In some parts of the world, there is a legend that tells of how all the bells in the world began to ring when the infant Jesus was born. Although it has become a popular American favorite, the song Carol of the Bells, credited to Mykola Leontovych, is thought to be based on an old Ukranian folk melody called a SHCHEDRIVKA or SHCHEDRYK. In the most traditional of Ukranian households, the song is usually sung on January 13, or New Year's Eve according to the Julian calendar. It was popularized in America by a Ukranian choir conductor named Oleksander Koshyts during the 1930s. Since that time, this beloved Christmas song, based on an old Ukranian folk melody known as a SHCHEDRIVKA, has become a fixture of American Christmas music.