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" Mele Kalikimaka" (pronounced [ˈmɛlɛ kəˌlitiˈmɐkə]) is a Hawaiian-themed Christmas song written in 1949 by R. Alex Anderson. The song takes its title from the Hawaiian transliteration of "Merry Christmas", Mele Kalikimaka. [1] One of the earliest recordings of this song was by Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in 1950 on Decca. [2]
Robert Alexander Anderson (often given as R. Alex Anderson) (June 6, 1894 – May 30, 1995) [1] was an American composer who was born and lived most of his life in Hawaii, writing many popular Hawaiian songs within the hapa haole genre including "Lovely Hula Hands" (1940) and "Mele Kalikimaka" (1949), the latter the best known Hawaiian Christmas song.
The phrase is borrowed directly from English, but, since Hawaiian has a different phonological system (in particular, Hawaiian does not possess the /r/ or /s/ of English, nor does it have the phonotactic constraints to allow consonants at the end of a syllable), "Merry Christmas" becomes "Mele Kalikimaka". [9]
In contrast to the typical Hawaiian "ha'i" voice use by many Hawaiian singers of the time, Kahauolopua sang in a husky alto. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] Kahauolopua cut a number of records, usually accompanied by Godfrey and his ukulele and the Archie Bleyer Orchestra, and sometimes by The Mariners vocal group.
It's not just all about Christmas at Castle Noel in Medina. The popular museum is adding a summer luau show.
Mele are chants, songs, or poems. The term comes from the Hawaiian language. It is frequently used in song titles such as "He Mele Lāhui Hawaiʻi", composed in 1866 by Liliʻuokalani as a national anthem. Hawaiian songbooks often carry the word in the book's title. [1] Mele is a cognate of Fijian language meke.
Mele Kalikimaka is not a translation of Merry Christmas. It is a transposing of English words to make them look Hawaiian. He pololei ʻoe! And for the use directly above me. Yes, the Hawaiian word "mele" does mean song. However, in the case of Mele Kalikimaka, the word Mele means Merry.
The phonological system of the Hawaiian language is based on documentation from those who developed the Hawaiian alphabet during the 1820s as well as scholarly research conducted by lexicographers and linguists from 1949 to present. Hawaiian has only eight consonant phonemes: /p, k ⁓ t, ʔ, h, m, n, l ⁓ ɾ, w ⁓ v/.