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

This page contains a translation into English of the lyrics to the Greek Christmas song "Hristougenna Xana" (Χριστούγεννα Ξανά), which was sung by Elena Paparizou. 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

This song uses the melody for "Ding Dong Merrily on High" (Ντινγ Ντονγ Μεριλι Ον Χαι), which appeared in 2018 from the album called Heavenly Christmas.

The original composer is unknown, but the carol is reputed be French, dating back to the sixteenth century. The original text for "Ding Dong Merrily on High" was in Latin, titled "Gloria in Excelsis".

Children in particular enjoy singing "Ding Dong Merrily on High" partly due to the onomatopoeia (the words "ding dong" mimic the sound of bells) and the breathless state achieved when singing "Gloria"."

About Arcade

Arcade is a Greek music ensemble consisting of the following members:

• Ντιβενο (Diveno)
• Παύλος Μανώλης (Pavlos Manolis)
• Γκαμπριελ Ρασελ (Gabriel Russel)
• Αναστάσιος Ράμμος (Anastasios Ramos)
  

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.

After Antique ended as a duet act, Elena moved forward with a solo career. In 2005, Paparizou performed her hit song "My Number One" in that year's Eurovision competition, taking first place. I feel one factor that contributed to her amazing performance was that she had been raised by dancers. She was among the few to incorporate Pontian Anatolian rhythm in mainstream Greek music.

As of 2019, Paparizou is now on the judging panel of Greece's version of The Voice, and has been for several years!

Song: Hristougenna Xana (Christmas Again), 2018

Lyrics: Arcade & Anastasios Papanastasiou

Music: Arcade & Anastasios Papanastasiou

Original Artist: Elena Paparizou with backup vocals by Hrisa Tsaltabasi

Dance Style: No dance, just listening

Album: Hristougenna Xana (Single)

Τραγούδι: Χριστούγεννα Ξανά, 2018

Στίχοι: Arcade κ Αναστάσιος Παπαναστασίου

Μουσική: Arcade κ Αναστάσιος Παπαναστασίου

Πρώτη Εκτέλεση: Έλενα Παπαρίζου

Συμμετέχουν: Χρύσα Τσαλταμπάση

Άλμπουμ: Χριστούγεννα Ξανά (Single)

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.