‘Carol of the Bells’ marks 100 years since debut in Carnegie Hall as Ukrainian ‘Shchedryk’

The classic Christmas song “Carol of the Bells” is actually an old Ukrainian folk song. A century ago, a Ukrainian choir on a mission to build support for the fledgling nation sang the song at Carnegie Hall, and the popularity took off from there. Lydia Tomkiw reports from New York City on a Ukrainian children’s choir performing the song this weekend as part of a centennial concert, marking the anniversary and once again calling on the world to support the embattled country.

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.