He makana mele nāu. A gift of song for you.
PŌ HEMOLELE (O HOLY NIGHT)
Pō hemolele ke ʻōlino nei nā hōkū
O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
Ka pō i hānau ai ka Hoʻōla
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Loa ke ao me nā hewa nā luʻuluʻu
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Ka wā i hōʻea mai a ʻolu ka ʻuhane
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
Hauʻoli ē nā luhi manaʻolana
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,
Pohā nūhou ka wena o ka lā
For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn.
Pelu nā kuli, hoʻolohe i nā leo ʻānela
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
Ka pō kamahaʻo i hānau ai ʻo Kristo
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
Ka pō kamahaʻo, ka pō kamahaʻo!
O night divine, O night, O holy night!
Translated by Martha K. Poepoe
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Poʻo/Piko/ʻAwe Breakdown:
Pō hemolele / ke ʻōlino nei / nā hōkū
Poʻo: kikino, kāhulu / Poʻo: māka painu / Piko: kaʻi, kikino
Ka pō / i hānau ai / ka Hoʻōla
Poʻo: kaʻi, kikino / māka painu / Poʻo: kaʻi, kikino
Loa / ke ao / me nā hewa nā luʻuluʻu
Poʻo: painu / Piko: kaʻi, kikino / ʻAwe: ʻami, kaʻi, kikino, kaʻi, kikino
Ka wā / i hōʻea mai / a / ʻolu / ka ʻuhane
Poʻo: kaʻi, kikino / ʻami, painu, hune kuhi / ʻami kuʻi / Poʻo: painu / Piko: kaʻi, kikino
Hauʻoli ē / nā luhi manaʻolana
Poʻo: painu, hune ʻaʻau / Piko: kaʻi, kikino, kāhulu
Pohā nūhou / ka wena / o ka lā
Poʻo: Painu, kāhulu / Piko: kaʻi, kikino / ʻAwe: ʻami, kaʻi, kikino
Pelu / nā kuli, / hoʻolohe / i nā leo ʻānela
Poʻo: painu / Piko: kaʻi, kikino / Poʻo: painu / ʻAwe: ʻami kuhi, kaʻi, kikino, kāhulu
Ka pō kamahaʻo / i hānau ai / ʻo Kristo
Poʻo: kaʻi, kikino, kāhulu / māka painu / Piko: ʻami piko ʻo, iʻoa
Ka pō kamahaʻo, ka pō kamahaʻo!
Poʻo: kaʻi, kikino, kāhulu, kaʻi, kikino, kāhulu
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To hear the full version of Uncle Willie K's (Kahaialiʻi) awesome rendition of this mele (song), click here.
Mele Kalikimaka!
na ʻAlika
(by ʻAlika)
Note: The original image used in this Christmas card with permission is copyright protected by Herb Kāne. Please do not duplicate/distribute. Clip of Pō Hemolele (O Holy Night) used with permission by the Mountain Apple Company. Mahalo nui!
Context of Christmas card image: The Polynesian migration to Hawaiʻi was part of one of the most remarkable achievements of humanity: the discovery and settlement of the remote, widely scattered islands of the central Pacific. The migration began before the birth of Christ. While Europeans were sailing close to the coastlines of continents before developing navigational instruments that would allow them to venture onto the open ocean, voyagers from Fiji, Tonga, and Sāmoa began to settle islands in an ocean area of over 10 million square miles. The settlement took a thousand years to complete and involved finding and fixing in mind the position of islands, sometimes less than a mile in diameter on which the highest landmark was a coconut tree. By the time European explorers entered the Pacific Ocean in the 16th century almost all the habitable islands had been settled for hundreds of years.
