Koliadka

In early times, koliadkas expressed ancient people's ideas about creation, natural phenomena, and the structure of the world.

Now koliadkas are mostly Christmas carols, which tell of the birth of Jesus Christ and biblical stories that happened in connection with the event.

Traditionally, their purposes are clearly divided,[9] but in modern Ukrainian culture these concepts have intertwined, mixed and acquired traits of each other.

"Shchedryk" was later adapted as an English Christmas carol, "Carol of the Bells", by popular American composer, educator, and choral conductor of Ukrainian ethnic origin Peter J. Wilhousky following a performance of the original song by Alexander Koshetz's Ukrainian National Chorus at Carnegie Hall on October 5, 1921.

On December 9, 2016, Georgian-born British singer Katie Melua and The Gori Women's Choir (which is conducted by Teona Tsiramua) sang original Ukrainian "Shchedryk" on BBC.