Deck the Halls

Deck the Halls is a traditional Christmas, yuletide, and New Years’ carol.

 The melody is Welsh dating back to the sixteenth century. It belongs to a winter carol, “Nos Galan”, which means New Years celebration or gift.

The tune is an old Welsh air, which was first found in a musical manuscript by Welsh harpist John Parry dating back to the 1700s.

The English lyrics were written in 1862 by Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant.

The repeated “fa la la” goes back to the earlier Welsh and may originate from medieval ballads.