Mele Kalikimaka Explained

Mele Kalikimaka
Type:single
Released:1950

"" (in Hawaiian pronounced as /ˈmɛlɛ kəˌlitiˈmɐkə/) is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian phrase Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka, meaning "Merry Christmas".[1] One of the earliest recordings of this song was by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in 1950 on Decca.[2] It has been covered by many artists and used in several films (including L.A. Confidential, Catch Me If You Can, and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation).

History of the song

Anderson recalled the inspiration for writing the song in 1949 while working at Vonn Hamm-Young:[3] Bing Crosby was a frequent visitor and golf partner of Anderson. Anderson played the song for Crosby, who liked it so much that he surprised Anderson with the 1950 recording.[4] In 1955, the song became part of Crosby's famous compilation album Merry Christmas. According to Anderson's daughter Pam, the family still receives revenues from all over the world every year from his songs including Mele Kalikimaka.[4]

Origin of the phrase

The expression Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka is a loan phrase from English. But since the Hawaiian language has a different phonological system from English, it is not possible to render a pronunciation that is especially close to Merry Christmas. Standard Hawaiian does not have the pronounced as //r// or pronounced as //s// sounds of English and its phonotactic constraints do not permit consonants at the end of syllables or consonant clusters. Thus the closest approximation to Merry Christmas is Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka.[5] The earliest record of the greeting, Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka, in print is from 1904, in the Hawaiian language newspaper Ka Nupepa Kuokoa, published between 1861 and 1927.[6]

The phrase is derived from English as follows:

Merry Christmas
  • ↓ Every consonant must be followed by a vowel in Hawaiian. The T is removed, since it is already silent in English.
    Mery Carisimasa
  • ↓ C is not a letter in Hawaiian; the closest phonetic equivalent is K.
    Mery Karisimasa
  • ↓ R is not a letter in Hawaiian; it is equivalent to L. Y is replaced by E, the sound it already denotes in English.
    Mele Kalisimasa
  • ↓ S is not a letter in Hawaiian; the closest phonetic equivalent is K.
    Mele Kalikimaka

    Charts

    Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters version

    Chart (2020–2023)! scope="col"
    Peak
    position
    UK Streaming Chart (OCC)[7] 95
    US Holiday 100 (Billboard)[8] 25
    US Rolling Stone Top 100[9] 32

    Other Versions

    • Jimmy Buffett covered this song on his 1996 album Christmas Island.

    • KT Tunstall covered this song on her 2010 EP Have Yourself a Very KT Christmas.

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Book: Elbert . S. . Pukui . M. . Hawaiian Dictionary . 481 .
    2. Web site: Decca matrix L 5830. Mele Kalikimaka / The Andrews Sisters ; Bing Crosby . Discography of American Historical Recordings . December 28, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191228215222/https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000272253/L_5830-Mele_Kalikimaka . live . December 28, 2019 .
    3. Web site: Mele Kalikimaka . Peter T. . Young . December 22, 2019 . Images of Old Hawaiʻi . December 28, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191225005936/http://imagesofoldhawaii.com/mele-kalikimaka/ . live . December 25, 2019 .
    4. Web site: 1998 Hall of Fame Honoree: R. Alex Anderson, The Composer Who Charmed Hawai'i and the World . Hawaiian Music Hall of Fame . https://web.archive.org/web/20150327142859/https://www.hmhof.org/honorees/1998/anderson.html . dead . March 27, 2015 .
    5. Book: Golston. Chris. Proceedings of HILP. Yang. Phong. University of Potsdam. 2001. Féry. A.D. Green. 5. Potsdam. 40–57. White Hmong loanword phonology. van de Vijver. R..
    6. Web site: Mele Kalikimaka . Léo . Azambuja . December 1, 2015 . For Kauai . https://web.archive.org/web/20170327132022/https://www.forkauaionline.com/mele-kalikimaka/ . March 27, 2017 . live . December 28, 2019 .
    7. Web site: Official Streaming Chart. Official Charts Company. December 29, 2023.
    8. News: Bing Crosby Chart History (Holiday 100). Billboard. 30 December 2020.
    9. Top 100 Songs. Rolling Stone. December 24, 2020. December 30, 2020.

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