O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree !
Sung in German, the lyrics were written in 1824 by the Leipzig organist, teacher and composer, Ernst Anschultz. Here we present the English translation.
A Tannenbaum, mentioned in the original German lyrics, is a fir tree. The custom of the Christmas tree developed in the course of the 19th century – history telling us that Prince Albert’s pleasure in decorating trees made the ritual so popular.
“Christmas, I always look upon as a most dear happy time, also for Albert, who enjoyed it naturally still more in his happy home, which mine, certainly, as a child, was not. It is a pleasure to have this blessed festival associated with one’s happiest days. The very smell of the Christmas Trees of pleasant memories.” Entry from Queen Victoria’s journal on 24 December 1841
