The scent of music: “Lulajże, Jezuniu”

This season together with a group of fellow bloggers we decided to organize a joint blogging event, they used to do them in previous years too, for me it’s a debut. It took us some time to decide on a theme, as we wanted to keep it in a Christmas mood without repeating the motive from last year. Finally we decided on Christmas songs and carols. Each of us picks a piece of music and we’re going to do something funny with them… We’re going to scent them with perfume!

In Polish culture Christmas Carols have a very long tradition and in most cases the historical roots of words and melodies reach as far in the past as to the XV century. Many of them were written in the language from their time of origin – they contain phrases that no longer exist in current Polish language, but because we in Poland love our tradition the verses remain unchanged for generations. More importantly our Christmas carols are very unique and you won’t find these in any other cultures I suppose! They’re all sung in Polish and English equivalents don’t exist.

Christmas Carol that I chose for this festive joint blogging event is “Lulajże Jezuniu” (like “Hush little Jesus”) – it’s a song with a character of a lullaby sung by Virgin Mary to a newly born baby Jesus. Most probably it was composed in the middle of XVII century. The author is unknown.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO “LULAJŻE, JEZUNIU”

This lullaby Christmas carol tells a story of a caring mother who will do anything to make her baby stop crying, so that he can go to sleep and rest peacefully, feeling the love and warmth of his mother right next to him. The lyrics show one of the most important things in our life – an unconditional love of mother for her child. They make us believe that no matter how hard it gets, a mother will always be by the side of her baby. If you look at the lines (I managed to find a traslated version) you might notice that it’s not a very joyful carol. Unlike the English Christmas songs that are happy, ours carols are often touching and tearful. But it doesn’t mean we don’t have any merry ones.

To scent a Christmas song such as “Lulajże, Jezuniu” I would chose a perfume that is quiet and calm. That could help baby Jesus calm down and fall asleep faster. It’s hard to chose just one perfume, but I immediately though about chamomile like in Farmacia SS. Annunziata Regina, Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint, or about gentle powdery notes like in Histoires de Parfums Blanc Violette, Lorenzo Villoresi Teint de Neige. All these fragrances to me could represent a loving and caring mother who with all her gentleness protects her child. I also thought about Annick Goutal Mon Parfum Cheri, par Camille which not only has a nice bouquet but also has a confession of love in the name. I think any of these perfumes would suit this Christmas carol.

To show you more of our happy Christmas sing-alongs I also decided to show you two of my favorite Polish Holiday songs that makes my spirit rise. They bring joy and warmth to my heart.

LISTEN TO “HEJ LUDZIE, IDĄ ŚWIĘTA” AND “A KTO WIE…”

“Hej ludzie, idą święta” (“Hey people, Christmas is coming”) is a song about happiness, about the magic of Christmas and about how the atmosphere can change us for the better. It’s about noticing the small details (like 1st evening star) that combined together make Winter Holiday special. The conclusion that comes from “A kto wie…” (“And who knows…”) is that even if we fear about the future we should have dreams and believe in them, to have faith that one day they will come true. It also sings about love and about the fact that everyone in this world deserves their chance to feel happy. Texts like this make me and other people hope for the better future, that every bad period has to come to an end. These songs could be perfumed with warm, embracing perfumes that have an inner glow, like Guerlain Iris Ganache, Histoires de Parfums Ambre 114.

I hope that you liked our idea of scenting Christmas Carols with a perfume. Make sure to visit the other blogs today to check out what songs and perfumes were chosen by my friends: Portia, Ines, Sigrun, Tara, Undina, Martha, Natalie and Judith.

PS. My favorite Christmas song in English is Mistletoe and Wine.

Advertisement