Our ancestors knew far more about their past than we do today. Participants in numerous ethnographic expeditions of the 19th and early 20th centuries painstakingly collected, bit by bit, all kinds of folk legends and customs.
This week, many of us will celebrate the joyful and heartwarming holiday of Christmas.
In addition to the warm, family-oriented atmosphere that has magically accompanied this holiday for many centuries now—despite all the crises and wars—many people associate it with children. And that means—lullabies as well.
It would be very interesting to find out exactly which songs our ancestors’ loving mothers sang to them in their tender voices more than 100 years ago. The second issue of the literary and scholarly supplement to the *Kharkiv Calendar* for 1888 may provide some answers to this question.
It was in this publication that N. L-skoy’s article “Folk Lullabies” appeared.
In addition to his reflections on the nature and significance of these children’s folk songs, the author writes:
The researcher also points out an interesting fact: when the protagonists of the songs are cats, pigeons, or starlings (ed.), they either perform some kind of service for the little one the song is about or protect his peace of mind.
However, what we find most valuable in this article are the nine lullaby lyrics in Ukrainian. I think they will bring joy to many readers during this festive season (lyrics have been adapted—Ed.):
Oh, come on, lullaby, lullaby,
Oh, come on, kitty, kitty,
Take our little girl,
And marry her off to the shepherd,
To the lord’s hayfield,
Where the grass grows tall,
Where there’s grass and water,
Where a young
girl Sits by the window:
Whatever thread she pulls out,
She’ll sew into a coat,
Oh, lullaby, lullaby,
Oh, lullaby, lullaby,
Oh, come on, our little kitty,
Do you know how to say the “Our Father”?
I know it better than you,
Because I spent the night at the priest’s house,
learning the “Our Father.”
Oh, lullaby, lullaby,
Oh, little gray cat,
Sweep out the barn,
And you, kitty, wash the spoons—
Then you can go for a little walk.
Oh, my little one, my sweetie,
Fall asleep, little one,
Oh, sleep and grow.
Ask
God for happiness, And God will
give
you happiness, And good health, And good fortune
For this little one
— For her little hands and feet,
And a little for her head.
Send him sleep, O God,
So his head won’t ache,
And his little heart won’t ache,
So the child will sleep,
Sleep without crying,
Grow without pain,
And want to sleep.
Merry Christmas to you. May your peace of mind, regardless of your age, continue to be safeguarded by a mother’s love and… the Sloboda Ukraine kittens.
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