Tonight (Sunday night) our church in Bucharest, Biserica Evanghelică Liberă Trinitatea (Trinity Evangelical Free Church), had its Christmas program. It was much like many Christmas Eve services I’ve been at in the U.S., with traditional Christmas carols and a short message. The candlelight carol was an old, traditional Romanian song, “O ce veste minunată” (“O what wonderful news”), and has an absolutely beautiful tune.
Here’s the lyrics, with my rather unpoetic translation:
| 1. O, ce veste minunată, Din Betleem ni s-arată. Că a nascut prunc Prunc din Duhul Sfânt Fecioara curată. 2. Mergând Iosif cu Maria La Betleem să se-nscrie. Într-un mic sălaș Lâng-acel oraș S-a născut Mesia. 3. Ce Domnul cel din vecie, Ni l-a trimis ca să vie, Să se nască Și să crească, Să ne mântuiască. |
1. Oh, what wonderful news Is shown to us from Bethlehem. That a baby is born A baby from the Holy Spirit From the pure virgin. 2. As Joseph and Mary were going to Bethlehem, in order to be registered. In a small shepherds’ hut, Close to that town, The Messiah was born. 3. Whom the Lord, who is from old, Sent to us, so that He would come, To be born, And to grow, To save us. |
Please let me know if the accented characters don’t display on your computer.
I’ve never heard this song in English. For those of you who are iTunes people, the song is available there for $0.99. Just search for “O ce veste minunata.”
Historical note: It was illegal to sing this song in public under communist rule in Romania, 1948-1989.
Grace and Peace
