Julvisa, also known after the opening lines Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt, is a Christmas song written by

Zacharias Topelius Zachris Topelius (, ; 14 January 181812 March 1898) was a Finnish author, poet, journalist, historian, and rector of the University of Helsinki who wrote novels related to Finnish history. Given name Zacharias is his baptismal name, and this ...

in 1887. It was originally published in Publicistklubben's magazine Julqvällen and appears in the fourth volume of Zacharias Topelius' '' Samlade skrifter''. It was set to music by 30 year old

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

in 1895 (opus 1, number 4). In Finnish, the song's opening lines are "En etsi valtaa, loistoa" and the song was originally published in Finnish in 1909, probably with lyrics by Martti Korpilahti, and was adopted in the 1986 Finnish hymnal, with lyrics by

Niilo Rauhala Niilo is a male given name. People named Niilo include: *Niilo Wälläri (1897–1967), Finnish Socialist, syndicalist leader * Niilo Yli-Vainio (1920–1981), Finnish Pentecostalist leader *Niilo Halonen (born 1940), Finnish former ski jumper who ...

in 1984. However, the older Finnish language-version had already become popular, and is commonly sung. The song is one of the most popular Christmas songs in Finland.sibelius.fi
(Helsingin Suomalainen Klubi)

Publication

* ''Julvisa'' in * ''Julvisa'' in * Finlandssvenska psalmboken as number 510 in the 1923 edition of the 1886 Finnish hymnal version under the lines ”Julpsalmer”. * Finlandssvenska psalmboken 1943 as number 28 under the lines ”Jul”. * Frälsningsarméns sångbok 1968 as number 591 under the lines ”Högtider - Jul”. * Finlandssvenska psalmboken 1986 as number 32 under the lines ”Jul”. * 1986 års psalmbok i Sverige as number 645, as a bilingual song in two versions under the lines "From Finland". *

Virsikirja ''Virsikirja'' (, "hymn book") is the official hymnal of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland consisting of 632 hymns. History The first hymnal in Finnish was compiled and edited in 1583 by Jacobus Finno. Hemminki of Masku expanded th ...

1986 as number 31 in the section ”Joulu” (Christmas). * Psalmer och Sånger 1987 as number 491 under the lines ”Jul”. * Frälsningsarméns sångbok 1990 as number 722 under the lines ”Kyrkoårets högtider, Jul”. * Several non-religious songbooks

References

{{authority control Works by Zacharias Topelius 1887 poems 1895 songs Finnish Christian hymns Swedish-language songs Swedish Christmas songs Christmas carols 19th-century hymns

Publication

See also

References