Candles Shone in the Field lyrics and meaning

Oi ant lauko žvakełės žibėjo,
o kalėda, o kalėda.

Žvakełės žibėjo, ugnis šokinėjo
Ugnis šokinėjo, vaškas lašėjo
Vaškas lašėjo, ažeras ažėjo
An to ežero lelija žydėjo

Dieveniškės

Candles Shone in the Field: song interpretation

This song with the refrain "o kalėda" can be understood as a Christmas song of cosmic imagery. At the beginning, little candles shine in the field and fire leaps. These images can be interpreted as ritual light and vitality during the winter holidays.

Then wax drips, and from it a lake comes into being. This transformation can be read as an ancient image of world creation, the emergence of a great natural form from a small sacred substance, typical of Christmas ritual songs.

At the end, a lily blooms on that lake. This flower can be interpreted as a sign of beauty and marvel crowning the song's image. That is one possible meaning, but the character of a Christmas song with cosmic imagery is clear.

Candles Shone in the Field: symbols and phrases

Shining candles
The candles burning in the field signify ritual light during the winter holidays.
Leaping fire
The lively flame signifies vitality and the spirit of the feast.
Lake born from wax
Dripping wax becoming a lake marks an archaic image of world creation.
Blooming lily
The flower blooming on the lake signifies beauty and marvel.

Candles Shone in the Field: song history

"Candles Shone in the Field" belongs to calendrical ritual songs with the characteristic Christmas refrain "o kalėda." In this short song a cosmic, archaic image is built as a chain: candles shine in the field, fire leaps, wax drips, from the wax a lake appears, and on the lake a lily blooms. This movement from the small - candles and dripping wax - to the large - a lake - is typical of calendrical hymns in which the repeated "kaleda" refrain frames each line.

The recording place is marked in the song as Dieveniškės, but the exact recording time and collector are not given on the page, so the song is presented through genre features. The motif of world emergence, water arising from sacred matter, and the blooming lily image are associated with an older ritual and mythic layer of winter holiday singing.

sources

  • Lithuanian Folk Songbook, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • N. Laurinkienė, Reflections of Myth in Lithuanian Calendar Songs, Vilnius 1990
  • Catalogue of Lithuanian Folk Songs, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986

Candles Shone in the Field: sources