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You’ve heard it. Every December, that aggressive, distorted cello kicks in, followed by a synth-heavy wall of sound that feels more like a heavy metal concert than a silent night. It’s "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24." Most people know it as the song by Trans-Siberian Orchestra that makes their neighbor's Christmas light display go viral on TikTok.
But there’s a massive disconnect.
While we’re sipping eggnog and watching synchronized LEDs, the actual story behind the music is gut-wrenching. It’s not a "holiday banger" in the traditional sense. It’s a piece of protest music. It’s a sonic representation of one of the most brutal sieges in modern history. Honestly, it’s kinda weird that we play it while shopping for sweaters, given that it’s literally about a man playing a cello in a crater while snipers try to kill him.
The song actually didn’t start with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. It was originally a track on the 1995 Savatage album Dead Winter Dead. Paul O’Neill, the mastermind behind both bands, wanted to capture the sheer, nonsensical horror of the Bosnian War.
The Real Story of the Cellist of Sarajevo
To understand why "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" sounds the way it does, you have to look at Vedran Smailović.
In 1992, Sarajevo was under siege. It was a nightmare. On May 27th, a mortar shell hit a group of people waiting in line for bread. Twenty-two people died. Smailović, who was a principal cellist in the Sarajevo Opera, didn't grab a gun. Instead, he grabbed his cello. For 22 days—one for each person killed—he put on his full formal concert attire, walked into the middle of the rubble and the sniper fire, and played Albinoni’s Adagio in G Minor.
He played while buildings collapsed around him. He played while people were being hunted.
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That image is the heart of the song. When the music shifts from the soft, tinkling "Carol of the Bells" melody into that grinding, industrial metal riff, it's representing the clash between humanity and the machinery of war. It's not just a cool guitar part. It’s the sound of a mortar shell interrupting a prayer. Paul O’Neill once explained that he used "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Carol of the Bells" because they represent the old world, while the heavy distortion represents the "new" reality of the 1990s Balkan conflict.
Why the 12/24 Date Matters So Much
The date in the title, 12/24, refers to Christmas Eve, obviously. But in the context of the Bosnian War, the holidays were particularly grim. Sarajevo was a multicultural city where Muslims, Christians, and Jews had lived side-by-side for centuries.
War doesn't care about the calendar.
By December 1992, the city was freezing. There was no electricity. No running water. People were cutting down the trees in the city parks just to have wood to burn for heat. The song tries to capture that specific atmosphere—the desperate hope for a "silent night" that is constantly being shattered by the reality of the 12/24 date during a blockade.
The Savatage Connection
Savatage was a heavy metal band. They weren't exactly known for holiday cheer. When they released Dead Winter Dead, it was a rock opera about a Serbian boy and a Muslim girl falling in love in the middle of the war. "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" was the standout instrumental track. It was so successful that it basically birthed the Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO).
The industry people told O'Neill he was crazy. They said a heavy metal Christmas song about a war zone wouldn't sell.
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They were wrong.
A radio station in Florida started playing it, and the phone lines melted down. People didn't even know it was a metal band. They just knew it felt different from the sterile, department-store music they were used to. It had teeth.
The Composition: More Than Just a Medley
Musically, the track is a beast. It’s a mashup, but a sophisticated one.
The "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" section provides the dark, minor-key foundation. Then comes the "Carol of the Bells" (which is actually based on a Ukrainian folk chant called "Shchedryk"). The way those two melodies weave together is supposed to simulate the confusion of the city.
The "clash" happens around the two-minute mark.
That’s where the drums kick in hard. If you listen closely, the rhythm of the percussion mimics the cadence of heavy artillery. It’s intentional. The solo cello that appears at the end is meant to be Smailović. After the chaos of the orchestra and the heavy guitars dies down, the lone cello remains. It’s a statement of survival.
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The Commercialization Paradox
There is something deeply ironic about the way we use this song today. We've turned a song about a war zone into the soundtrack for consumerist excess.
If you go to a TSO show—and they are massive, pyrotechnic spectacles—you’ll see thousands of people cheering for this song. Most of them have no idea it’s about the Siege of Sarajevo. They think it’s just a "cool version" of Christmas carols.
Does that matter?
Maybe. Paul O’Neill always felt that music should take the listener to a place they wouldn't otherwise go. If a suburban family in Ohio listens to this song and, for a split second, feels the tension and the drama of a conflict halfway across the world, then the music did its job. Even if they don't know the specific history, the emotion of the Sarajevo 12/24 experience is baked into the notes.
Actionable Ways to Appreciate the History
If you want to move beyond the "light show" version of this song, there are a few things you can do to actually honor the history it represents.
- Watch the documentary footage. Look up Vedran Smailović. There is actual footage of him playing in the ruins. Seeing the dust on his tuxedo while he plays amidst the charred remains of the National Library puts the song in a completely different light.
- Listen to the Savatage version first. Before the high-budget TSO production, there was the raw Dead Winter Dead version. It’s grittier. It feels more like the 90s. It feels more like a city under fire.
- Read about the Siege of Sarajevo. It lasted 1,425 days. That’s longer than the Siege of Leningrad. Understanding the scale of the tragedy makes the "hope" in the song feel much more earned.
- Support international music education. The song is a testament to the power of art in conflict. Organizations like Musicians Without Borders work in former war zones, including the Balkans, to use music as a tool for reconciliation.
The next time "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" comes on the radio, don't just think about the lights on your house. Think about a man in a tuxedo, sitting in a crater, refusing to let the music stop. That’s what the song is actually about. It’s about the fact that even when the world is screaming, a single cello can still be heard.