Deck the Halls (originally titled Deck the Hall ), 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 (New Year's Eve), a traditional Welsh New Year's Eve carol published in 1794, although it is much older. The English lyrics, written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant, date to 1862. The repeated fa la la goes back to the earlier Welsh and may originate from medieval ballads. This arrangement represents one in the Series of Band Arrangements compatible with David Willcocks' Carols for Choirs.