It was a magical snowy afternoon in Kamloops when Sasha after the break from teaching winter clothing vocabulary to his Ukrainian Diaspora Language Class decided to do something different. The students’ eyes lit up as they noticed the extra spring in his step, sensing something special was about to happen.
“Now,” Sasha announced with an excited smile, “we’re going to learn something special – the Ukrainian version of ‘Jingle Bells’ called ‘Дзвоники Дзвенять’ (Dzvonyky Dzvenyat)! But first, let me show you something amazing.” He pulled up a video of Shpylyasti Kobzari, a renowned Ukrainian band, performing their unique adaptation with banduras and sopilka.
The students watched in awe as the traditional Ukrainian instruments transformed the familiar melody into something uniquely Ukrainian. The bandura’s strings created a crystalline sound that perfectly mimicked winter bells, while the sopilka’s gentle whistle reminded them of winter winds.
“Now,” Sasha said, writing on the board, “let’s look at how this American sleigh-riding song became a beautiful Ukrainian winter carol. In English, we have ‘Jingle Bells,’ but in Ukrainian, we have ‘Дзвоники Дзвенять’ – literally ‘The Bells Are Ringing.’”
Olivia raised her hand. “But where’s the ‘dashing through the snow’ part?”
“Ah!” Sasha’s eyes twinkled. “That’s where it gets interesting. Instead of a one-horse open sleigh, our version talks about ‘срібно-білий сніг’ (sribno-bilyi snih) – silver-white snow covering the threshold, and winter trudging down snowy streets. We’ve made it our own!”
He wrote more Ukrainian winter vocabulary on the board: “сніг” (snih) for snow, “зима” (zyma) for winter, “ялинкові” (yalynkovi) for Christmas tree’s.
“And instead of ‘jingle all the way,’” Sasha continued, “we sing ‘дзень-дзелень’ (dzen-dzelen) – our way of representing bell sounds. Isn’t it amazing how sounds change across languages?”
The class practiced the chorus together: “Цілий день дзень-дзелень Дзвоники дзвенять…”
Yuriy, the elderly gentleman, chuckled as he tried to pronounce “дзень-дзелень.” “It sounds more like my old car starting up!”
“But wait,” Sasha grinned, “there’s more! While the English version is about winter fun, our version brings in St. Nicholas – Mykolay. He comes ‘leading a choir of angels’ while ‘the snowy wind howls in the chimney.’”
The students were particularly delighted by the final verse about New Year flying in on a white horse, with its imagery of icy trees on windows and a sack full of presents, happiness, and goodness for everyone.
As they practiced singing together, the classroom filled with the magical sounds of Ukrainian winter. The “дзень-дзелень” of their voices created their own winter symphony.
“You see,” Sasha concluded, “this isn’t just a translation – it’s a transformation. We’ve taken a beloved American song and given it our own Ukrainian soul, with our winter imagery and holiday customs. That’s the beauty of cultural exchange!”
As the class ended and students bundled up to leave, they could be heard humming “дзень-дзелень” under their breath, the Ukrainian bells ringing in their hearts long after the lesson was over. For Sasha, this was what teaching was all about – watching his students discover the magic where American sleigh bells become Ukrainian Christmas chimes, one song at a time.