iSpeak Hawaiian

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

For more information on the Poʻo/Piko/ʻAwe breakdown method, see here and then here.

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To hear the full version of Uncle Willie K's (Kahaialiʻi) awesome rendition of this mele (song), click here.

Aloha Kalikimaka! (another way of saying "Merry Christmas")

na ʻAlika
(by ʻAlika)

Note: Willie K's Pō Hemolele (O Holy Night) is being used with permission by the Mountain Apple Company.

It is interesting to note that 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.