tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16645793902852294762024-03-13T18:21:25.248-07:00Dutch Saint Nicholas songs translated into EnglishR.U.E. 't Lamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01325109552260393432noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664579390285229476.post-85054052445570274402013-05-29T15:29:00.001-07:002013-05-29T15:29:02.315-07:00R.U.E. 't Lamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01325109552260393432noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1664579390285229476.post-82672101306710361042013-01-20T13:29:00.000-08:002015-07-10T14:43:53.044-07:00Justification<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191;">The Dutch celebrate<span style="color: #3d85c6;"> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Saint</span> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Nicholas</span></span></a><span style="color: black;">'</span> </span>Eve at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/netherlands/st-nicholas-day" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">December 5</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some years ago I was looking for a translation of a traditional Dutch
Saint Nicholas song, to share with North American colleagues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For most songs I could not find a
satisfactory translation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Available
translations made poor English, didn't rhyme, could not be sung, lacked the
right atmosphere or were inaccurate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
decided to translate a few songs<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>myself. To assist in singing, I have included sound samples from Jan Wolters'<a href="http://www.janwolters.nl/jwsint.html" target="_blank"> <span style="color: #3d85c6;">Free Saint Nicholas Songs</span></a> with each translation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191;">Saint Nicholas is a legendary figure, a product of our collective
imagination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He roots into pagan times
but over the centuries he picked up new </span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #323e4f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">el</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">ements</span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span class="Stijl1Char"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.stnicholascenter.org/pages/who-is-st-nicholas/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6; text-decoration: none;">during early Christianity</span></a></span></span><span style="color: #323e4f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">,
the</span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span class="Stijl1Char"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/lowcountries/neth150080.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6; text-decoration: none;">Spanish rule</span></a></span></span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="color: #323e4f; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;">over the </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/349663/Low-Countries" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Low Countries</span></a>, and the
industrial</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span style="color: black;"> revolution.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Netherlands</span></a> </span>have a recurring debate about the political correctness
of Saint Nicholas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His pedagogic views
are outdated and he is accompanied by black servants, the so-called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Black Petes</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could these people be slaves?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could we be celebrating the return of a slave
owner?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shouldn't we change the
appearance of Saint Nicholas' companions to avoid such connotations?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="color: white;"> - Zwarte Pieten</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">I take the following position: The mentioned sentiments are sincere, but
Saint Nicholas is a mythological character and will be what we believe him to
be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The same holds for the Black
Petes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We may portray them as confederates from the Spanish <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconquista" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Reconquista</span></a>, we may identify them with the black ravens
that went with <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%8Dden" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Wodan</span></a>, or we may attribute their color to their habit to climb
up and down the chimneys.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Saint Nicholas
and the Black Petes are not for real, so there is no absolute truth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are free to decide ourselves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Break free and go enjoy the
ancient songs ...<span style="color: #073763;"> </span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Saint Nicholas is
celebrated in many forms all around the world, each version having its own favorite songs. Doug Anderson’s
website </span><span class="Stijl1Char"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/"><span style="color: #3d85c6; text-decoration: none;">The Hymns and
Carols of Christmas</span></a></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> includes (references to) an impressive number of </span><span class="Stijl1Char"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/HTML/hymns_and_carols-non_English.htm"><span style="color: #3d85c6; text-decoration: none;">translations</span></a></span></span><span style="color: #073763; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> of these traditional songs.</span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #073763;">If you have questions
or comments, you may leave me a message, mail me at </span><span class="Stijl1Char"><a href="mailto:rtlam@zeelandnet.nl"><span style="color: #3d85c6; text-decoration: none;">rtlam@zeelandnet.nl</span></a></span><span style="color: #073763;"> or contact me through my page at </span><span class="Stijl1Char"><a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/ruben-t-lam/20/8b3/919"><span style="color: #3d85c6; text-decoration: none;">LinkedIn</span></a></span><span style="color: #073763;">.</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #073763;">Ruben 't Lam<span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="color: white;">- Nederlandse Sinterklaasliedjes vertaald in het Engels - Sint Nicolaas</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="color: #073763;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #17365d; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-themecolor: text2; mso-themeshade: 191;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">Copyright
© 2013 by Ruben 't Lam, all rights reserved. The</span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;"> translated texts in thi</span><span lang="EN-US" style="line-height: 115%;">s blog may be freely shared among
individuals, but may not be republished in any medium without my express
written consent.</span></i></span></span></span> </span></div>
R.U.E. 't Lamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01325109552260393432noreply@blogger.com0