Christmas Carols - Kolendy
The Polish Christmas Carols, or "Kolendy," are a musical expression of the profound religious convictions and sentiments which the Polish Nation has drawn from the first Christmas.  They occupy a unique place in the musical literature of Catholic Europe, for unlike the carols of other countries, the Kolenda is not only a prayer, but also a story, a short musical drama portraying some event from Christ's Nativity.  Unrivalled in number and variety, the Kolenda tenderly, sometimes with affectionate familiarity retells the old yet ever new story in the plain, touching words of the Peasant.  The Kolendy may be divided into three categories - religious, legendary and imaginative.  The melodies are truly Polish-jolly, meditative, tender, even humorous-characteristic of the Polish peasant.  The religious carols, among the most profound in sentiment of all Polish hymns, owe their origin to monks and religious.  The legendary are based on the books of the Apocrypha and relate minutest details of the wondrous story of Christmas.  The imaginative owe their origin to simple peasant folk who in narrating the story of the Nativity used familiar surroundings taken from their own homes.  In their songs Bethlehem becomes a Polish village and Jesus is born in Poland.