Winter solstice songs

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So how about showing and sharing Winter solstice (Christmas, Winter celebration, etc) songs from throughout the world?

Each posted song has to be analyzed to reveal its meaning mythological meaning,
for example in connection with the natural world or social factors.

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"A silver rain fell" - a Baltic folk song.
listen to mp3


Sidrabiņa lietiņš lija, ka-la-dū, ka-la-dū! (A silver rain fell)
Ziemassvētku vakarāi, ka-la-dū, ka-la-dū! (At the evening of Winter celebrations*)

Visi sīki žagariņi, ... (All the little branches)
Sidrabiņu vizināja, ... (Were carrying silver)

Visu nakti sveces dega, ... (All the night candles were burning)
Sidrabiņa lukturosi, ... (In silver lanterns)

Mēnestiņis ceļu rāda, ... (The Moon is showing the way)
Saules meitas vedējiemi, ... (For the vedēji** of the daughter of the Sun)

Saule deva savu meitu, ... (The Sun gave her daughter)
No veļiemi šai zemēi, ... (From the spirits of the dead of this land)



* The evening of the 24th of December.
** People who ritually or actually help to steal the bride


This song has an interesting cosmology in it as well besides being a beautiful song.
At the night of the Winter solstice the daughter of the Sun (a goddess) is being given as a wife by the Sun to the Moon , and the Moon is showing the way in the darkness for those who ritualistically stole the daughter, thus leading them to his house.

The Moon is a regenative power in myths throughout the world, everywhere it has the property to be born again after death (new moon after the old moon).

So what happens in the longest night of the year? The Sun gives her daughter, who apparently has died, as a bride to the Moon, thus raising her daughter from the dead.
The daughter of the Sun is regenerated to the living and thus nights from the on become shorter and there is more light.

 

[whitewolf]

When did I ask you for help with translation of that song? A year ago? You are a slow, slow computer. Wouldn't it be "All the little branches were carrying silver"?

 

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That was my first translation, but in Latvian then the word would have been "nest".
The thing is that "vizināt" is with ease and for fun, as in to take for a ride.
So the most precise translation is "all the little branches were taking silver for a ride", but in English it sounds stupid. Thus I did an awkward compromise.

p.s. I forgot you needed a translation.

 

[whitewolf]

To say that the branches were riding silver is to mean that the silver was carrying branches, so it's wrong, not awkward. I'm not sure what would be an aesthetically pleasing compromise; I think "carrying" or "swinging" or "rocking" is best. Of course, in Russian it'd sound more precise - катали. If I remember right, when I was attempting translation last year I stuck with Russian particularly because of that line.

It's a beautiful song with lovely metaphors.

 

[Avatar]

Meh, ok, you're right, but I hoped nobody would notice. I'll replace it back with "carrying".