Deck The Halls

Year: 1600

Written By: Unknown

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Deck the Halls has long been a favorite Christmas carol during the holidays. Sang in many different versions and languages it is upbeat and puts everyone who hears it in the Christmas spirit no matter what kind of Scrooge you may be. I remember singing this carol for many years on our neighborhood caroling jaunts when I was growing up. It never failed to put my parents and me in the Christmas mood.

The original English title for Deck the Halls was actually Deck the Hall and is a traditional yuletide and New Years carol. It is unknown who actually wrote the lyrics to Deck the Halls but John Parry Ddall who was a Welsh Harpist found the tune for the song in a musical manuscript. It is a little known fact that Fa-La-La was originally said to be played on a harp as well.

The carol is Welsh and at that time carols were dances not songs. This was frowned upon heavily by the church as dancing was considered immoral at that time. The carol dates back to the 16^th century and belongs to a winter Carol Nos Galan. The Fa-La-La of the song is from medieval ballads but the rest is American dating back to the 19^th century. The poet John Ceiriog Husgehs wrote the first published lyrics in Welsh.

Deck the Halls really didn't get much recognition until the 18^th century when Mozart used it for a piano and violin duet he was performing. That is when the song started to take off and become popular. The Victorian re-invention of Christmas is what really started the carols rise to popularity when it was turned into a traditional English Christmas song.

J.P McCaskey has often been credited with writing the song but in truth, what he wrote was the first English version for the Franklin Square song collection in 1881 and Harper and Brothers in New York City published it.

The song doesn't seem to have been recorded by many artists. Shedaisy did record their version for their album Brand New year and Deck the Halls was also featured in Disney's animated Christmas classic Mickey's once upon a Christmas. The single for the song was released on November 9, 1989. In the years 2006 and 2007 Deck the Halls hit the charts of the billboard hits at 37 and 61 during the holidays.

However, no matter how popular or not popular the song may be during the holidays everyone is humming or singing Deck the Halls.