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The First Day of 2012, and A Song about the Fir-Tree

A New Year card from one of my friends – with an MSU ball

My first day of 2012 was a lazy one. After all the accomplishments of 2011 I thought I deserved to sleep for as long as I wanted. The night before we celebrated the New Year to the traditional sound of the Kremlin clock chimes.

In the run-up to Christmas holidays we have seen lengthy playlists of Christmas carols and holiday themed songs. One of them is a song about the fir-tree. The story has it that for a long time the song was considered to be a part of Russian folklore, i.e. without a single known author. Then one day an old lady came to the head of the Soviet Union of Writers; according to one version, it was Maxim Gorky who met her, to another – Alexander Fadeev. The lady asked to be made a member of the Writer’s Union, and this was the first time she openly admitted the authorship of the famous children’s song. Thus Raisa Kudasheva was identified as the author of this very popular song.

A few years ago, while I was in the UK, I found out that my unimates sang this song in Latin at one of their get-togethers. So, below is the video of the song performed by the Moscow children choir, its English translation and – wait for this – the Latin version.

The forest raised a Christmas tree,
‘Twas silent and serene
In winter and in summer
It was slender and so green.

The wind sang it a lullaby:
Sleep Christmas tree, sleep tight!
The snow was making clothes for it:
It was a pretty sight!

A trembling bunny put himself
Beneath its arms so wide;
The hungry wolf just passed him by –
A lovely place to hide!

Some sleigh bells rang throughout the woods,
The snow was crisp and clean,
A horsey brought a forester
To hew that tree so green.

And now it comes to visit us,
With lights and garlands bright,
While all the children dance and sing
To greet it with delight!
(translated by Arthur Durando and Irina Popova)

In silva nata (e)st abies,
In silva crescebat.
Aestate atque hieme
Haec viridis erat.

Cantabat hiemes canticum
Tu dormi, abies!
Tegebat frigus nivibus –
Ne frigeas, cave!

Sub abiete lepores
Saltabant timidi,
Nonnunquam lupi silvestres
Currebant horridi…

…Et nunc ornata abies
Ad festum advenit
Et multa, multa gaudia
Infantibus tulit.

error: Sorry, no copying !!