Shchedryk

In America, we know this song as 'Carol of The Bells,' which is sung as a Christmas song, but it was originally a pre-christian Ukranian folk song sung on New Year's Eve on the Julian calendar (January 13th) and was known to have magical properties.

In 1921, it was adapted as a Christmas Carol, and was played at Carnegie Hall with the new English lyrics.

According to the original lyrics, it is about a swallow that flies into a house and sings about the bounty of the coming year.

If you'd like to hear an edgier, more contemporary version with really nice cinematography, go here.

May your holidays have the warmth of friends and family, and your new year be filled with bounty!

102310 Holiday Shoot in B&W

Today was my first day of vacation, spent drinking too much coffee, and having a splendid holiday lunch with some designer friends in the Short North. Oh, and followed up with a serving of Jeni's Bangkok Peanut ice cream (should I have had the Wildberry Lavender instead? Oh, decisions!).

Today is also the day the 102310 Project group is uploading their ten B&W pictures to Facebook, and I have to confess, as I sit here scrolling through the early entries; I am one rich girl. More than once, I've muttered under my breath, "I wish I'd taken that one." Happy envy is, I think, the sign of true appreciation. Once again, my own entries lacked the sort of planning I wish I'd put into the project, but I can still sit back and look at the collective contributions as they continue to come in ... and nod. This is collaboration at its best.