<P> "Deck the Halls" or "Deck the Hall" (which is the original version of the lyrics) is a traditional Christmas, yuletide, and New Years' carol . The melody is Welsh dating back to the sixteenth century, and belongs to a winter carol, "Nos Galan", while the English lyrics, written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant, date to 1862 . </P> <P> The English - language lyrics were written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant . They first appeared in 1862, in volume 2 of Welsh Melodies, a set of four volumes authored by John Thomas, including Welsh words by John Jones (Talhaiarn) and English words by Oliphant . The repeated "fa la la" goes back to the earlier Welsh and may originate from medieval ballads . The lyrics run as follows: </P>

Who wrote deck the halls with boughs of holly
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