Shchedryk (song)

"Shchedryk"
Disc label for the 1922 recording of "Shchedryk" by the Ukrainian National Choir
Song
Language	Ukrainian
Released	1901 (first version) 1919 (final revision)
Songwriter(s)	Mykola Leontovych

"Shchedryk" (Ukrainian: Щедрик, from Щедрий вечiр, lit. 'Bountiful Evening') is a Ukrainian 'shchedrivka' [uk], or New Year's song, known in English as "The Little Swallow". The song tells a story of a swallow flying into a household to sing of the wealth that will come with the following spring. "Shchedryk" was originally sung during koliada on the night of 13 January, New Year's Eve in the Julian calendar (31 December Old Style), known in Ukraine as Malanka.

The song was arranged by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych 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 copyrighted and published his own lyrics in 1936. The music has since become strongly associated with Christmas.