Five classic Hungarian Christmas songs you need to hear – VIDEOS

Christmas would not be complete without traditional songs which bring you the ultimate holiday spirit every time. If you heard enough Mariah Carey, Wham! and Michael Bublé we would like to recommend five well-known Hungarian Christmas songs to listen to.

Hungarian city Veszprém becomes a UNESCO City of Music!

Hull a pelyhes

The original version of this song was written in French language in the 1740s, but since then many countries made this song their own. The melody of it also comes from a French folk song and was actually made popular by one of the most excellent conductors of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as he used it in many of his music. Ernő Rossa wrote the Hungarian version: it tells the story of young children who are waiting for Santa Claus to come.

Ha elmúlik karácsony

Neoton Família (also known in some countries as Newton Family) was one of the most successful Hungarian pop-bands, their career spanning several decades, with changes in line-up. Most active from 1977 to 1989, they released albums and singles and toured in 25 foreign countries all over the world. In this song, they sing about the importance of love and the meaning of Christmas.

Csendes éj

The Hungarian version of Silent Night is just as famous as the original one and one of the most frequently sung Christmas songs in Hungary. The original version was written by an Austrian priest and was composed later in 1818. The song was featured on many Christmas albums; one of the most famous ones is the 1994 version of Mariah Carey from the album Merry Christmas. Four Hungarian musicians wrote the Hungarian lyrics.

Ó szép fenyő

The originally German song is the most popular one in these countries and was translated into almost every language. Its melody comes from a traditional folk song from 1799. The modern lyrics were written in 1824, by the Leipzig organist, teacher and composer Ernst Anschütz. A Tannenbaum is a fir tree. The lyrics do not actually refer to Christmas or describe a decorated Christmas tree. Instead, they relate to the fir’s evergreen quality as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness. József Ludvig wrote the Hungarian version.

Kiskarácsony, Nagykarácsony

The song was discovered by the great Hungarian musician Zoltán Kodály in 1922 while he was travelling in Nógrád Country collecting folk songs from this region and many other Hungarian ones. The song contains many musical genres and is considered to be a modern folk song of Hungarian music culture. The word kiskarácsony means the first day of the upcoming new year.