Can Someone Help with a Swedish Kids Song about Being Little Now, But Soon Being as Big as Mama?
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Contents
Posts
Can Someone Help with a Swedish Kids Song about Being Little Now, But Soon Being as Big as Mama?
Monday, September 14th, 2009Joyce Johnson wrote:
Does anyone know the Swedish children’s song that goes something like this? (Translation from dictionary is…)
JAG er litten nu , så du se min vän , utom snart I’ll bli så stor så mama.
I believe translates into “I am little now, as you see my friend, but soon I’ll be as big as mama…”
It goes on to say that the child will do the things mama did – cooka, baka, diska… etc.” Does anyone know of this song?
I can’t remember the words but remember the tune very well. Has anyone ever heard this song and do they know the words?
I really want to find this song. My father taught it to my mother and they sang it to us all the time. The family originated in Ostergotland, Sweden.
It seems we never pay enough attention to these things when they are here but yearn for them after they are gone. It is a song for girls and I want to sing it to my granddaughter.
If anyone can help with this song, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with the Swedish Lullaby, “Spin, spin, spin, min dotter min”?
Friday, July 24th, 2009Wendy wrote:
I can remember my grandfather holding me on his lap an singing the following: (some in phonetics)
Spin, spin, spin, min dotter min
E meran kommer free and fran
dotter spun och tor en run
aldrigt kommer (free and fran?)Does anyone remember the correct wording? My daughter, whom I sang this to when she was little, now has a little one and wants to sing it correctly. Can you help?
Wendy Copeland
If anyone can help with this song, please let us know in the comments below. Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with 2 Danish or Swedish Nursery Rhymes? We Have a Recording of Them!
Tuesday, May 26th, 2009Lori wrote:
Dear Mama Lisa,
I am so excited to find this website because I have been searching for many years to find out about two Danish or Swedish nursery rhymes (you can listen to them by clicking the link). My mother’s beloved grandfather, Lars Christensen, used to bounce her on his knee and recite these rhymes. She then passed them on to me…and neither one of us know what they mean. Lars’ parents were both from Denmark: His father from the Brenderup, Odense, area and his mother from Lynge, Juteland area. So we think the rhymes may be Danish and probably date from the early 1800’s. However, Lars’ wife’s parents were from Sweden: Her father from Vallby, Kirkedinge area and her mother from Sallerup, Malmohus area. So there is a possibility that they are Swedish.
They might be so distorted coming from the mouth of an old Danish man through the memory of a small American girl and passed on to another generation, but I am hopeful that someone may recognize them.
My dear mother’s 80th birthday is coming up and I would love to surprise her with a written version or reading of the original, an English interpretation, or any information about any one of these two nursery rhymes. No matter how silly, they are very important to us because they are a link to our sacred, and loved ancestral roots.
Thank you so much,
Lori
If anyone can help out Lori, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
PS We know the first rhyme is a version of Ride ride ranke, and Lori checked the versions posted on the blog in the past, but couldn’t find it there.
Does Anyone Know a Swedish Lullaby That Sounds Like “Tsat tun lit and forglit and paratntray”?
Thursday, May 21st, 2009Leslie wrote:
My grandmother is dying of cancer. When I was little she used to sing a Swedish lullaby to me about a little bird and sweet milk. It goes something like this:
Tsat tun lit and forglit and paratntray…
quilint and vockor lisit…….spornot mot, ….reset…sit and milk made sovary
silk and sank till savory…daiska lilla …mot
por into por reseMy mom has asked me to track this down so we can sing it to her. She may not have long to live…days.
Please help me if you can. Does anyone know what this song is?
Much love!
LesleyIf anyone can help Leslie, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks so much!
Mama Lisa
Can Anyone Help with a Swedish Lullaby?
Monday, March 9th, 2009Kristin wrote to me looking for help with a song:
Hi Lisa,
I was surfing and stumbled upon your site and I’m hoping you can help me. My Mother learned a song from her Grandmother. In fact, she remembers the song being sung to her every night as a child. My Great-Grandmother spoke little English and my Mother did not speak Swedish, so she never really got a translation. I’m also certain that my Mom is not really singing the words correctly either. I would love more than anything to find the words and translation for her because my Mother is now trying to teach the song to my children.
I’m going to type it out the first two lines as I hear it – I don’t know any Swedish at all…
Ocher (Aucher?) Lit Lit
Er bord sen tiedenAnother option is that I record the tune as I know it and send it.
I know this is a total long shot. Thanks for taking a look.
My Best,
Kristin
If anyone can help Kristin with the lyrics to this song and/or an English translation, please let us know in the comments below.
Kristin, if you’d like to email me the tune, that might help! Thanks!
-Mama Lisa
Mama Lisa Now Has a Facebook Group
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009We’d love it if you’d join the Mama Lisa Facebook Group. You can post anything you’d like about your culture. You can post your own musical recordings or YouTube videos… Links to culture and musical sites… Photos of your country… Questions about songs or cultural issues… Anything related to World Culture and Music…
Click on the icon below to access the group. If you have a Facebook account already, you just need to click on “Join the Group” to join. If you’re not a member, you simply have to sign up for free to become a member and then you can join the Mama Lisa Group…
Looking forward to seeing you in Facebook!
Mama Lisa
Can Someone Help with Some Swedish Children’s Songs?
Thursday, February 5th, 2009I recently received the following email asking about some Swedish kids songs…
When my children were young we had Swedish neighbours and they taught them songs from Dalarna. Unfortunately I forgot the lyrics and can only remember the tunes.
I would like so much to restore my memory of “Dansan med dokan” or “Ole sat pa en knoll och sang” and “Kom min kussa schelle…(cow?)”. You’ll notice that my Swedish spelling is more than rotten and I hope that the titles can be deciphered by a friendly soul.
Thank you.
Plasa
If anyone can help with any of these songs, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Mama Lisa
Bay Ridge – A Norwegian Neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York
Thursday, September 18th, 2008Guest Blogger, Ed Gawlinski, has been involved in many cultural organizations throughout his life. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, near Bay Ridge, which was then a Norwegian neighborhood.
The Norwegian neighborhood is now a great place for Middle Eastern cuisine. There are many fine restaurants in this area. Many of the shops include Arabic in their signs. However, the Norwegians still have their annual Norwegian Day Parade there every May. May 17th marks the Norwegian Constitution Day celebration. This is when Norway declared its independence from Sweden. Swedish-Americans do not have any hard feelings about this. Swedes from Connecticut go to Brooklyn each May to participate in this Parade.
Back in the 1960’s many of the Catholic Churches in Brooklyn sponsored Drum and Bugle corps to keep their youth out of mischief. The people who played in one of these, The Ridgemen of Our Lady of Perpetual Help during the 1960’s have formed an “alumni” Drum and Bugle Corps and march in this parade every year.
Off Topic Note from Mama Lisa: Ed’s story about the bugle corps keeping the youth out of mischief was interesting. This must have been common in the past. It reminds me of the story of how Louis Armstrong starting playing the trumpet… (Click the link if you’d like to learn more!)
Can Someone Help with a Swedish or English Nursery Rhyme?
Monday, September 15th, 2008Ronnie wrote:
My Father and uncle used to put us on their knees and bounce us and say this rhyme. Something about a fox. I don’t know if they were speaking Swedish or English (and pronouncing the words badly)…
“A raven come a walkin
a balkin, a talkin a piddlee peekin.”They’d start down at our bellies and work their hand up under our chins.
Have you ever heard of this?
Thank you for your time,
Ronnie LarsonIf anyone can help out with any information about this rhyme and/or provide the words to it, please comment below.
Thanks in advance!
Lisa
Can American Girl Dolls and Their Books Be a Good Role Model?
Thursday, January 10th, 2008In an earlier blog post, I talked about a less expensive alternative to American Girl Dolls. My daughter and I call them “Me” Dolls. I feel that these dolls are good for kids since they can play with them without parents worrying about the dolls getting messy.
Today Ed Gawlinski wrote to me about what he feels are the benefits of the American Girl Dolls…
The American Girl dolls, at least before they were bought out by Mattel, were intended to be (or at least approach) “museum quality” in accuracy and workmanship. The dolls, clothes and accessories are intended to match one of the books associated with that doll. They are admittedly expensive. However, the books can be bought separately and they are (in my opinion) excellent books that I had enjoyed reading to my two daughters and listening to them reading the stories aloud to us. These were great opportunities to talk about American History and society.
I still get catalogues in the mail from them. In addition to buying clothes for the dolls you can buy matching clothes for the girls. That can be very expensive. However, it can also bring alive a period in American history for your child which is a very valuable learning experience. The cost of the doll, etc. can be useful in teaching your daughter how to take care of valuable property. Naturally, they should also have dolls and toys that they can treat more roughly, take outside and get dirty, etc.
I had been the director of a Saint Lucia performance for over twenty years. In the American Girls’ book, “Kirsten’s Surprise”, Kirsten explains the Swedish Saint Lucia custom to her cousins, and they organize a Luciatag celebration. Over the years, many of the girls in my performance had a Kirsten doll, and we used these dolls in their Saint Lucia outfit or Swedish outfits to decorate our performance area. Occasionally, a girl would wear her Kirsten outfit as her costume.
Hopefully, in four to six years, your daughter will start to enjoy reading the American Girls books and then will appreciate having one of the dolls to help bring the stories alive. I am happy to see that some entrepreneurs have taken the idea behind the American Girls dolls and come up with a less expensive alternative. I did know a number of my daughters’ friends who destroyed theirs and that was unfortunate.
I am hoping that in ten to twelve years when my granddaughter is old enough to enjoy them, that American Girls dolls (etc.) will still be available in the stores. However, I do know that both of my daughters have kept their dolls and the books in excellent condition. They each had two dolls and over the years, they acquired (for Christmas and birthdays) a collection of outfits and accessories. They enjoyed getting outfits for their dolls even while they were in high school.
The girls portrayed in the books are strong role models for a little girl. I was very glad to be able to include these books in their library. One of the dolls, Molly, had a father who was serving in Europe during World War II. One of Molly’s outfits included a flight jacket. The daughter who had this doll is now a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, having graduated from the Air Force Academy last May.
I don’t want to be a commercial for Mattel, but I am very glad to have been able to provide my daughters with these dolls and even more so, with the books.
-Ed Gawlinksi
Note: In the second photo above, the girls are in Swedish Costumes that their mothers made based on the one of the outfits worn by the Kirsten American Girl doll.
Many thanks to Ed Gawlinski for sharing his family’s experiences with the American Girl Dolls with us! -Lisa
UPDATE: If you’d like to read another point of view, you can read a later post called One More Word about American Girl Dolls!
The Elf Waltz – More about the Tomtar from Sweden
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007In my last blog post, I talked about the tomtar – little elf-like creatures in Sweden. The tomtar are nice to people who are nice to them, but they can act mischievously towards people who don’t treat them well.
The song below ends with the tomtar showing up at the door. The question is, are they there to help or hinder?
Here’s the song Tomtevalsen (The Elf Waltz) in Swedish, followed by an English translation and the midi tune.
Tomtevalsen
(Swedish)Lilla lisa i sitt kök
Rustar till et värre stök.
Suckar bittida och sent
Aldrig får man rent.Från sitt allra sista golv
Trött honn somnar dåMen när klockan den slår tolv
Knackar tomten påThe Elf Waltz
(English Translation)Little Lisa sits in the kitchen,
Preparing for a difficult clean-up.
Sighing, early and late,
Never will she clean.From the back of the room where she sits,
Tired, she dozes off.But when the clock strikes twelve,
The elves come knocking.Ed Gawlinski sent me this song. He was the director of a Santa Lucia festival for over 20 years. He told me that this song was sung by the 4 year olds who dressed up as tomtar (elves) for the performance.
Many thanks to Ed for sending me this song and the midi, and to Jason Pomerantz for helping with the translation.
-Mama Lisa
Tomtar are Like Gnomes and They’re an Important Part of Christmas in Sweden
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
In Sweden the tomtar are an important part of Christmas. The tomtar are a kind of tiny, benevolent elf or gnome. There are many holiday songs about them. Here’s one called Tomtarnas Julnatt – The Gnomes’ Christmas Night – in both Swedish and English followed by a YouTube recording of the song.
Tomtarnas Julnatt
Midnatt råder,
tyst det är i husen,
tyst i husen.
Alla sover,
släckta äro ljusen,
äro ljusen.Tipp, tapp, tipp, tapp, tippetippetipp tapp! Tipp, tipp, tapp.
Se, då krypa
tomtar upp ur vrårna
upp ur vrårna,
lyssna, speja,
trippa fram på tårna,
fram på tårna.Tipp, tapp, tipp, tapp, tippetippetipp tapp! Tipp, tipp, tapp.
The Gnomes’ Christmas Night
Midnight reigns,
It’s quiet in the houses,
Quiet in the houses.
Everyone sleeps,
The candles are put out,
Candles put out.Tipp, tapp, tipp, tapp, tippetippetipp tapp! Tipp, tipp, tapp.
Look, there comes
The gnomes out from the corners,
From the corners,
List’ning, watching,
Sneaking on their toes,
On their toes.Tipp, tapp, tipp, tapp, tippetippetipp tapp! Tipp, tipp, tapp.
“Tipp, tapp, tipp, tapp, tippetippetipp tapp! Tipp, tipp, tapp” is the sound of the tomtar tiptoeing around on their small feet.
Many thanks to “Whendin” for the great video and to Leif Stensson of Project Runeberg for contributing and translating this song!
-Mama Lisa
Come visit the Tomtarnas Julnatt page on Mama Lisa’s World for a longer version of this song and more about the tomtar.
“Silent Night” – A Christmas Song that’s Popular around the World
Saturday, December 8th, 2007Silent Night was originally a German Austrian song called Stille Nacht which was written as a poem by Joseph Mohr in 1816 and set to music by his friend Franz Gruber in 1818.
John Freeman Young translated Stille Nacht into the English version called Silent Night that’s so well known today. He was an Episcopal priest at the time, working at Trinity Church in New York City.
Here are the versions we have posted this year for the Christmas season:
-The original Stille Nacht, with three additional verses, with a fairly literal English translation
-John Freeman Young’s English Translation of Stille Nacht, callled Silent Night, plus one additional verse that’s commonly sung with it
-The Swedish version of Stille Nacht, called Stilla natt, heliga natt, with an English translation of the Swedish lyrics
-The Polish version of Stille Nacht, called Cicha noc, święta noc, with an English translation
We would also welcome any other versions of Stille Nacht, preferably with an English translation. Feel free to comment below or email me.
-Mama Lisa
A Food Eaten for Santa Lucia in Sweden
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007My friend and colleague Monique in France made the biscuits called Lussekatter that they serve in Sweden for Santa Lucia on December 13th. She sent me a photo of what they look like…
I also noticed that Frog with a Blog linked to a recipe for glögg that he likes. But beware! It looks like it has a kick to it!
-Mama Lisa
The St. Nicholas Tradition in Poland and a Way to Teach Your Children about Holiday Customs Around the World
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007Ed Gawlinski wrote to me about his family’s holiday traditions. His letter shows how you can be creative and expose your children to many different customs around the world at this time of year…
Lisa,
The Polish Custom is for Saint Nicholas (świętego Mikołaja) to bring children presents on December 6th …. The traditions that go with this parallel those in Germany, Austria, and elsewhere in Europe. I found a short poem for Saint Nicholas that you might enjoy.
“On St. Nicholas Day,
The band of children waits;
For the good cookie he brings,
But for the naughty a switch that stings.”Na świętego Mikołaja,
czeka dzieci cała zgraja,
Da posłusznym ciasteczko,
Złe przekropi różeczką.I also have a story about Saint Nicholas. We would give our kids little gifts on Saint Nichols Day, Saint Lucia Day, Three Kings Day, etc. Our son-in-law referred to this as the 45 days of Gawlinski Christmas… One year as Saint Nichols day approached our second child, Allison was not being well behaved. She didn’t get a Saint Nicholas day present that morning. By noon, we had found where St. Nick hid the present. From then on, until well after Christmas, she was the best behaved little girl you ever saw.
Edward M. Gawlinski
Giving little gifts on the different international holidays gives you an opportunity to explain to kids how people do things differently around the world. You could also give a gift for a day of Chanukah and the Indian festival of Diwali (if you don’t celebrate these holidays already).
Feel free to comment below or email me to share your holiday customs with us!
-Lisa
A Santa Lucia Day Song and Saying, plus why it’s a Festival of Light
Tuesday, December 4th, 2007Several days ago I wrote a post about the Santa Lucia holiday in Sweden and Scandinavia.
A popular saying associated with this holiday is:
Lucy Light,
The Shortest day &
The Longest Night.This saying celebrates the association of St Lucia’s Day, December 13, with the Winter Solstice which, under the old Julian calendar, used to fall on that day.
This day is very significant in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. There, in December, the daylight time is very short and darkness and nighttime are extremely long, due to their position on the globe.
Lucia is another way of saying “Lucy”, which literally translates to “light”. (In English we can hear this connection in words like “Luminescent”.) After the Winter Solstice the days get longer. So St. Lucia is a celebration of the coming lengthening of the days.
You can see why the song Sankta Lucia is one of the most popular carols to sing. It has a beautiful, haunting melody and it’s all about the long night and the return of daylight. Here’s one version of Sankta Lucia in Swedish, followed by an English translation I did, the midi tune and a link to the sheet music.
Natten går tunga fjät
(Swedish)Natten går tunga fjät
rund gård och stuva;
kring jord, som sol förlät,
skuggorna ruva.
Då i vårt mörka hus,
stiger med tända ljus,
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.Natten går stor och stum
nu hörs dess vingar
i alla tysta rum
sus som av vingar.
Se, på vår tröskel står
vitklädd med ljus i hår
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.Mörkret ska flykta snart
ur jordens dalar
så hon ett underbart
ord till oss talar.
Dagen ska åter ny
stiga ur rosig sky
Sankta Lucia, Sankta Lucia.Night Walks with a Heavy Step
(English)Night walks with a heavy step
Round yard and hearth,
As the sun departs from earth,
Shadows are brooding.
There in our dark house,
Walking with lit candles,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!Night walks grand, yet silent,
Now hear its gentle wings,
In every room so hushed,
Whispering like wings.
Look, at our threshold stands,
White-clad with light in her hair,
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!Darkness shall take flight soon,
From earth’s valleys.
So she speaks a
Wonderful Word to us:
A new day will rise again
From the rosy sky…
Santa Lucia, Santa Lucia!Here’s a YouTube video of a performance of the song, from a Santa Lucia celebration in Sweden. The video is cut off at the beginning and the end, but it sounds very pretty and it gives an idea of what a St. Lucia Day concert is like.
Many thanks to Edward M. Gawlinski for the midi tune and sheet music!
-Mama Lisa
Note: The tune to Sankta Lucia comes from an Italian version of the song called “Santa Lucia”. There are also at least 3 different Swedish versions of this song.
St. Lucia’s Day in Sweden and Scandinavia
Sunday, December 2nd, 2007Santa Lucia’s Day is celebrated on December 13th in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. It commemorates the life of Santa Lucia, who is also known as Saint Lucy.
St. Lucy was born in Syracuse, Sicily around 283 and died in 303 AD. The myth is that her parents wanted her to marry a man who she didn’t want to marry. She wanted to devote her life to helping the poor. In protest against the marriage, she poked out her eyes and put them on a platter and sent them to the man. The legend is that her eyes were miraculously restored by God.
It’s said that Saint Lucia blinded herself on the shortest, darkest day of the year, which is the Winter Solstice. Under the old Julian calendar, that day was December 13th. That’s how St. Lucia’s day came to be celebrated on the 13th. (Now, in the northern hemisphere, the Winter Solstice falls on the 21st or the 22nd.)
In Sweden, and other Scandinavian countries, Santa Lucia Day is seen as being the beginning of the Christmas season. It starts the Twelve Days of Christmas.
The tradition on Santa Lucia Day is for the oldest girl in the family to dress in a white robe with a red sash and wear a crown of candles and lingonberry leaves (lingonberries are popular berries in Sweden). She’s supposed to be dressed as St. Lucia. The other girls dress in white with silver crowns. The boys wear pointed silver hats and carry wands with stars on them. They’re called stjärngossar (star boys). Some kids dress up as tomtar which are like gnomes.
On the morning of Santa Lucia, the children in the family will often wake their parents with a breakfast of Lussekatter (a special St. Lucia bun made with saffron), ginger cookies, coffee and glögg (hot spiced wine). The kids will be dressed in their special Santa Lucia costumes and they’ll sing Santa Lucia songs.
Throughout the day girls will be dressed as Santa Lucia in schools, malls, churches and other public places singing and handing out ginger cookies. There are also Luciatags – St. Lucia processions in which the children dress in their white costumes and sing St. Lucia Day songs.
St. Lucia Day songs coming soon!
Many thanks to Edward M. Gawlinski for the photos!
Come visit the Mama Lisa’s World Sweden Pages for Songs from Sweden, including Swedish Christmas songs.
The Origin of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Monday, June 18th, 2007People all around the world are familiar with the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It’s at least 245 years old! The tune is originally from France and it was first seen in print in Paris in 1761 – though the current song, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star didn’t exist back then.
In the 1770’s, a poem called, Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman (Ah! Will I tell you, Mother), was set to the Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star tune and printed. The poem was a melodramatic love poem.
Later, a parody of the love song developed. It was also called Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman. This one is still loved by French children today:
Listen to Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman
Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman
(French)Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman
Ce qui cause mon tourment ?
Papa veut que je raisonne
Comme une grande personne
Moi je dis que les bonbons
Valent mieux que la raison.Ah! Will I tell you, Mommy
(English)Ah! Will I tell you, Mommy
What is tormenting me?
Daddy wants me to reason
Like a grown up person
Me, I say that sweets
Are worth more than reason.In 1781-2 Mozart wrote his Variations on “Ah vous dirais-je, Maman”. Many people think he wrote the tune to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. He didn’t! He just created a wonderful piece based on the tune.
We have to travel over to England in 1806 to find the origins of the lyrics of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. That’s when Jane Taylor and her sister Ann published their second book of poems for children, called Rhymes for the Nursery. Jane wrote the poem, The Star, for the book. This is the poem the song is based on:
The Star
The Poem by Jane Taylor
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.Then the traveler in the dark,
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
He could not see which way to go,
If you did not twinkle so.In the dark blue sky you keep,
And often through my curtains peep,
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.As your bright and tiny spark,
Lights the traveller in the dark,-
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.It’s a bit of a mystery when the poem and the tune came together to form the wonderful song Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It seems like the first time they’re seen in print as a song was in 1838, in a book called The Singing Master. Here’s the song as children sing it in English today:
Listen to Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!
Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!The wonderful song has traveled around the world in many languages. You can find it in Spanish, Dutch, Swedish, Turkish and many other languages. If you’d like to share a version from your country, please email me.
Many thanks to Isa Santoveña for the midi tune, to Monique Palomares for the translation of Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman, and to Tiphaine Woerth for singing Ah! Vous dirai-je Maman for us!
-Lisa
St. Knut’s Day – Looting the Christmas Tree
Wednesday, January 17th, 2007Last year I wrote about St. Knut’s Day, a holiday celebrated on January 13th, in Sweden, Finland and Norway. St. Knut’s Day is all about getting rid of all the Christmas decorations and throwing out the tree, thus ending the Christmas season.
When I wrote about it last year, I asked if anyone knew of any St. Knut’s Day songs. Recently Kristina wrote in with a song, and with interesting information about the holiday…
There is one song that is sung on Knut:
In Swedish:
Nu är glada julen slut, slut, slut.
Julegranen bäres ut, ut, ut.
Men till nästa jul igen,
kommer han vår gamle vän,
för det har han lovat.In English:
Now the merry Christmas is over, over, over,
The Christmas tree is carried out, out, out,
But for next Christmas again,
He is coming our old friend
Because he has promised that.Knut was/is a rather festive day. At least up until 50 years ago. Children liked it a lot as the tree was often decorated with candy (candy canes, sugar decorations and smällkarameller / crackers with hidden bits of candy). All Christmas they had to look at these sweets without eating them, but on Knut all decorations were taken down and the candy could be eaten. That is called julgransplundring (Christmas tree looting).
As we no longer have much candy on the trees and few people want to eat old candy, it’s not as big as it used to be. Some still see it as a festive day and invite kids over for a kids party where they hand out candy. There are also some different local traditions.
Thanks for writing in Kristina! If anyone else would like to share a St. Knut’s Day song or tradition, feel free to comment below.
-Lisa
How to Find Sheet Music, Tunes and MP3’s on Mama Lisa’s World
Saturday, January 6th, 2007In addition to this blog, I also host Mama Lisa’s World. Mama Lisa’s World is a large collection of children’s songs and rhymes from countries all around the globe.
Matt, a music teacher from Rhode Island, wrote a question to me, the other day, about Mama Lisa’s World:
Hey Mama,
I love the concept of your site. It’s been exciting to watch it grow. My only frustration is not being able to find either written (preferably) or audio music to accompany the lyrics. How do I find the tunes for all these great lyrics?
Matt
Music Teacher, Rhode Island, USAHere’s what I wrote back, I’m sharing it with you, in case it helps you too…
Hey Matt,
Thanks for writing!
We’ve just added basic sheet music to a lot of songs on the Germany, France, Hungary, Spain and Mexico pages – plus many others.
We’re now in the process of converting the whole site to a database. We’re halfway through. Hopefully by the summer we’ll have a feature that will let you do a search on songs that have sheet music, midis or mp3’s. Midis play the tune of a song. MP3’s are recordings – usually of someone singing the song.
But for now, the songs on the countries that are in the database are working on a simple system. On the country pages they have symbols next to the song if they have special features. Here’s the key…
KEY TO SYMBOLS
– this song has sheet music
Midi – this song has a Midi tune
MP3 – this song has an MP3 recording
– this song has a Video recording
If there’s anything in particular you’re looking for, you’re welcome to ask – in case I know if we have it or not – I may be able to guide you to the right place to find what you’re looking for.
And, of course, we’re always looking for more sheet music, midi’s and mp3’s, so if you’d like to contribute any from your culture, we’d be thrilled!
I hope this helps!
Mama Lisa
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