"" (, from ) is a Ukrainian , or New Year celebration song, known in English as "The Little Swallow". The song tells a story of a swallow flying into a household at new year to sing of the wealth that will come with the following spring. "" was sung during on the night of 31 December, New Year's Eve in the Julian calendar (13 January in the Gregorian Calendar), known in Ukraine as . The song was arranged by the Ukrainian composer between 1901 and 1919 with early performances of the piece being performed by students at Kyiv University.
It was made into a Christmas carol, "Carol of the Bells", by the American composer and educator Peter J. Wilhousky. Following a performance of Leontovych's composition by Alexander Koshetz's Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall on 5 October, 1922, Wilhousky published his own lyrics for the melody and secured a copyright on his lyrics in 1936. The music has since become strongly associated with Christmas.
"Shchedryk" ('Bountiful Evening') is a Ukrainian , or New Year celebration song, known in English as "The Little Swallow". It tells of a swallow flying into a home to proclaim that the family will enjoy a plentiful and bountiful year. The title is derived from the Ukrainian word for "bountiful". The song is based on a traditional folk song whose language was thought to have magical properties. The traditional Ukrainian text used a device known as hemiola in the rhythm (alternating the accents within each measure from to and back again). The chant based on an ostinato four-note pattern within the range of a minor third is thought to be of prehistoric origins, predating the introduction of Christianity. It was associated with the coming New Year that was celebrated in Ukraine in March. Conceptually, the Ukrainian lyrics of this song meet the definition of a , while the English content of "The Little Swallow" identifies it as a .
With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine, the celebration of the New Year was moved from March to January and "" became associated with the Feast of Epiphany, also known in Ukrainian as . The song was then sung on the night of New Year's Eve in the Julian Calendar (corresponding to 13 January on the Gregorian Calendar), which is . In modern Ukraine, the song is again sung on the eve of the Julian New Year (January 13). The folk melody was one of many "well-wishing songs" performed across Ukraine on 13 January, often by girls who went singing from house to house, and were given treats.
The conductor Alexander Koshetz commissioned the Ukrainian composer and teacher to write a song based on Ukrainian folk melodies for a Christmas concert. Using the four notes and the original folk lyrics of a well-wishing song he found in an anthology of Ukrainian folk melodies, Leontovych created a new choral work. The four-note melody over a minor third of the chant was used by him as an ostinato theme in several arrangements composed. "" is the most famous of all his songs.
"" is incorrectly said to have been first performed by students at Kyiv University on 25 December 1916. However, the song was first performed on 29 December 1916 in the Kyiv Merchants' Assembly Hall, now part of the National Philharmonic of Ukraine. The arrangement for an a cappella mixed voice choir was popularised by the Ukrainian Republic Capella directed by Koshetz when it toured Europe in 1920 and 1921 under the auspices of the newly independent Ukrainian government, with the task of promoting Ukrainian music abroad. The chorus performed more than 1000 concerts in Europe, North America, and South America. The first recording was made in New York in October 1922 for Brunswick Records.
After "" was performed by Alexander Koshetz's Ukrainian National Chorus for the first time at Carnegie Hall 5 October, 1922, the song was adapted as an English Christmas carol, "Carol of the Bells", by the American composer and educator Peter J. Wilhousky of NBC Radio. Wilhousky published and copyrighted his new lyricsâÂÂwhich were not based on the Ukrainian lyricsâÂÂin 1936. In the late 1930s, a number of Wilhousky's choirs began to perform his arrangement of the song at Christmas. Thereafter, the song became popular in the English-speaking world, where it became strongly associated with Christmas.
Although "Carol of the Bells" uses the melody from "", the lyrics of these two songs have nothing in common. The ostinato of the Ukrainian song suggested to Wilhousky the sound of ringing bells, so he wrote lyrics on that theme. Several other lyricists have written for the same melody, usually retaining Wilhousky's bell theme. A 1947 version, "Ring, Christmas Bells", has become a Christian devotional song. There is an English adaptation of the original Ukrainian by .
Originally a New Year celebration song, "" is not a popular Christmas song in Ukraine, unlike elsewhere in the world where the introduction of the Wilhousky lyrics became popularized since the late 1930s. Instead, in Ukraine its association with the new year is retained and the song is more often performed on the eve of the Julian Calendar new year.
The Family Guy episode "Deep Throats" contains a scene where Peter Griffin sings a song to the same tune as "" while performing a part-time job.
"" was covered by Ukrainian rock band in 2012.
"" was used in the 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and in the 2024 horror film Immaculate, just as Sister Cecilia gives birth. In the Christmas scene of the 2022 Ukrainian historical drama film Carol of the Bells, children are caroling and singing "". The role of the song in the film is as a symbol of peace, hope, and faith for a better future.
Because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, at the second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 that was held in the UK city of Liverpool rather than in Ukraine, the song was sung by the Ukrainian singers and .