The holiday film’s theme of defending your home against invaders resonates today as Ukraine celebrates Christmas during Russia’s full-scale invasion. The original song was not a Christmas carol.

Ukraine accuses Russia of trying to erase its cultural identity too – including its associations with that well-known carol. Most of Pokrovsk's population has already fled.

Change to Christmas Carol. Then came 1936 and the birth of “Carol of the Bells.” In New York, well-known choral director Peter Wilhousky, who was born in New Jersey of Ukrainian ancestry, did ...

Over a century ago, a Ukrainian choirmaster wrote what became known as the “Carol of the Bells.” Our writer sought out its birthplace in Pokrovsk.

The story of ‘Carol of the Bells,’ a Christmas classic born in Ukraine Jim McDermott November 17, 2022 People in traditional clothes singing carols at St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, Ukraine ...

‘Carol of the Bells,’ a Christmas Staple From Ukraine, a Century Later It started as “Shchedryk,” a song about a little bird that was first performed in the United States in 1922.

A Ukrainian chorus first performed Shchedryk in the U.S. in 1922. A century later, during another fight for freedom, Ukrainian singers performed the folk song at the site of its North American debut.

The song known in English as The Carol of the Bells is widely recognized as a Christmas melody. But in the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, residents know it as Shchedryk, a work by a local composer.

As Russian troops near the city of Pokrovsk, where a beloved Ukrainian composer wrote his most famous song — now known worldwide as "Carol of the Bells" — Ukrainians seek to safeguard his legacy.

Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine is the birthplace of one of the world's favourite carols, the Carol of the Bells. But there are few signs of Christmas in the city this year.

Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine is the birthplace of one of the world's favourite carols, the Carol of the Bells. But there are few signs of Christmas in the city this year. Just a dusting of snow on ...