Catalogue Op. 1, No. 4 Occasion Christmas Text by Zacharias Topelius | Genre Hymn
Christmas carol Written 1887 (1887) | |
Other name "Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt" |
Julvisa, also known after the opening lines Giv mig ej glans, ej guld, ej prakt, is a Christmas song written by Zacharias Topelius 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 years old Jean Sibelius in 1895 (opus 1, number 4).
In Finnish, the song 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 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.