turn it into a bunch of other stuff. The melody of “O Tannenbaum” is so crazy famous, it ended up all over the place with new lyrics.
You know who really love this melody? Americans, and not two, not tree, but four different American States have used that melody as their state song.
“Florida, My Florida,” “Maryland, My Maryland,” “Michigan, My Michigan,” and Iowa’s aptly named “The Song of Iowa” all use that tune, and though they aren’t all the official state songs anymore, it would have been a sight to see representatives from those four states fight over that melody. Several schools use the tune as well, including Cornell University and Trinity College at the University of Toronto, and of course, the melody showed up for Simpson’s snake-bashing holiday Whacking Day.
From a song about a tree, to a song about a Christmas tree, to a song about pretty much every state with a three-syllable name, “O Tannenbaum” proves that a catchy-enough melody can travel beyond cultural and religious confines, and to this day can be recognized around the world. Not bad, Melchior, not bad.
Comparison of popular New Year songs “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”. Research work.
School Stage
Regional Scientific and Practical Conference
students of grades 1-11 of educational institutions
9000
" Oh , Christmas tree ” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”.
completed:
Yeltsov David
Feliksovich
MBOU “Secondary School No. 49”,
Grade 8 “G”
Scientific adviser:
Kremenetskaya Larisa
Vladimirovna,
Teachers of foreign languages
highest qualification category
MBOU "Secondary School No. 49"
Novokuznetsk city district
2020
Content
| 9000 1.1. Songwriters, reasons and time of writing the song “Oh, Christmas tree” 1.2. Songwriter, reasons and time of writing the song "A Christmas tree was born in the forest" Section 2. Emotionally - expressive means of songs 2. 2.2. Emotional and expressive means of the song “A Christmas tree was born in the forest” Section 3. Comparison of the songs “ Oh , Christmas tree was born in the forest” 3.1. Definition of song genres “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest” 3.2. Comparison of the songs "Oh, Christmas tree" and "A Christmas tree was born in the forest" 3.3. Performing interlinear translations of two versions of the English New Year song “Oh, Christmas tree” 3.4. Own translation of the song Conclusion References | 6 8 13 13 14 17 17 18 1 20,0005 21 2 |
1. Emotionally expressive means of the song “Oh, Christmas tree” 
Some of them leave for another year, and they are no longer sung. Some have been living for a long time. These are such English New Year songs as “Oh, Christmas tree”, “Jingle bells”, “We wish you a merry Christmas”, Russian songs “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”, “A little Christmas tree is cold in winter”. I wondered why these songs remain popular. For our work, we decided to explore two songs about the Christmas tree - the English one “Oh, Christmas tree” and the Russian one “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”. Relevance of our work lies in the annual interest in these popular songs during the New Year holidays.
Problem. After browsing the Internet publications in terms of popularity and comparing the popularity of the New Year's songs "Oh, Christmas tree" and "A Christmas tree was born in the forest", it turned out that there is no such information on the topic. There is no characterization of the concept of "popularity".
But then there are responses about the popularity of other songs that help us figure out the criteria for popularity. For example, according to an expert, the head of the British PR company Bill Elms Associates, Bill Elms, the Beatles do not lose popularity because they have songs suitable for any emotional state of a person, for any occasion. "Beatles music is timeless, have so many songs, so many hits, and so many people's memories associated with them, that it's all passed down from generation to generation of ."
Russian singer Mikhail Shufutinsky believes that his song "The Third of September" owes its popularity to the mentality of Russians. “But our people are arranged in such a way that they also love to mourn,” the singer explained.
The article "The Reasons for the Popularity of the Russian Song in China" examines the prerequisites for the emergence and expansion of the popularity of the Russian song in China in the 20th and 21st centuries.
This is facilitated by good neighborly relations, the strategic nature of the political cooperation of states and peoples, as well as the melodiousness, melodiousness, and imagery of the poetics of the Russian song.
Thus, the reasons for the popularity of songs are their correspondence to an emotional state, certain memories, that is, certain events, as well as melodiousness, melodiousness, imagery of the poetics of songs.
It is clear that our songs correspond to the theme, the mood of the holiday, our elevated emotional state at this wonderful time. Therefore, we decided that we need to find information about the time and conditions of the creation of these songs, as well as analyze the emotional and expressive means of the lyrics in order to explain their melody and imagery.
Research object : New Year songs “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”.
Research subject : popularity of the New Year songs “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”.
The purpose of the work is to determine the reasons for the popularity of the English and Russian songs about the Christmas tree “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest” every year.
To explain the popularity of songs, solve the following tasks :
Study the history of the appearance of the Christmas tree in Russia and Western European countries
Find out the songwriters, reasons and time of writing songs.
To study and analyze the emotional and expressive means of the verses of the songs “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”.
Determine the genres of musical works “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”.
Compare songs according to identified criteria.
To promote the English song in the classroom: offer interlinear translations for the song options.
Hypothesis. New Year's songs "A Christmas tree was born in the forest" and "Oh, Christmas tree" are popular because they correspond to the worldview of people in this period and the ability to express the best properties of their soul through these songs.
Research methods
Literature study - collection of information about the history of the development of the popularity of the Christmas tree during the New Year holidays and about the time of writing and about the songwriters.
Synthesis - the location of the information found about the history of the development of the popularity of the Christmas tree in chronological order.
Analysis of emotional and expressive means of song lyrics.
comparison.
Interlinear translations of variants of the English song “Oh, Christmas tree”
The theoretical significance of our work lies in the analysis of the emotional and expressive means of the New Year songs “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”.
The practical significance of our work is the ability to apply information of a country-specific nature about the development of the popularity of the Christmas tree to broaden one's horizons and when holding New Year's class events; in providing the author's version of the creative translation of the English song "Oh, Christmas tree"; in the opportunity for other students to make their own poetic translations based on interlinear translations of two versions of the English song “Oh, Christmas tree”.
Section 1. Songwriters, reasons and time of writing songs
1.1. Songwriters, reasons and time of writing the song “Oh, Christmas tree”
Our distant ancestors endowed trees with the ability to create and feel good and evil, they believed that spirits, both good and evil, found shelter in their branches. Therefore, people decorated trees to appease the spirits and get their support in everyday life.
Spruce occupied a special position among the trees, it has always been given a special place in people's lives. For ancient people it was a sacred tree. They believed that spruce, like other conifers, enjoys a special location of the Sun - the main god in pagan beliefs. The sun allows spruce to remain always green, unlike deciduous trees, which is why spirits live in its branches that are able to scare away evil demons, ward off misfortunes and diseases. Therefore, the ancient Germans, meeting the "turn of winter", decorated their homes with spruce branches, symbolizing eternal life and awakening nature.
The green forest beauty has long been considered the tree of peace by the ancient Germans. They believed that the good spirit of the forests lives in its branches - the defender of justice and all living things. It is no coincidence that before the fighting, the soldiers gathered for advice at the spruce, hoping to get her protection. [11]
This tree also personified immortality, fidelity, fearlessness, dignity, eternal youth.
Over time, a custom arose to cajole good spirits that winter in the evergreen branches of spruce, decorating its fluffy paws with gifts. This custom was born in Germany, and later the Dutch and English borrowed the ceremony of honoring spruce.
For many ancient peoples, spruce symbolized bravery, boldness, audacity, longevity, immortality, greatness of spirit. It was believed that she carries the fire of life and helps restore health.
The Christian Church for a long time abandoned the folk custom of decorating houses and churches with coniferous branches for the New Year. Hundreds of years passed before the tradition of decorating trees during the holiday was revived. In the XIII century, spruce became an obligatory attribute of the Christmas holiday. And since 1500 in Germany, Christmas trees began to be consecrated in churches. Since then, in German cities and villages, the tradition has been preserved at the end of December to bring spruce into the house.
It should be noted that this folk custom has spread not only among ordinary people, but also among the nobility. Since the 17th century, this fragrant conifer has become the main symbol of Christmas Eve in medieval Germany. In German, even such a definition appeared as Weihnachtsbaum - Christmas tree, pine.[7]
Installing spruce in their homes, people believed that with its help they would defeat any cold. They decorated the tree and lit candles on it, which symbolized Christ, bringing light to the world, thus showing their willingness to make life better and cleaner.
And if at first they used fruits (apples, pears) or nuts as decorations, then over time the decoration became more diverse and richer. So, with the development of the craft, glassblowers came up with very light and beautiful glass decorations. The top of the spruce was decorated with the image of the sun, cut out of paper, made of straw or glass. [6]
The elegant forest beauty was liked not only by children, but also by adults.
It was a pity for everyone to part with her, and they began to leave her until the New Year. Then it became a tradition to spend these two holidays with one Christmas tree.
Thus, spruce symbolized courage, boldness, audacity, longevity, immortality, fidelity, dignity, greatness of spirit, eternal life for many ancient peoples, also for the ancient Germans. After all, the English song “Oh, Christmas tree” is a translation of the German song “O, Tannenbaum”.
Let's look at her story. The melody is based on an old folk motif. The lyrics of the song go back to 1550, as well as to Melchior Frank's song "Ach, Tannenbaum", which appeared in 1615. The most famous version of the song was created in 1824 by a Leipzig organist and teacher named Ernst Anschütz. There are several English versions of the literary translation of this song, so the lyrics of the English song are not traditionally English.
1.2. Songwriter, reasons and time for writing the song "A Christmas tree was born in the forest"
A poem about a Christmas tree was written by a governess, a young teacher Raisa Adamovna Kudasheva (nee Gidroits).
Consider who it was written for.
In Russia, the Christmas tree as a Christmas tree appeared at the beginning of the 19th century in the homes of St. Petersburg Germans. The history of the New Year tree and the tradition of decorating it for the holy holiday did not end there. The custom of putting lighted candles on the Christmas tree, giving each other gifts for Christmas became widespread in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. This fashion among the courtiers was introduced by his wife, Tsaritsa Alexandra Fedorovna, a German by birth. Later, all the noble families of St. Petersburg followed her example, and then the rest of society. In 1818, on the initiative of the Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna, a Christmas tree was arranged in Moscow, and the following year - in the St. Petersburg Anichkov Palace. [5]
On Christmas Day 1828, Alexandra Feodorovna, by that time already an empress, organized the first celebration of the "Children's Christmas Tree" in her own palace for her five children and nieces - the daughters of Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich.
The Christmas tree was installed in the Grand Dining Room of the palace.
They also invited the children of some courtiers. Christmas trees decorated with sweets, gilded apples and nuts were placed on eight tables and on the table set for the emperor. Gifts were laid out under the trees: toys, dresses, porcelain gizmos, etc. The hostess herself handed out gifts to all the children present. The holiday began at eight o'clock in the evening, and at nine o'clock the guests had already left. From that time on, following the example of the royal family, a Christmas tree began to be installed in the homes of the highest St. Petersburg nobility.
Little by little, following the tradition of celebrating Christmas time in the old fashioned way, St. Petersburg fashion began to penetrate into the estate. Gradually, this holiday began to turn into a Christmas tree holiday for the children of friends and relatives. On the one hand, this was a consequence of the natural desire of parents to prolong the "unearthly pleasure" that the Christmas tree brings to their children, and on the other hand, they wanted to show off to other adults and children the beauty of their tree, the richness of its decoration, prepared gifts, treats.
The hosts tried their best to make "the Christmas tree come out well" - it was a matter of honor. At such holidays, called children's trees, in addition to the younger generation, adults were always present: parents or elders accompanying the children. The children of governesses, teachers, servants were also invited. [10]
At first, the presence of the Christmas tree in the house was limited to one evening. On the eve of Christmas, the spruce tree was secretly taken from the children into the best room of the house, into the hall or into the living room, and set on a table covered with a white tablecloth.
Candles were attached to the branches of the tree, delicacies and decorations were hung on the tree, gifts were laid out under it, which, like the tree itself, were prepared in strict confidence. And finally, just before the children were admitted into the hall, candles were lit on a tree. It was strictly forbidden to enter the room where the Christmas tree was installed until special permission.
Most often, during this time, the children were taken to some other room. Therefore, they could not see what was happening in the house, but tried to guess what was going on by various signs: they listened, peeped through the keyhole or through the door slot. When, finally, all the preparations were over, a prearranged signal was given (“the magic bell rang”), or one of the adults or servants came for the children.
The doors to the hall were opened. This moment of opening, opening doors is present in many memoirs, stories and poems about the Christmas tree holiday: it was a long-awaited and passionately desired moment for children to enter the "Christmas tree space", their connection with the magic tree. The first reaction was numbness, almost stupefaction.
Having appeared before the children in all its beauty, the Christmas tree decorated "in the most brilliant way" invariably evoked amazement, admiration, delight. After the first shock passed, screams, aahs, squeals, jumping, clapping began.
At the end of the holiday, the children, brought to an extremely enthusiastic state, received the Christmas tree at their full disposal: they plucked sweets and toys from it, destroyed, broke and completely destroyed the tree (which gave rise to the expressions "rob the Christmas tree", "pluck the Christmas tree", "destroy the Christmas tree") . Hence the name of the holiday itself: the holiday of "plucking the Christmas tree".
From all over the city, and sometimes from other cities, relatives and friends, cousins and brothers came to home Christmas trees. Adults came up with and bought gifts, organized a "Christmas tree fun", played the piano, children danced. The elders prepared for the holidays themselves, composing and staging plays "in the style of Hoffmann and Andersen" from the life of Christmas tree decorations. During these years, “live pictures”, which were “silent” dramatizations of popular textbook poems, gained particular popularity. [8]
It was for such children's holidays in rich houses that the song "A Christmas tree was born in the forest" was born.
Arrangement of charitable "Christmas trees for the poor" in people's homes and orphanages was the most widespread at this time. They were organized by various kinds of societies, as well as individual philanthropists. Having become the main component of the winter holidays, the Christmas tree, thus, entered the festive life as one of its essential components. The Christmas tree began to be perceived as one of the necessary elements of a normal childhood.
The history of the famous piece of music began more than a century ago. It is believed that it appeared somewhere in 1903-1905, and continues to sound every year, during the New Year and Christmas celebrations.[9]
It is known that until 1905 the main New Year's music in the Russian Empire was Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. But then the “Yolochka” appeared and pressed the creation of the great Russian composer.
Meanwhile, although we know the names of the creators of the song, there are doubts about the authorship of the music.
And the point, in fact, is that it bears a resemblance to the melody of the popular song in Sweden "Thousands of Christmas Candles Are Lighted", which Emmy Köhler wrote in 1898, that is, several years earlier than our “Christmas tree was born in the forest” appeared.
There is an assumption that this melody was a German folk one and appeared at the very beginning of the 19th century. It was used in a song by German students in 1819 called "We have built a stately home ".
Ever since her studies at the gymnasium, Raisa Gidroits (married Kudasheva) has been writing poetry. After high school, she worked as a governess for the widower prince Kudashev. Over time, she herself became Princess Raisa Kudasheva. She had a pedagogical gift, continued poetic experiments. December 1903, the magazine "Malyutka" published the poem "Yolka", marking the beginning of the creation of the future Russian masterpiece, which continues its triumphant march through the expanses of the former Russian Empire and the Soviet Union.
On the eve of 1904, the poem was published in the St. Petersburg magazine "Malyutka". And it was made a hit in 1905 by Leonid Karlovich Beckman, not a composer or even a musician, but a biologist, agronomist, candidate of natural sciences. Beckman hummed the melody to his little daughter and could not even write down the simple tune himself. Assistance in the recording was provided by her wife, a pianist, professor at the Moscow Conservatory and her gold medalist Elena Alexandrovna Bekman-Shcherbina.[4]
“A Christmas tree was born in the forest” has become a song that can bring glory to the authors even if they created a single work. The song was enjoyed by millions of people. The army of her fans will grow every year, a century. She easily survived revolutions, wars and economic crises.
Thus, the song was written for children, at the beginning of the popularity of children's parties. And today such holidays are also arranged for children - matinees.
And the kids haven't changed. And now it is difficult to imagine the New Year without its symbol - the fluffy evergreen beauty of spruce. On the eve of this wonderful holiday, it is installed in every home, decorated with toys, tinsel and garlands. The fragrant smell of fresh pine needles, the taste of tangerines - this is what most Russian children associate the New Year holiday with. Under the Christmas tree, the children find their gifts. At matinees, round dances are performed around her, songs are sung.
Section 2. Emotional and expressive means of songs
2.1. Emotionally expressive means of the song “Oh, Christmas tree”
To understand the reason for the popularity of this song, let's analyze its emotional expressive means.
Antithesis .
“…through summer sun and winter snow” .
Shows that the greenery of the Christmas tree is always beautiful.
The Christmas tree is always growing, even with the summer sun and winter snow. The Christmas tree is always green in summer, late autumn and winter.
Anafora .
1. “ How often you give us delight.”
2. “ How lovely your branches”.
Phrases “ How often …”! “ How lovely…”! show a high degree of admiration for the Christmas tree.
Composite joint .
“Brings to us such joy and glee”. “Such pleasure do you bring me”.
This construction of sentences shows that it is the Christmas tree that brings so much pleasure, joy, and fun.
Impersonation .
“Your beauty green will teach me.” “You are the tree most loved”.
These lines show that the Christmas tree is the most beloved tree, and with the beauty of its greenery it teaches goodness and faith, turning into a living being.
Lexical repeat .
“Oh, Christmas tree. How lovely are your branches! You are the tree most loved”!
These repetitions show the admiration for the Christmas tree and the fact that the Christmas tree has been sung for a long time, and it is still popular.
Metonymy .
“But also when it's cold and drear” .
Adverbs "cold" and "sad, dreary" replace the word "autumn".
Thus, the emotional and expressive means of this song, when describing the Christmas tree, emphasize that the evergreen Christmas tree is always beautiful, it is she who brings so much joy, and turning into a living being, she teaches goodness and faith. Therefore, the Christmas tree was and remains admirable. These definitions of a Christmas tree correspond to the views of the ancient Germans. And since the song lives today, we can conclude that such views are close to modern people.
2.2. Emotionally - expressive means of the song "A Christmas tree was born in the forest"
Let's consider the means of expressiveness in this song.
Alliteration .
“In le su, le tom, ze le naya…”
Consonant consonants le, le, le give softness to the song.
“After r the wolf, se r the wild wolf, r ran around the wild r .” The repetition of the sound "r" shows an angry snarling wolf.)
Anafora .
" A fir tree was born in the forest , it grew in the forest ".
This repetition emphasizes where the Christmas tree was born and grows.
Antithesis .
"In winter and in summer she was slender, green.
"
These antonyms reinforce the impression that the Christmas tree is always a slender and green beauty.
“Coward a gray bunny jumped under the Christmas tree.
Sometimes a wolf, an angry wolf , trotted.
Antithesis shows the bright characters of animals.
Gradation.
"Rough-legged horse in a hurry , running" .
This series of verbs shows that the horse quickly runs away from the cold forest.
Inversion of .
" is carrying a firewood horse, a peasant is on the firewood."
The verb at the beginning of the sentence emphasizes the horse's hard work.
Composite joint .
"The horse is carrying firewood , on firewood - a peasant.
"
1. This tool shows the severity of the horse's work.
2. The offer is aimed at the peasant, it is he who brings the Christmas tree from the forest to the house.
Metaphor .
« Frost wrapped in snow : Look, do not freeze!
The figurative meaning of the expression "snow fell".
The predicate “wrapped up” shows that the snow is thick, that is, all the branches of the Christmas tree are covered with snow.
Impersonation .
“The snowstorm yoy sang a song : Sleep, Christmas tree, bye-bye!”
"The frost covered with snow: Look, don't freeze!"
This remedy revitalizes nature, which takes care of the Christmas tree,
because the forest is her home and characterizes a gentle, caring nature.
Repeat .
"And brought a lot of , a lot of joy to the kids."
The tool is used by to enhance the meaning of the Christmas tree for a joyful mood on this holiday.
Syntax parallelism.
« A Christmas tree was born in the forest , it grew in the forest ».
This repetition shows that the Christmas tree was born and grew in the forest. This is a forest beauty.
Default .
"The horse is carrying firewood, the peasant is on firewood."
After the words "on the firewood" there is a hyphen and, therefore, a pause in order to allow one to think, to think out who is on the firewood.
Epithet .
Slim and green .
These adjectives tell us what a Christmas tree looks like.
Coward Bunny gray .
Indicates the color of the bunny coat.
" Angry Wolf ".
Shows the mood of the wolf.
Diminutive suffixes.
The words "Christmas tree, snowball, cowardly bunny, horse, little man, spine" show that this song was written for children. She teaches them to love, treat the forest and its inhabitants with kindness, take care of the Christmas tree, respect the hard work of a simple peasant who carries a Christmas tree for rich children.
Thus, the emotional and expressive means of the song “A Christmas tree was born in the forest” draw the attention of children and adults to the forest and its inhabitants, where the Christmas tree was born, to the care of nature itself - snowstorm and frost, show the hard work of a peasant - a woodcutter, his horses.
They draw us a green forest beauty. The song is addressed to children, which is spoken of in diminutive terms - affectionate suffixes, the personification of animals and nature, and educates children in the ability to love and care for others. And in such a children's language, children speak even now, so the song is clear and close to them today. And adults, with the help of this song, return to their childhood and become kinder, at least even on this magical New Year's holiday. Therefore, this song will still survive the centuries, as it is addressed to the heart, to the best and kindest feelings.
Section 3. Comparison of the songs “ Oh , Christmas tree ” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest” 901. Determining the genres of the songs “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”
To determine the genre of “Oh, Christmas tree”, we turned to an interview with the composer Sergei Belogolov.
"The main criterion for the quality of an anthem is the emotional impact of two components - music and text, which can cause a spiritual uplift in the listener, readiness for action, a sense of pride." Also, D. Blagoy's explanations confirm that the song "Oh, Christmas tree" was written in the genre of an anthem. " In the newest literature, the anthem ... means a lyrical piece expressing a festively uplifted feeling that arises under the influence of some wonderful event or exceptional experience. [2,125]
To determine the genre of the song “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”, we used the characteristics of the song by Yu.B. Aliyev. “A song is a small poetic and lyrical genre, which is characterized by the simplicity of verbal and musical construction. ... The best examples of it (children's music) are characterized by concreteness, lively poetic content, imagery, simplicity and clarity of form. …Musical works for children are often based on folk tales, pictures of nature, images of the animal world.
[1, 56]
Using this content, we defined the genre of the work "A Christmas tree was born in the forest" as a children's song. From its history, we know that it was intended for children, melody, uncomplicated melody, lively poetic content, imagery, pictures of nature, images of the animal world characterize the genre of children's songs. And today children remain children, and today they need simple, figurative, lively, lyrical songs.
3.2. Song comparison “ Oh , Christmas tree ” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”
To clarify the criteria for the popularity of songs, let's compare them.
To compare songs, let's choose the following criteria considered in this work:
- J. S. Bach. "Christmas Oratorio"
- G. F. Handel. Scene "Prophecy about the birth of Christ" from the oratorio "Messiah"
- A. Corelli. "Christmas Concerto Grosso" (op. 6, no. 8)
- P. I. Tchaikovsky. Ballet "The Nutcracker"
- P. I. Tchaikovsky. Opera "Cherevichki"
- P.
Does the content of the song correspond to the worldview of people at a certain historical stage.
Do the emotional and expressive means of the song correspond to the worldview of people.
Table No. 1 "Comparison of New Year's songs"
Both songs are popular. As you can see, the general criteria for their popularity were the compliance of the content of the songs with the historical stage in the development of the popularity of the Christmas tree and compliance with the worldview of people, the expression through the song of the best properties of their soul. And since these songs are considered folk, apparently, the personality of the author, as well as the form of the work (genre), are not very important for popularity.
3.3. Performing interlinear translations of two versions of the English New Year song “Oh, Christmas tree”
As a result of work on the songs, we have the following interlinear translations of two versions of the English song.
Version 1
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
Thy leaves are so unchanging
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
Thy leaves are so unchanging
Green not only when it's summer
Not only green when summer's here
But also when it's cold and drear Such pleasure do you bring me
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
Such pleasure do you bring me
For every year this Christmas tree
Brings us such joy and glee
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
Such pleasure do you bring me
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
You will always be the same
You'll ever be unchanging
A symbol of goodwill and love
You'll ever be unchanging
Each shining light, each silver bell
No one spreads joy like tree
No one alive spreads cheer so well
O Christmas tree, o Christmas tree
You'll ever be unchanging
Version 2
O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree
branches!
Your boughs are green in summer's clime
And through the snows of wintertime
O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree
How steadfast are your branches!
O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree
What happiness befalls me inspires my song and rhyme
O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree
What happiness befalls me
O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree
Your boughs can teach a lesson
That constant faith and hope sublime
That constant faith and hope sublime
provide strength and comfort throughout all time.
Lend strength and comfort through all time
O Christmas Tree, o Christmas Tree
Your boughs can teach a lesso.
Using the resulting interlinear translations, we tried to compose our own creative poetic translation of the English song.
3.4. Own translation of the song
Oh, herringbone, oh, herringbone, your foliage is so green
Both in hot summer and in winter the needles are eternal with you.
Oh tree, oh tree, your leaves are so green.
Oh, herringbone, oh, herringbone, you give us joy in full.
There is a Christmas tree here every year, it brings love and life.
Oh, herringbone, oh, herringbone, you give us joy in full.
Oh tree, oh tree, your leaves are so green.
You never change, as a symbol of eternity, goodness.
Oh tree, oh tree, your leaves are so green.
Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, you give us joy in full.
And the bright light and the beat of the heart, like a Christmas tree, will bring joy.
Oh, herringbone, oh, herringbone, you give us joy in full.
Conclusion
As a result of the research work, we found out the authors, reasons and time of writing songs, and also determined the genres of the musical works in question.
After analyzing the emotional and expressive means of the verses of the songs “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest”, we gave their interlinear translations and compared these popular New Year's songs about the Christmas tree. At the end of the work, we gave our own poetic translation of the English song “Oh, Christmas tree”.
We believe that this work has achieved its goal. We found out that the New Year songs “Oh, Christmas tree” and “A Christmas tree was born in the forest” are still popular because they correspond to the worldview of people and awaken the best qualities in them.
Thus, our hypothesis that the reasons for the popularity of songs lie in their conformity with the worldview of people in a given period and the ability to express the best properties of one's soul through these songs turned out to be correct.
References
Aliev Yu.B. Desk book of a school teacher-musician./Yu.B. Aliev. M .: - Publishing House Humanit. ed. Center Vlados, 2000. -254p.
Blagoy D.V. Anthem // Literary encyclopedia: Dictionary of literary terms: In 2 volumes - M .; L.: Publishing House L. D. Frenkel, 1995. - P. 230
The history of the emergence of the Christmas tree. https://elki-garlyandy.rf
Internet magazine for lovers of Russian literature. Issue 107, part 1: Raisa Kudasheva. January 23, 2007 https://ruslit.com/?p=191
Kim, E.M., Buntman E.V. “Christmas tree. A hundred years ago” ./E.M. Butman. M.: Publishing House Labyrinth, 2016. -87p.
Krasnikova, A.S. History of Christmas decorations / A.S. Krasnikova . M.: - Publishing house Rosmen, 2018.-48s.
Rapoport, A.N. The history of the Christmas tree.
/ A.N. Rapoport. M .: Publishing house "Swing", 2018. - 24 p.
Christmas tree in Russia in the first half of the 19th century https://www.culture.ru
Tkachenko, A.M. The history of the Christmas tree.//A.M. Tkachenko. M .: Publishing house "Nastya and Nikita", 2015. - 24 p.
Encyclopedic Dictionary "History of the Fatherland from ancient times to the present day." Compiled by: B.Yu. Ivanov, V.M. Karev, E.I. Kuksina, A.S. Oreshnikov, O.V. Sukharev. Moscow. – 1999, History of one Christmas tree
https://www.toybytoy.com/console/Why-colors-of-the-New-year-green-and-red Date: 11/17/2019)
New Year and Christmas songs of the world
A Christmas tree was born in our forest!
And you?
In this issue of the newspaper, one cannot bypass the New Year and Christmas musical theme. Music accompanies all significant events in our world, and Merry Christmas is no exception.
We tried to collect in one material as many festive melodies from different countries as possible, which are performed all over the world. Children and adults know them, and they create a New Year's mood filled with magic and the expectation of miracles.
Telling everything we learned! Yes, and listen to the playlist of New Year and Christmas melodies of the world collected on Yandex.Music: open playlist →
German Christmas songs
Stille Nacht
but also the whole world. Do you know why? Because the song lives on in different languages, even Afrikaans and Thai for example!
The song was born in Austria and has become a truly cultural heritage of this country.
Here's what we've learned from the history of Stille Nacht. For a long time, the song was considered folk, until in the middle of the 19th century the last German emperor and king of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm, who loved this work very much, decided to find out the authorship.
The head of the court chapel searched for a source for a long time, until one day he heard one of the choristers humming a familiar melody, slightly changing the theme. And he proudly said that they composed this song in his native Austrian village.
History of creation
In 1818, the Catholic priest Josef Mohr, rector of a church in the Austrian village of Oberndorf, wrote a text, the music for which was created by the musician Franz Gruber, an organist from a neighboring village.
There are several legends as to why the song was written. Let's talk about the most famous.
On the eve of Christmas Eve, the pastor discovered that the organ of his church was hopelessly damaged by mice, and it was impossible to play on it. In order to somehow please his parishioners, he wrote the text of a Christmas song - a hymn, and asked his organist friend to write the music for two voices a cappella and guitar.
According to Wikipedia, the premiere of "Silent Night" took place on the same day at a solemn Christmas mass.
The authors of the anthem performed it themselves, Mor also accompanied on the guitar, and the choir repeated the last two lines of each verse.
In 1819 the engineer Karl Mauracher came to Oberndorf to repair the church organ and left with a copy of Silent Night. He passed the song on to the well-known families of the Reiner and Strasser singers at the time, who performed it all over the world.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the church in Oberndorf was destroyed by a flood. Now a small chapel has been erected in its place, and the Silent Night Museum dedicated to the song has been opened in the neighboring house. The oldest surviving author's score (circa 1820) is kept in the Carolino-Augusteum Museum in Salzburg.
What is being sung about in Stille Nacht?
The night is quiet, the night is holy,
The height is illuminated.
A bright angel flies from heaven,
He brings news to the shepherds,
"Christ was born to you, Christ was born to you.
"
The night is quiet, the night is holy,
A star burns in the sky.
The shepherds have been on their way for a long time,
They hasten to come to Bethlehem,
There to see Christ, there to see Christ.
The night is quiet, the night is holy,
Happiness awaits all hearts.
God, let me come to Christ,
Find bright joy in Him.
Be glorified forever, Christ, be glorified forever, Christ.
O Tannenbaum
(from German - "Oh, Christmas tree!") - German Christmas carol. The English version is called "O Christmas Tree".
It is worth noting that initially there was no religious overtones in the lyrics of the song. It was a winter song (“Winterlied”), not a Christmas song (“Weihnachtslied”). The melody is based on an old folk motif, and the lyrics date back to 1550 (and also to Melchior Frank's song Ach Tannenbaum, which appeared in 1615). The song is dedicated to spruce, which pleases the eye in winter and gives hope.
O Tannenbaum gained worldwide fame in the 19th century after a Leipzig organist and teacher named Ernst Anschütz (in 1824) reworked an old folk tune. An instrumental version of "O Tannenbaum" was created by Vince Guaraldi for the very popular American Christmas television show A Charlie Brown Christmas (first aired in 1965).
There are two versions of the German words and two of the best known translations into English (translations are quite free, in which the meaning and style of the original version undergoes certain changes). Here are examples.
| German | English | Russian |
| O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum Wie oft hat nicht zur Weihnachtszeit Die Hoffnung und Beständigkeit Gibt Mut und Kraft zu jeder Zeit! O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, O. Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, | O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree! Not only in the summertime, O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, Not only green when summer's here O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, | Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, How often in a quiet winter hour Oh, Christmas tree, oh, Christmas tree, Oh, herringbone, oh, herringbone, |
Morgen kommt der Weihnachtsmann
This song became very popular in German-speaking countries in the middle of the 19th century, but its melody is actually based on a French children's song not related to Christmas. Mozart used this theme in his piano variations, which made the song widely known in Germany and Austria.
Later, the famous poet and Germanist August von Fallersleben, the author of the "Song of the Germans" (das Lied der Deutschen), which is the basis of the modern German anthem, wrote the text for a children's song, which sings about how children are waiting for "Christmas grandfather" with gifts.
There are many versions of the song in different languages with different lyrics, such as English Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Here is a translation (by A. Zhizhin) into Russian we found on the Internet. We didn't translate "Weihnachtsmann" as Santa Claus or Ded Moroz or Papa Noel. They left the original name of the "Christmas character" of this song, who brings gifts:
Weihnachtsmann will come tomorrow,
Will bring gifts with him.
Drum, pipe and gun,
Banner and saber, and something else.
Yes, a whole army of soldiers
I would like to.
Bring us, dear Weihnachtsmann,
Bring tomorrow, bring
Musketeer and grenadier,
Teddy bear and panther,
Horse and donkey, sheep and bull,
Only good gifts.
You know our desire,
You know what's in our hearts.
Everything, we are all here.
After all, you know our desire,
You know what is in our hearts.
Children, father and mother,
Even grandfather,
Everyone, we are all here
In agonizing expectation.
Drum, pipe and gun,
Banner and saber, and something else,
Yes, a whole army of soldiers.
After all, you know our desire,
You know what is in our hearts.
Everything, we are all here.
Ukrainian culture
"Shchedryk"
This is an old Ukrainian New Year's folk song, which gained worldwide popularity in musical arrangement by Nikolai Leontovich.
From history
In the culture of the Ukrainian people, the so-called songs-shchedrovkas (Ukrainian “shchedrivki”) were composed. Traditionally, they were performed at Christmas and New Year. Today they are usually sung on the Generous Evening - on the eve of the Old New Year.
These songs reflected pagan beliefs, mentioned biblical stories, and also described the way of life and traditions of the people. The guests, coming to the house for the holidays, sang generosity to the owner and members of his family, wishing wealth, harvest, health, happiness and good luck.
Shchedryk became one of the Christmas songs. It sings about a swallow promising its owners prosperity in the coming year. The mention of a bird that flies to warmer climes for the winter suggests that the shed appeared in pagan times, when the New Year was celebrated on the spring equinox.
Nikolai Leontovich worked on the world-famous version of "Shchedryk" almost all his life. The first edition of the song was written before 1901-1902, the second - in 1906-1908, the third - in 1914, the fourth - in 1916, and finally, the fifth - 1919
For the first time "Shchedryk" was performed by students of Kyiv University under the guidance of the composer Koshyts in 1916, and this shocked the people of Kiev.
Later, Symon Petliura, who was in 1919 the head of the Directory of the Ukrainian People's Republic, decided to organize a choir chapel and send it on tour around the world. The chapel was supposed to surprise Europe and America with the songs and voices of Ukraine. With the last money, the choir goes on a long tour. Ukraine has been heard all over the world. And it was precisely the song-schedrovka in Leontovich's arrangement that was to blame for this - it became the crown number of the Kosice choir. Everyone fell in love with this melody and were amazed by the incredible polyphony and perfection of the work, some listeners even looked behind the stage after the concert, thinking that it was some kind of motor humming - the basses of the choristers were so low and slender. And the high female voices resembled bells.
The song "Shchedryk" eventually became an international Christmas carol. Versions, they say, there are more than six hundred. Without it, winter holidays are simply unthinkable in many countries, at least in Germany, Holland, France, Spain, England, Belgium.
Even the bells on the town hall in Brussels ring out "Shchedryk".
We will also tell you about the history of the English version of Carol of the Bells below.
Lyrics of the song-Shchedrovka:
Shchedryk, Shchedryk, Shchedrivochka,
A swallow came,
Began to chirp,
Called the Lord:
“See, see, Lord,
Look at the fold, —
And the lambs were born there,
In you the goods are all good,
You will be a mother of a penny,
If you don’t have a penny, then sex,
In you is a black-browed woman.
Shchedryk, Shchedryk, Shchedryvka,
A swallow has arrived.
UK and Northern Ireland
Carol Of The Bells
In 1921, the Ukrainian song "Shchedryk" was first sung at a concert at Carnegie Hall in New York. The song also conquered America. And soon the American composer of Ukrainian origin Peter Vilkhovsky composed a new text in English, turning the traditional schedrovka into a Christmas composition for the NBC radio network symphony orchestra.
The melody reminded him of the ringing of bells, which prompted the main idea - the main attention was paid to the theme of bells, which also led to the choice of the name. This is how one of the most popular Christmas songs, Carol of the Bells, appeared.
Since the 1940s, the song has been frequently recorded by various musicians. For example, The Piano Guys performed Carol of the Bells (piano and cello) masterfully. Now Currently, Pentatonix's performance is very popular. And fans of hard rock can listen to a Christmas tune from Metallica.
Known versions of Carol of the Bells with alternative lyrics: Ring, Christmas Bells by Minna Louise Hohman, and Come Dance and Sing and Hark to the Bells by unknown authors.
The composition is also featured in several feature films. For many, the most memorable use of the song in film remains a scene from the comedy Home Alone and later in the third part of the Harry Potter movie.
| Lyrics | Translation |
| Hark how the bells, Christmas is here, Ding dong ding dong One seems to hear Oh how they pound, Gaily they ring Merry, Merry, Merry, Merry Christmas, On on they send, Ding dong ding dong, | Listen to the bells, Christmas has come, Ding dong, ding dong - Gathering in a cheerful circle, They are in the air Telling their story Christmas is here They spread everything Ding dong, ding dong |
Jingle Bells
The most popular Christmas song of all time written back in 1857 by the American composer James Pierpont.
In the first version, it was called One Horse Open Sleigh (one horse - one horse, open sleigh - open sleigh) and was dedicated not to Christmas, but to Thanksgiving. Two years later, the song was re-released: to add popularity to it and make it more wintery, the chords and lyrics were slightly changed. The composition was called Jingle Bells, and it began to be perceived as a Christmas one.
There are several options for translating the title of the song into Russian. According to one version, jingle in the title and chorus (Jingle bells, jingle all the way) is the imperative mood of the verb to jingle (to ring, tinkle, jingle), and "Jingle Bells" can be translated as "Ring, bells." But jingle bells are also a certain type of bells, bells that adorn a trio of horses. Therefore, another version of the name is "Bubentsy".
Jingle Bells Rock
There is also a rock version of the classic Jingle Bells, with lyrics different from the original. The song was recorded at 1957 country singer Bobby Helms on the wave of popularity of rock and roll.
Therefore, the word rock is present in the title. The classic version is about a fun sleigh ride, while Rock is about the magical atmosphere of Christmas and festive fun.
Walking In The Air
Christmas in English-speaking countries is not complete without traditional viewing of The Snowman cartoon and listening to the wonderful composition Walking In The Air (Aled Jones, 1985).
The history of the song began from the moment when the British director Diana Jackson decided to bring Raymond Briggs' book The Snowman to life. Plot: a boy made a snowman for Christmas, and he came to life. And he moved his creator to the North Pole to Santa Claus. This is a book without text, any child can "read" the story from the illustrations.
The director transferred this technique to the cartoon, the characters of which remain silent. The words are heard only during a brief film introduction by David Bowie (he played the role of a grown-up boy recalling a story from his childhood) and in the mentioned song Walking In The Air, to the sounds of which a snowman and a boy fly over the night earth.
And it was this song that became for many generations of British and Americans a symbol not only of the cartoon, but also of Christmas.
Lyrics
We're walking in the air,
We're floating in the moonlit sky.
The people far below are sleeping as we fly.
I'm holding very tight,
I'm riding in the midnight blue,
I'm finding I can fly so high above with you.
Far across the world
The villages go by like trees
the rivers and the hills
The forest and the streams.
Children gaze open mouth
Taken by surprise.
Nobody down below believes their eyes.
We're surfing in the air,
We're swimming in the frozen sky,
We're drifting over icy
mountains floating by.
Suddenly swooping low on an ocean deep
Arousing of a mighty monster from its sleep.
We're walking in the air,
We're floating in the midnight sky
And everyone who sees us greets us as we fly.
White Christmas
(from English: "White Christmas")
At one time, White Christmas was the title of the best-selling single in the world. The song was originally created for the musical film Holiday Inn in 1941 and sounded with a touch of sadness and nostalgia uncharacteristic of Christmas songs. Interestingly, it was written in sunny California, where there is no snow and one can only dream of a “white Christmas”. Writer Irving Berlin is said to have realized immediately that he had composed "one of the best songs ever written!"
White Christmas caused a real sensation in 1942, when singer Bing Crosby re-recorded it for a single, removing from the original the first verse with the mention of the sun, grass and palm trees, incomprehensible outside the context of the film.
From the song:
I dream of a white Christmas
With each card I signed.
"May your days be bright and full of happiness,
And may your every Christmas be snow-white..."
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
(from English: "Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer")
An interesting story with a reindeer team occurred in countries where the main Christmas character is Santa. Historically, it had 8 deer. In 1939, another one named Rudolph was added to them. In Christmas mythology, he appeared thanks to Robert May, who wrote a poem about a funny deer with a glowing red nose. As is often the case, at first everyone laughed at him. But when Santa Claus took him to him and put him in front of the team - to light the way in the darkness with his nose, then Rudolph became a respected deer.
A brochure with a rhyme about Rudolph was a great success and was reprinted several times. And some time later, composer Johnny Marks wrote a funny song to May's poem, which, performed by Gene Autry, became a hit the week before Christmas 1949.
Well, and then, whoever has not covered it...
From the song:
You know Desher and Dancer
And Prencer and Vixen,
Comet and Cupid,
And Doner and Blitzen.
But remember
The most famous fawn of all...
French songs
Petit Papa Noël
This is a song about the French "brother" of Santa Claus. The word Noёl is translated as "Christmas", the character is "father of Christmas". Petit Papa Noël - Literally, "little daddy of Christmas".
Traditionally, the performance of this composition is associated with the name of the Frenchman of Corsican origin, Tino Rossi. Although he was a popular singer and actor in the first half of the 20th century, and his romantic ballads became hits, the most famous hit was the Christmas song. It first sounded in the film Destins ("Destiny"), released on screens in the middle of 1940s.
| Lyrics | Russian translation |
| C'est la belle nuit de Noël La neige étend son manteau blanc Et les yeux levés vers le ciel Petit papa Noël Le marchand de sable est passé Il me tarde que le jour se lève Et quand tu seras sur ton beau nuage | It's a beautiful Christmas night The snow spreads its white coat And looking up at the sky On your knees, small children Before closing your eyelids Make the last prayer.  Petit Papa Noël Sandy passed Petit Papa Noël I long dawned And when you're on a beautiful cloud |
Mon beau sapin
This is a popular Christmas and New Year song which is the French version of the German song O, Tannenbaum in literary translation.
The author of the French text is unknown, but the song is considered folk and begins with the words:
Mon beau sapin, roi des forêts - "my beautiful spruce, queen of the forests." True, in French the word "spruce" is masculine, so the first line can literally be translated as "my beautiful spruce, king of the forests."
From Italy
Tu scendi dalle Stelle
This song is one of the most popular and famous Christmas songs in Italy. It was written in December 1754 by the Neapolitan Bishop Alfonso Maria de Liguori (Sant' Alfonso Maria de' Liguori), canonized. The song began with the words (in translation) "You came down from the stars" and was called "Little Song to Baby Jesus", or "Song to Baby Jesus".
There were a lot of variations and arrangements. Domenico Scarlatti used the melody in his Sonata in C major, Kk513. Respighi adopted the chorale for the second movement of his TRITTICO botticelliano, P 151 (1927), "Adoration of the Magi".
Anthony Velona and Remo Capra arranged the English lyrics based on the original musical composition for a version called "O Bambino" (also known as "One Cold and Blessed Winter"). And the list can go on and on.
Bianco Natale
In Italian it translates as "White Christmas". This is the Italian version of the famous English-language White Christmas. It was performed by many famous Italian singers.
Of course, the list of countries and melodies could be continued. But let's listen to the songs we have already voiced in the playlist:
In conclusion, we will only list at least 10 major masterpieces from the classics on the New Year and Christmas theme.
