O Tannenbaum (O Christmas Tree), from Family Christmas OnlineTMThough now it is considered a central part of American Christmas celebrations, the Christmas tree actually comes to us from Germany. So it's not surprising that the song "O Christmas Tree" comes from Germany as well.My understanding is that Tannenbaum technically means "fir tree," although most Christmas trees in Germany ("Weihnachtsbaum") were traditionally spruce. That's okay, since Douglas firs are becoming so popular in America - our last several "cut" trees were firs, so we fit right in. Christmas trees emerged in German-speaking nations in the 16th century (the first Christmas tree is apocryphally attributed to Martin Luther), and by the early 18th century had been brought by German immigrants to the new world. The original German Christmas trees were small by today's standards and stood on tables, usually next to the Nativity scene (or "Putz"). It was after Queen Victoria's family adopted big Christmas trees in a big way (starting in the mid-1800s) that Christmas trees in North America and England grew to the 7-9' trees we are used to today. For more about the history of the Christmas tree, click here. Though German songs about Christmas trees go back to the 16th century, the most popular German lyrics are probably those reportedly written by Ernst Anschütz in 1824. The English lyrics we are most used to are a rough paraphrase of the German. The catchy folk tune helps keep the song in the songbooks. To hear an MP3 file of the song, arranged by Tess Hoffman click here. German lyrics O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum,
O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum!
English Lyrics: (These are the lyrics I grew up with. I'm sure there are better lyrics out there.) O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree
Silly Story Alert! When I was little, we used to sing "O Tannembaum," but once I was out of elementary school, I never remembered more than the first line. On the first Christmas Shelia and I shared together, we bought a $16 Scotch pine from the tree lot around the corner. All the time I was setting it up, I couldn't help humming "O Christmas Tree," over and over. That was when I realized I didn't know very many of the English lyrics either. Well, either I remembered them wrong, or they were a little weak. Could you really be expected to sing "How evergreen your branches" three times in the same verse? And the line, "Your boughs so green in summertime, stay bravely green in wintertime" seemed especially weak to me for a number of reasons. People don't really talk like that outside of George Lucas movies. So I tried remembering the German words, but didn't have much luck there, either. Finally, I came up with a version I have since passed on to my children. I hope it doesn't diminish your enjoyment of this song:
How evergreen your branches! Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, I don't know the next line. We used to sing in German, too, But "tannenbaum" was all I knew, Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree, How evergreen your branches! That said, I later wrote a very nice carol that explains why believers see the evergreen as a symbol of rebirth. I've never recorded it, but if you have us out to your place some time, have me bring my guitar and I'll share it with you. God bless, and have a wonderful Christmas season this year and every year. - Paul |
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