New Year Carol (Shchedrivka)
Shchedrivky are a type of Ukrainian winter ritual songs in which, during the cold season, people sing wishes for a rich harvest, the return of spring birds, and healthy livestock. A common question arises: when were shchedrivky traditionally performed in the past, and how has this practice changed today?
Over the last several centuries in Slobozhanshchyna, the “Christmas-tide” period, from Christmas to Epiphany, was divided into several stages, each with its own ritual and singing customs. From Christmas onward, carols were sung for a full week. With the arrival of New Year’s Eve, which in the Christian calendar coincided with the feast of Saint Melania (now 31 December), shchedrivky began. Usually, shchedruvannia lasted two or three days. If it continued longer, it always ended before the “Hungry Holy Supper,” the eve of Epiphany. This created a clear division of genres: carols and shchedrivky were performed at different times.
The spring imagery found in Ukrainian winter shchedrivky often surprises listeners. They sing about fieldwork, the return of birds, and the birth of calves and lambs. This reflects an older tradition in which the New Year was celebrated in spring. After Peter the Great’s calendar reform moved the beginning of the year to winter, the songs retained their springtime content.
Shchedruvannia was usually begun by girls on the evening before New Year’s Day, the feast of Saint Vasyl. Girls’ shchedrivky dedicated to Saint Melania often opened with her name, for example “Melanky khodyly” or “Melanochka lastivochka.” Their plots combined ancient spring motifs with Christian themes, while the melodies remained simple and archaic. In some villages, shchedruvannia was considered mainly a female tradition, like most calendar songs. At the same time, on the Left Bank researchers repeatedly recorded “boys’” texts as well as mixed versions that also mentioned Melania but were closer in content to Christian carol narratives.
Shchedrivky performed by children aged about three to five were similar to carols. They were short verse greetings addressed to the householders, with wishes and requests for treats. Closely related were the sowing verses sung on New Year’s morning, the feast of Saint Vasyl on 1 January, when young boys were expected to be the first to enter the house and perform the ritual of “sowing grain.” Male rituals such as the “Goat” procession were also ritual in nature and were accompanied mainly by rhythmic spoken or chanted formulas.
As three major winter holidays gradually came closer together in time, the themes of their songs also became more alike. Many shchedrivky feature celestial bodies, natural phenomena, and biblical motifs such as Christ’s supper, the forgiveness of sins, and the keys to paradise. Christian imagery often intertwines with everyday scenes, for example in popular shchedrivky where Mary washes clothes and angels lift them up to heaven. There are no major differences in performance practice either. Like carols, shchedrivky were sung by groups or soloists, in unison or in stanzaic form, using various vocal styles typical of Slobozhanshchyna and Poltavshchyna.
The most popular group were wedding shchedrivky, performed in households with a girl or young man of marriageable age. In the Kharkiv region, a particularly widespread text tells of golden birch bark from which a girl prepares wedding ornaments, a wreath and a ring.
| Audio | Title | Genre | Location | Durat. | Lyrics | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oh, in the meadow, in the meadow | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Druhyi Lyman, Dvorichanskyi District | 02:02 |
Ой по лу(гу), да по лугу,
| ||
| Birch tree was at our master's | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Budne, Okhtyrskyi District | 02:03 |
А в нашого пана береза стояла,
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| Що в Єрусалимі рано задзвонили | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Mariupol | 01:35 |
Що в Єрусалимі рано задзвонили, Там Дєва Марія сина породила, Дали йому імя Святоє Васілля, Святоє Васілля – то Божая сила, Щедрий вечір, добрий вечір, Дали ж йому імя Святоє Рожество, Святоє Рожество нам радость принесло, З праздником, будьте здорові! | ||
| Щедрик-ведрик | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Keleberda, Kremenchutskyi district | 00:12 |
Щедрик-ведрик, Добрий вечір, бажаю щастя всім господарям! | ||
| Шо в тому домочку | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Kharkivtsi, Myrhorodskyi (Lokhvytskyi) district | 02:41 |
Шо в тому домочку, так як у віночку, Сів Сус Христос та й вечеряти, Що він вечеря щуку-рибу, Щуку-рибу та ще й осетрину, К йому прийшла та Божая мати, Та й забрала та райськії ключі, Та й повипускала всі праведні душі, | ||
| Щедрик, щедрик, щедрівонька | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Kharkivtsi, Myrhorodskyi (Lokhvytskyi) district | 00:42 |
Щедрик, щедрик, щедрівонька, Здрастуйте! З празником! | ||
| Меланка ходила | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Siversk, Bakhmut district | 00:25 |
Меланка ходила,
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| Melanka walked and asked Vasylko | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Polova, Derhachivskyi District | 00:22 |
Меланка ходила,
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| The birch amidst the garden | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Velyka Homilsha, Zmiivskyi District | 02:27 |
Серед двору, двору стояла бірьоза, А на тій бірьозі дзіндзірьова кора, Дзіндзірьова кора, золотеє гілля, Вітер повіває, листя обдуває, Мати Марія листячко збирала, Листячко збирала, світлоньку квітчала, А у тий світлоньці Сус Христос вечеряв, Прийшла до Його Мати Марія, «Ой дай, Синку, ключі золотиї, Та й повідкривати всі раї і пекла, Та й повідпускати всі праведні душі, | ||
| Today is the feast of Melania | New Year Carol (Shchedrivka) | Malynivka, Chuhuivskyi District | 03:30 |
Сьодня же празник Меланія, Меланія пребагата, Золотом церкву й оббивала, Кому пиріг, кому й калач, За той пиріг сам Бог беріг, |
Among local examples, the shchedrivka from Sharivka in the Valky district, “A chy doma-doma pan-khaziain?” stands out. It became known throughout Ukraine and turned into a symbol of its native region.
