Christmas means carols. There are some you have to hear or sing, or it isn’t Christmas. And every year, if it’s a good year, you find a new one you haven’t heard before. Do you know this one?
Apo Noponen wrote the words for Kun joulu on (When Christmas comes) for a Christmas magazine he edited in 1901. As far as I know there is no English translation, yet. The music is by Otto Kotilainen, who also composed one of the best-loved Finnish carols. (Varpunen jouluaamuna, the sparrow on Christmas morning). Both men grew up in Heinävesi in the 1860s and died in Helsinki between the world wars. So they saw the Finnish language and culture flower into independence.
There are lots of versions of Kun joulu on. Tarja Turunen, who used to sing with Nightwish, has one that you can find on YouTube. This is my choir, Jyväskylän naislaulajat, singing it, on the album Tunnen joulun (2017).
And here’s my first attempt at translating it into English. It should be singable, and it’s sentimental, but carols often are. Perhaps that’s just fine.
Wishing you warmth and light in the heart of winter, when Christmas comes.
Translator, editor, writer, reader
found in translation 
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