The casual listener might wonder why this Christmas carol doesn’t seem to center on Christmas. In fact, the holiday is only ever mentioned in the refrain:

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In Kutzivka they’re building a church, rejoice!
Rejoice, o Earth: the son of God is born this day.
[This refrain repeats after each line]

They built a church with three domes, rejoice!
With three domes, and with three doors, rejoice!
With three doors, and with three windows, rejoice!
Into the first window leapt the sun, rejoice!
And in the second window the moon rose, rejoice!
Into the third window there flew an angel, rejoice:

Rejoice, o Earth: the son of God is born this day!

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This was the first carol whose imagery called out to me for illustration: it seemed so vivid, so fantastical. “Drawing on the astral, solar, and lunar symbolism of prehistoric times,” I later learned, is a common hallmark of these folk carols. The sun and moon, together with the angel, form a trinity of a different sort: one melding older pagan traditions with the Christian holiday. In this carol, solidly framed by the Christian imagery of a church and of Trinitarian references, the message of Christmas day not only coexists with but is reinforced by the older symbolism of the winter solstice. Together, these celebrations of new life exclaim: Rejoice, o Earth!

This recording is a track from "Glory to God in the Highest: Christmas Music from the Ukrainian Orthodox Tradition," St. Andrew Memorial Church Choir; Taras Pavlovsky, Director. Recorded 2000.

The album is not available digitally, but may be ordered at https://uocofusa.org/music