The song is based on a traditional folk chant whose language was thought to have magical properties, because of the manner in which it manipulated the number 3. The original traditional Ukrainian text used a device, known as hemiola, in the rhythm (alternating the accents within each measure from 3/4 to 6/8 and back again). This device however is lost in the English translations and rarely is used in non-Ukrainian performances. The ostinato motif, a repeated four-note pattern within the range of a minor third is thought to be of prehistoric origins with magical implications. It was associated with the coming New Year which, in pre-Christian Ukraine, was originally celebrated in April.
With the introduction of Christianity to Ukraine, the celebration of the New Year was moved from April to January, and the holiday the chant originally was associated with became the Feast of Epiphany (also known in Ukrainian as Shchedry vechir). The songs sung for this celebration are known as Schedrivky.