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•Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly

This song’s music (but not its words) was developed in Wales.

It resembled songs by English Madrigals in the 1500’s.

• Decking the Halls with Boughs of Holly or decorating for the first day of winter was a tradition dating back to ancient Egyptians, Romans, Greeks and Northern European Druids.

Deck the Halls begins to distinguish between Holy Day and Holiday with its festive theme for a joyous

New Year.

•

It was basically a dance, where folks would circle a harp player, who played the Fa la la la la portion.

Later, they sang Fa la la la la, la la la la as a sort of medieval folly.

One London harpist, Edward Jones published an early version of the song in 1784 in his book: Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards.

The song came to prominence when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart added it to his repertoire in a duet for violin and piano.

• Join us in singing it now.

•Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly • -fa la la la la, la la la la.