The wren boys and Malanka

The Wren Boys 

by Jack B. Yeats

The wren, the wren, the king of all birds, 

Saint Stephen's day, she was caught in a furze, 

Up with the kettle, and down with the pan, 

Give me some money to bury the wren." 

#Ireland

It's been a long time since I posted anything here. I feel like I am getting further away from my Ukrainian roots as I have no one to speak or reminisce with. So I'll post here some observations about holiday traditions that I've noticed have similar roots in Ireland and Ukraine. 

In Ireland, we celebrate three days of Christmas: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and St Stephen's Day.  Christmas Day is the big one in Ireland, whereas Christmas Eve is the big one in Ukrainian tradition. Ukrainians celebrate with a twelve-course meatless meal, except it includes fish of course. We used to celebrate Christmas by the Julian calendar on the 7th of January, but most of the Catholics switched to the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox still use the Julian calendar. As we are in Ireland now and Alex's mother is German, we celebrate German Christmas on the 24th, Irish Christmas on the 25th and Ukrainian Christmas on the 7th. I know it's complicated, but we only give presents once. We really should have given presents on the feast of St Nicolas.

The feast of St Nicolas, the patron saint of sailors, is observed on 6 December in Western Christian countries, and on 19 December in Eastern Christian countries using the old church calendar. It is the feast day of Nicholas of Myra with emphasis on his reputation as a bearer of gifts. That's when gifts were given to all the good children, but the bad children received a lump of coal or a switch with which they'd be spanked. Saint Nicholas' Collegiate Church, founded in 1320, is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland; Christopher Columbus is said to have prayed there in 1477 and Cromwell's men desecrated it in 1652. It is magnificent and in the heart of old Galway. 

We also celebrate Malanka (Маланка, or "Shchedryi vechіr"/"Щедрий Вечір") a folk holiday celebrated on 13 January, which is New Year's Eve in accordance with the Julian calendar. We never did change that one. It is still celebrated on the 13th of January with lavish balls. 

There’s a Ukrainian folksong that you know. Except that you don’t know that it’s Ukrainian and a folksong. The enchanting music that became known to the world as 'Carol of the Bells' with lyrics penned by Peter J. Wilhousky was actually composed by Ukrainian musician Mykola Leontovych in 1904, based on a Ukrainian folk song. Carol of the Bells is for many an irreplaceable symbol of Christmas. It wasn't a Christmas song at all but a folk song associated with Schedriy Vechir or Malanka. It promised that if you spotted a swallow on this day, you'd soon have lots of money. The musical rhythm is representative of the flight of a small bird not that of bells. 

Few know that not only is this originally a Ukrainian folksong but a folksong that was performed one hundred years ago all over Europe and the Americas in Ukraine’s first-ever cultural diplomacy project. It's about a small bird like a wren or a swallow. The fledgeling Ukrainian National Republic sent the group Ukrainian Republic A Capella on a worldwide tour in a bid to promote Ukrainian culture around the world and preserve the statehood of the country – and ended up giving a timeless gift of Ukrainian music to the world. 

People dressed up in straw costumes to celebrate Malanka. Sound familiar? The wren boys dressed up in straw costumes and went door to door reciting the wren verse to get money. There are many parallels between Ukrainian and Irish customs and history. I'll try to continue to point them out. 

Learn more here: Carol of the Bells & the fight for national dignity. Lessons from the history of the Ukrainian National Republic.  It's curious that the Ukrainian Revolution of 1917-1921 paralleled the Irish War of Independence from 1916-1921, except that Ireland succeeded whereas Ukraine failed. 

Lyrics to Schedryk

Щедрик щедрик, щедрiвочка,

прилeтiла ластiвочка,

стала собi щебетати,

господаря викликати:

"Вийди, вийди, господарю,

подивися на кошару,

там овечки покотились,

а ягнички народились.

В тебе товар весь хороший,

будеш мати мiрку грошей,

В тебе товар весь хороший,

будеш мати мiрку грошей,

хоч не грошей, то полова:

в тебе жiнка чорноброва."

Щедрик щедрик, щедрiвочка,

прилeтiла ластiвочка.

Curiously, having grown up in Philadelphia, we enjoyed the rather wacky Mummer's Parade on New Year's Day. There, bands dressed in outlandish costumes paraded up Broad Street playing mostly banjos in my youth. The Mummers in Sligo wear straw. The costumes in Philly have become extraordinarily ornate. 

Mummers in Philly

Mummers in Sligo