abstract
| - Fum, Fum, Fum (/ˌfʊm ˌfʊm ˈfʊm/ FUUM FUUM FUUM; Catalan: [ˈfum ˈfum ˈfum]) is a traditional Catalan Christmas carol.It is thought to have originated in the 16th or 17th century. The word %22fum%22 means smoke in Catalan, and it may simply refer to the smoke rising from a chimney as seen from afar, or, as indicated in the New Oxford Book of Carols, %22may imitate the sound of a drum (or perhaps the strumming of a guitar)%22. It is not typical of Spanish tradition but rather of Catalan tradition. Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) defines %22fum%22 as %22to play upon a fiddle,%22 quoting Ben Jonson, %22Follow me, and fum as you go.%22 One source, the Musical Heritage Society insert 3428 (Christmas Songs From Around the World), indicates that %22fum, fum, fum%22 is an onomatopoeia imitating the noise of a rocking cradle, and that the rhythms come from the Sardana, a courtly dance which originated in Catalonia and the Provence.
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