"Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol composed by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in 1914. The melody is based on a traditional Ukrainian folk chant called "Shchedryk" which was originally associated with the coming of the new year and the arrival of spring, not Christmas. The famous English lyrics about bells were written by Peter J. Wilhousky in 1936. The composition is renowned for its distinctive four-note ostinato motif and has been arranged and performed in countless versions across various genres, most famously by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra in their rock opera "Christmas Eve and Other Stories".