Hollies All-Around and “Deck the Halls”

Looking for a Christmas song to hum when decorating the home for Christmas? "Deck the halls is the perfect hymn!"

"Deck the Halls is a classic Yuletide hymn and is almost recognizable with its first words "Tis' the Season.' These old words hark the beginning of Christmas is ingrained in the Christmas consciousness for a long time.

The song has British roots, particularity on the Welsh side. The lyrics and the melody were initially in Welsh. Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant translated the Welsh lyrics into English in 1862. Oliphant included the translated with the original Welsh words in the second volume of Welsh Melodies. Welsh Melodies is a four-volume set, by John Thomas. The Welsh lyrics of the song were provided by John Jones (Talhaiarn). The recurring line of "fa la la" is said to be originated from medieval ballads and is considered earlier Welsh.

Meanwhile, the melody "Nos Galan" (translated as 'New Year') dates back to the sixteenth century as a winter carol. John Parry, A Welsh harpist, discovered the tune in a musical manuscript. It is said that that it was dating back to the 17th century. The tune gained popularity in the next century, with rumors that Mozart used it for his 18th violin sonata. Franz Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809) retained the melody for his "New Year's night," his version of the hymn.

The song has seven stanzas, with the first and third line has lyrics. Six of the seven stanzas have rhyming ends in the lyrics, except for the second stanza. Meanwhile, the second and fourth (last) line are the "fa la la" lines. The "fa la la" are song high compared to the rest of the lines.

Two contemporary versions exist. The Red Hot Chili Peppers version is a parody version while the SHeDAISY version has a country variant.