One of the UK's most enduringly popular Christmas rock songs has been translated into Welsh.

Merry Xmas Everybody, the 1973 festive number one by the band Slade, has been rendered in the language of the valleys with the permission of flamboyant lead singer Noddy Holder.

The famous chorus, beginning "So here it is, merry Christmas, everybody's having fun," becomes "Wel dyma hi, Nadolig Llawen, pawb yn Hapus hwyl a sbri," in the new Welsh version.

The translation was performed in concert earlier this month by Cardiff-based band Navarro, who say their cover of the song is "a bit more rocky and more up-tempo," but "true to the original."

Welsh is one of the great success stories of language preservation. A series of shrewd political moves in the 20th century ensured the native language of Wales would not go the way of other minority languages.

Wales has been officially bilingual since a 1993 act put Welsh on an equal footing with English, and it is now spoken by 20 percent of the population.

Navarro are justifiably proud to be the first to complete the challenging task of translating Merry Xmas Everybody into their native language.

Though Wales has provided its fair share of pop stars, including Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey, Welsh is not a common language in pop. The small UK country is more famous for its traditional male voice choirs than its rock songs.

A recording of Navarro's performance will be broadcast on BBC Radio in Wales on Christmas Eve.

21 December 2009