O, ce veste minunată!
Romanian Traditional Carol
Both the Romanian original and the English translation provided by Cristian Mocanu, a member of Christmas International
English Translation: Oh, How Wondrous News
A performance of this carol by the Madrigal Choir can be found at Colinde Romanesti de Craciun
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 sălaş
Lâng-acel oraş
S-a născut Mesia.
3. Ce Domnul cel din vecie,
Ni l-a trimis ca să vie,|
Să se nască
Şi să crească,
Să ne mântuiască.
Cristian included this note concerning the three carols that he emailed:
All 3 of them are folkloric, i.e. they have no known author. The first two seem to have existed since times immemorial. They are documented from the late 18th,early 19th century. They were known throughout the country and, having no distinctive dialectal features, one cannot determine where they originated either.
Between 1948 and 1989, one got arrested for singing these or any other similar carol publicly. The very word "Christmas" was banned. Saying it in a larger gathering meant expulsion from school or from any well-paid job. Only the carols making no explicit mention of Christ, Mary or the word Christmas were somehow permitted. But people still treasured them and they were never lost.
The other two carols which Cristian sent were:
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