Aquifolia Ornate

Here is today's Latin Christmas carol; you can read one carol per day for the month of December, or see the complete collection all at once. "Deck the Halls" is another example of a popular English-language carol that has been translated into Latin. I found two different versions to share with you here. You can find information about the English carol "Deck the Hall," along with the English lyrics, at the Hymns and Carols of Christmas website.

Version 1 (translated by Stanford Miller, widely found on the Internet)

If you are curious about the etymology of the Latin word for "holly," aquifolia, I have some information about that at the Bestiaria Latina blog. Versions of this song on the Internet are plagued by a recurring typographical error, reading "aquafolia," which is not a Latin word. In addition, versions on the Internet read ornatis, "you are decorating," but I have changed that to the imperative ornate, "decorate," following the English. Admittedly, this does obscure the rhyme - so if you want to emphasize the rhyme, by all means read ornatis instead! (Thanks to Chris for his comment about that; see below.)

Aquifolia ornate
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Tempus hoc hilaritatis.
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Vestes claras induamus;
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Cantilenas nunc promamus.
Fa la la la la, la la la la

Version 2 (translated by Harry Maynard?)

This verison uses the Latin word Saturnalia in the refrain; you can learn more about the ancient Roman festival of Saturnalia at wikipedia.

Ornate ramosis aulas:
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
Nonne tempus est gaudendi?
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
Vestes varias sumamus,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
priscum carmen ut canamus:
Saturnalia la-la la-la.

The following verses are not based on the traditional English lyrics to the carol, and their content is markedly religious. If anybody knows whether Maynard composed these verses in Latin himself, or whether they are based on an English version of the song, let me know!

Tintinabul' agitate,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
ut volantes sursum corda,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
Aetas festiva propinquos,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
tulit ad larem cantentes,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.

Novis dat nunc canities,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
pacem benevolentiae.
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
Donis Dei intersumus,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
mensis plenis bonitatis,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.

Cordibus nostris gaudentes,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
voluntates submittentes,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
Christo nostra dedicamus,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.
saecula in saeculorum,
Saturnalia la-la la-la.

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Here are the carols I have completed so far:
December 1: Rudolphus
December 2: Angelus ad Virginem

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Bolchazy-Carducci has a Latin Christmas Carol music CD! With 12 songs in Latin, O Abies: O Christmas Tree is available at amazon.com for $17.00

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