O Christmas Tree

"O Tannenbaum" (O Christmas Tree) began not as a Christmas carol but as a German folk song praising the fir tree's evergreen faithfulness. The earliest known version was written by Joachim August Zarnack in 1819, with lyrics about a faithful lover. Schoolteacher Ernst Anschütz revised the lyrics in 1824, shifting the focus to the fir tree itself — its steadfast green branches through winter becoming a symbol of constancy and hope.

The melody became widely associated with Christmas as the tradition of decorating fir trees spread across Europe and to America in the 19th century, popularized by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The song naturally became a carol as the Christmas tree itself became the centrepiece of holiday celebrations.

The melody has had a remarkably wide cultural reach: it serves as the state song of Maryland, Iowa, Michigan, and New Jersey in the United States, and has been adapted as the melody for several political anthems, including the Labour Party anthem "The Red Flag" in the UK.