Filler
Photo of Shira

 

 

PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Άγια Νύχτα
(Ayia Nihta)

(Holy Night)

 

 

This page contains a translation into English of the lyrics to the popular Greek song "Ayia Nihta" (Άγια Νύχτα), which was sung by Elena Paparizou and many others. Also included is a pronunciation guide for the Greek lyrics so you can sing along if you like.

Song lyrics are provided for educational purposes. If you like the song, please purchase either the album or a download from an authorized source.

About this Song

The Greek song "Ayia Nihta" is based on the Christmas carol "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" composed in 1818 by Franz Xaver Gruber, to lyrics by Joseph Mohr. It was declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO in 2011. English-speaking people know it as "Silent Night, Holy Night", and Arabic speakers know the beautiful version by Feirouz named "Sawt el-Eid".

About Elena Paparizou

Elena Paparizou, also known professionally as Helena Paparizou, was the vocalist who popularized this song. She initially rose to fame as a member of a duet known as Antique which was together 1999-2003. Her partner was Nikos Panayiotidis (Νίκος Παναγιωτίδης). Both were born and raised in Sweden to Greek parents, and had known each other since they were children. They were brought together by two Swedish (non-Greek) music producers. Nikos is a singer and bouzouki player. Paparizou's perfect accent in English made her songs very popular as the two of them began to mix Greek and English lyrics. All songs released under Antique's collaboration were a huge success.

Antique first appeared on the scene in 2001 when they performed on the Eurovision television show, which is a renowned European music competition. They featured their hit song "I Would Die For You", which included lyrics in both Greek and English, and they won third place. According to Elena, Antique was a "Nordic beats with Greek influences" band. Their first song made it in the top 10 in Sweden — something which is rare, as usually other language genres make it big in the west. Antique albums have sold worldwide, including in the Arabian Gulf. They have also toured the world in concert.

Song: Ayia Nihta (Holy Night)

Greek Lyrics: Kostas Papadimitriou

Music: Franz Xaver Gruber

Recorded By: Elena Paparizou (and many others)

Τραγούδι: Άγια Νύχτα

Ελληνικά Στίχοι: Κώστας Παπαδημητρίου

Μουσική: Φρανζ Χαβερ Γκρυμπερ κ Τζοσεφ Μορ

Ερμηνευτές: Έλενα Παπαρίζου

 

---------------

Lyrics

The studio release recorded by Elena Paparizou contains only the first two stanzas below. The rest of the song has been performed by many others in live concerts and recordings.

Numbers in parentheses refer to footnotes that appear at the bottom of the translation.

Greek Lyrics

Pronunciation

English Translation

Άγια Νύχτα, σε προσμένουν Ayia Nihta se prosmenoun Holy Night awaits you
με χαρά οι Χριστιανοί me hara ee Hristiani with joy, the Christians
και με πίστη ανυμνούμε
ke me pisti animnoume and with faith remember
το Θεό δοξολογούμε to Theo doxologoume to God praise
μ' ένα στόμα, μια φωνή
m' ena stoma, mia foni with one mouth, one voice.
ναι, με μια φωνή ne, me mia foni Yes, with one voice.
     
Η ψυχή μας φτερουγίζει ee psihi mas fterouyizi Our souls with wings fly
πέρα στ' Άγια τα βουνά pera st' Ayia ta vouna toward the Holy mountains
όπου ψάλλουν οι αγγέλοι
opou psaloun ee agelee where the angels are chanting,
απ' τα ουράνια θεία μέλη ap' ta ourania thia meli from heavenly divine members,
στο Σωτήρα Ωσαννά sto Sotira Osanna for the Savior, "Hosanna".
ψάλλουν Ωσαννά psaloun Osanna They chant "Hosanna".
     
Στης Βηθλεέμ ελάτε όλοι stis Bethlem elate oli Come all to Bethlehem,
τα βουνά τα ιερά
ta vouna ta iera the holy moutains.
και μ' ευλάβεια μεγάλη
k m' evlavia megali And with big reverence,
'κει που Άγιο Φως προβάλλει 'kee pou Ayio Fos provali there where Holy Light come from.
     
προσκυνήστε με χαρά
proskiniste me hara with joy worship (1)
ναι, με μια χαρά ne, me mia hara yes, with one joy
  1. This refers to doing a physical act of worship, such as bending forward, kneeling, kissing a religious object, or physically bowing down to pray. It's not just saying words, it's the physical act as well.

 

---------------

Translations of
Elena Paparizou's Songs On This Site

Translations on this web site of songs performed by Elena Paparizou and Antique include:

  • Ayia Nihta (Holy Night). A Greek version of the Christmas hymn "Silent Night".
  • Dinata Dinata (Loud, Loud). Released in 1999 by Antique (duet of Elena Paparizou and Nikos Panayiotidis)
  • Hristougena Xana (Christmas Again). A Greek version of the Christmas song "Ding Dong Merrily on High".
  • I Agapi Sou De Meni Pia Edo (Your Love Doesn't Live Here Any More). Released in 2005.

 

 

---------------

About the Translator

This page was contributed by Panayiota Bakis, who is happy to share her culture and music she grew up with! Here's how Panayiota describes her background:

I always love engaging with intelligent like-minded people, especially artists. I love sharing anything and everything about my Hellenic culture and upbringing, especially music and dance. A conversation with me will bring you back to America's favorite Greek-American movie by Nia Vardalos called My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I love investigating Greek culture, history, music, and dance. Speaking of investigating, I think I missed my calling, I probably should have been an investigator. Instead, I use those skills to dig and dig and dig tirelessly, often times falling asleep on my laptop... just to find the truth. But, most importantly, accurate truth. For me personally, and other respectable folklorists, my culture and accuracy are very important. Each generation of ethnic born artists has a duty to do the best it can to pass down our traditions as was taught to us. We have been given this artistic gift to be the gatekeepers of our heritage and culture.

Panayiota

 

 

---------------

Copyright Notice

This entire web site is copyrighted. All rights reserved.

All articles, images, forms, scripts, directories, and product reviews on this web site are the property of Shira unless a different author/artist is identified. Material from this web site may not be posted on any other web site unless permission is first obtained from Shira.

Academic papers for school purposes may use information from this site only if the paper properly identifies the original article on Shira.net using appropriate citations (footnotes, end notes, etc.) and bibliography. Consult your instructor for instructions on how to do this.

If you wish to translate articles from Shira.net into a language other than English, Shira will be happy to post your translation here on Shira.net along with a note identifying you as the translator. This could include your photo and biography if you want it to. Contact Shira for more information. You may not post translations of Shira's articles on anybody else's web site, not even your own.

If you are a teacher, performer, or student of Middle Eastern dance, you may link directly to any page on this web site from either your blog or your own web site without first obtaining Shira's permission. Click here for link buttons and other information on how to link.

 

 

Explore more belly dance info:

Top >
Belly Dancing >
Middle Eastern Culture >
Index to Middle Eastern Music Section

 

Share this page!

On Facebook
 

 

 Top > Belly Dancing > Middle Eastern Culture > Index to Middle Eastern Music Section

| Contact Shira | Links | Search this Site |