How 'Deck the Halls' Lost Its Booze

“Don we now our gay apparel.” When countless Americans sing this line each Christmas season, they probably have no idea that it’s a substitute lyric. I didn’t, until recently. But now that I know the secret history of “Deck the Halls,” I’m here to share what was taken from you.

You see, the original English version of “Deck the Halls” was filled with booze.

The song first originated in Wales, under the title “Nos Galan” (New Year’s Eve), in the 16th Century. Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant penned the English lyrics we now know. They were first published in an 1862 book, Welsh Melodies With Welsh and English Poetry, Volume 2, edited by John Thompson, with Welsh lyrics from John Jones and English lyrics from Oliphant.

Here are Oliphant’s opening lyrics to “Deck the Halls” (published under the title “New Year’s Eve”):

Deck the hall with boughs of holly,

Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!

‘Tis the season to be jolly:

Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!

Fill the meadcup, drain the barrel,

Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la!

Troll the ancient Christmas carol.

Fa, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

You might notice that the part where we now sing about donning gay apparel was originally about drinking mead, a type of honey wine.

“Fill the mead cup, drain the barrel” wasn’t Oliphant’s only line about imbibing alcohol. The bit in the second verse that would later become “see the blazing Yule before us” was, in Oliphant’s version, “see the flowing bowl before us.”

And a third-verse lyric about singing together was originally about drinking heartily. But, alas, “laughing, quaffing, all together” became, at some point, “sing we joyous, all together.”

So how did we end up with the teetotaling version of “Deck the Halls” we know today?

The sanitized version appeared in the Pennsylvania School Journal in December 1877 and is thought to be the first publication of the changed lyrics. An 1881 book, the Franklin Square Song Collection, also contained the booze-free version of “Deck the Halls.”

Some have blamed America’s temperance movement for the changes. This is a fun rumor, but I could find no evidence that prohibitionist fervor prompted the lyric changes. It’s possible—but the Pennsylvania School Journal was published by the Pennsylvania State Education Association and aimed at educators. So it’s also possible the changes were simply intended to make the song more appropriate for singing in school.

Whatever the reason for the lyric changes, I’m sure the revisionists never imagined that their replacement lyrics would, too, become controversial. The 2010s saw several scandals over people replacing “gay apparel” with “fun” or “bright” duds.

The Hallmark company came under fire in 2013 for selling an ornament that said “Don we now our fun apparel” (and, because it was peak that era, the company apologized). And, in 2011, a Michigan music teacher somehow made national news for teaching students the lyrics “don we now our bright apparel.” Where’s the flowing mead bowl when you need it?

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