Such a beloved holiday song, but its story is quite sad
#Shchedryk was composed by #MykolaLeontovych based on Ukrainian #folkMusic during #WWI, when #AustriaHungary and #Russia waged terrible fighting in #Ukraine
And he composed it in #Pokrovsk
Pokrovsk at this very moment is seeing terrible fighting:
Mykola was assassinated at age 43 by a chekist (#Soviet security agent: any Ukrainian seen as nationalistic even remotely was seen as a threat)
this is the flag of #Pokrovsk
based on a sketch by #MykolaLeontovych's father
it's the swallow in "#Shchedryk," come to sing of the Spring to come after the hard Winter, a story from Ukrainian folklore
once a city of 60,000, 1,500 remained by July 2025
people are dying in heavy fighting there right now
the next time you hear "Carol of the Bells" aka "Shchedryk" this holiday season, think and pray for Pokrovsk and #Ukraine
