Dutch Christmas Songs
In the Netherlands Christmas started, just like everywhere else
in the world, as a Christian holiday. The Netherlands is one of the
few countries in the world that officially has a 1st and
2nd Christmas day (the 25th and
26th of December). This started in 813 ACE when the
Catholic Church decided that Christmas should last four day and
that working on these days, unless absolutely necessary would bring
bad luck. So the workers had four days off of work. But with time
the industry found this too many free days so with time the
government decreased the number of Christmas days. In 1773 there
were just two days left and it remained that way.
With the years Christmas transformed from a religious holiday to
a day you would like to spend with family and having dinner with
them. In a lot of countries it's tradition that Santa brings gifts
under the Christmas tree. Although the Dutch do get Christmas
trees, Christmas isn't seen as a gift giving holiday in the
Netherlands. This because the Dutch already have 'Sinterklaas' on
December 5th. Sinterklaas is like the Dutch version of
Santa, only he rides a white horse, there is no Christmas tree
involved and instead of getting little presents in a sock on the
fireplace, you get them in your shoe near the fireplace. So it
would be too much to have gifts on Sinterklaas and Christmas. So
mostly there are no presents at Christmas. Although nowadays
Christmas is getting more popular among the Dutch, so some people
decide to do presents at Christmas instead of on Sinterklaas.
And music is of course an important part of this tradition. The
songs started out as Christian songs that were sung at mass. But as
the holiday changed the role of music changed with it. Christmas
songs became part of the Christmas spirit that people love so much.
There are some traditional Dutch Christmas songs that you could
sing sitting around the Christmas tree, like the Dutch version of
silent night. But nowadays modern American Christmas songs like the
ones from Wham and Mariah Carey are just as well known.
A non Christian Christmas song would be 'oh denneboom, oh
denneboom' which is originally a German Christmas song, but is now
translated in Dutch. It's a song that pretty much all Dutch people
know, Christian or not.
O denneboom, o denneboom, O pine tree, o pine
tree
Wat zijn uw takken wonderschoon What are your branches
wonderful
Ik heb u laatst in 't bos zien staan, I've
seen you last time in the forest.
Toen zaten er geen kaarsjes aan. When there were
no candles
lit.
O denneboom, o denneboom, O pine tree, o pine
tree
Wat zijn uw takken wonderschoon. What are your branches wonderful.
And a song to sing when Christmas finally has arrived:
Kerstfeest is gekomen, kaarsjes in de bomen
Kaarsjes hier en overal die ik strakjes branden zal
Met een vuurtje bij de pit, pas op dat je stilletjes zit
Want wanneer je zucht of fluit, blaas je…ffft…de kaarsjes uit
Christmas has come, candles is all the trees
Candles here and everywhere which I will light soon
With a fire near the wick, make sure you sit still
Because when you whistle or sight…..ffft….you blow the candle
out
Or another example of a general Christmas song about wishing
that Christmas never ends:
Alle slingers alle ballen zijn uit de boom All decorations are
from the tree
En vanaf vandaag gaan we gewoon weer And today we will go
back
Gewoon doen go back to acting normal
Ik kijk iedere keer Every time I look
Maar ik vindt toch geen nootjes meer But I don't find any
nuts
Alle dagen dennengeur Every day this pine scent
En een hartje op de deur And a heart on the door
Lichtjes in het vensterglas lights in the window
Ik wou dat het altijd Kerstmis was I wish it could always be
Christmas
Ik wou dat het altijd Kerstmis was I wish it could always be
Christmas
But there is also an example of a more Christian Christmas song
in Dutch:
Heb je 't al gehoord? Luid de klok, luid de klok
Heb je 't al gehoord? Luid de klok, luid de klok
't Kerstfeest is nu begonnen
Steek alle kaarsjes aan
't Kindeke werd geboren
In een stal hier ver vandaan
Vrede op aarde, licht overal
Laat de trompetten schallen
Stop alle ruzies, stop al het kwaad
Even vergeten die narigheid en haat
Heb je 't al gehoord? Luid de klok, luid de klok
Heb je 't al gehoord? Luid de klok, luid de klok
Did you hear? Ring the bell, ring the bell
Did you hear? Ring the bell, ring the bell
Christmas has begun
Light all the candles
It's the time that Jesus was born
In a barn far from here
Peace on earth, lights everywhere
Let the trumpets blare
Stop all the fighting, stop all hate
For now forget all the bad things in the world
Did you hear? Ring the bell, ring the bell
Did you hear? Ring the bell, ring the bell
And an example of a Dutch Christian songs would be 'de
herdertjes lagen bij nachte'. This song was written around 1852 by
Joseph Alberdingk Thijm, a Catholic writer, and was for the
Catholic Church, but later on other Churches started to use this
songs as well. The song is probably older, but Thijm was the first
person to write it down.
De herdertjes lagen bij nachte The shepherds lay at
night
Zij lagen bij nacht in het veld They lay at night in the
field
Zij hielden vol trouwe de wachte They kept a faithful watch
Zij hadden hun schaapjes geteld They've counted their sheep
Daar hoorden zij 'd engelen zingen There they heard angels sing
Hun liederen vloeiend en klaar Their songs flowing and
ready
De herders naar Bethlehem gingen There shepherds went to
Bethlehem
't liep tegen het nieuwe jaar It was almost the New Year
Toen zij er te Bethlehem kwamen When they came to Bethlehem
Daar schoten drie stralen dooreen there were three beams of
light
Een straal van omhoog zij vernamen One beam went up to the
sky
Een straal uit het kribje benee One beam that came from a
crib
Daar vlamd' er een straal uit hun ogen A beam came out their
eyes
En viel op het Kindeke teer And fell on the young child
there
Zij stonden tot schreiens bewogen What they saw made them
cry
En knielden bij Jesus neer And they kneeled down by Jesus
Maria die bloosde van weelde Mary blushed of all this luxury
Van ootmoed en lieflijke vreugd Of humility and sweet
joy
De goede Sint Jozef hij streelde The good Saint Joseph he
stroked
Het Kindje der mensen geneugt the child that delights men
De herders bevalen te weiden The shepherds returned to their
fields
Hun schaapkens aan d'engelenschaar Their sheep were all still
there
Wij kunnen van 't kribje niet scheiden We can't see the crib
anymore
Wij wachten het nieuwe jaar We'll wait until the New Year
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