Christmas song origins both simple and complex

“Deck the Halls” originated from the 16th century Welsh New Year’s Eve dancing song, “Nos Galan.” Cardiff University Professor in the School of Welsh, E. Wyn James, an authority on Welsh hymns and ballads, said “Nos Galan” belongs to a class of competition songs. According to James, neighbors would gather around a fire, have a few drinks and take turns composing four-line verses to a particular song. The competitor would sing a line of verse and then a harp or other instrument would play the refrain. In lieu of an instrument, the whole group would chime in with the appropriate metric number of...