O PÅTGON BELEN

O PÅTGON BELEN is a Chamorro Christmas carol or hymn.

Depending on the island, village and even sometimes family, you might here little differences here and there in the song.

Refrain : O påtgon Belen, in na'e hao dias,
sa' hågo si Jesus, yan i Mesias.

(O Child of Bethlehem, we greet you,
for you are Jesus and the Messiah.)

1. I gai langet yan tåno' dumikkike' gue'; i tehnen i langet lumadafe gue'.
(He who owns both heaven and earth becomes small; the upholder of heaven becomes weaker..)

2. Måtfit yan flores rosa i dos fasu-ña; ma guaiya ma atan i atadok-ña.
(His two cheeks are ivory and roses; they love to look at His eyes.)

3. Hinilat ginefli'e' nu i taotao-ña; kumasao chumålek gi fanagong-ña.
(Overcome with love for His people; He cries smiling in His shelter.)

NOTES

Dias. Literally, it means "days." "In na'e hao dias" literally means "we give you days." But if one remembers that the morning greeting is "buenas dias" ("good days") then one can see that "to give days" means "to greet, to congratulate, to wish well" and so on.

Fanagong. An old word no longer heard. It literally means a "shelter" from wind or rain, and in this context means the crib or manger.