I'm not sure if I misunderstood what Liz was trying to say but ... the Welsh words aren't a translation of the English. Nos Galan is a harp tune to which the Welsh would sing a hodge-podge of verses. The ones above are those ususally sung over the Christmas holidays, remembering, of course, that the Welsh didn't do much with Christmas but New Year's Eve (Nos Galan) was the big night.

I thought there already was a thread on this as I remember saying much of this before. Perhaps it was on a Usenet group. Anyway, ...

What little research has been done on Deck the Halls leads Phyllis Kinney, one of our experts in the field, to believe that the English words were composed by a Welsh American. It certainly appeared in the States long before appearing in the UK, but the author of the words obviously understood the Welsh traditions of decking halls, etc. as well as knowing the tune well.

Ah, now I remember. This came up in private correspondence when someone was looking for pagan songs to sing and was convinced that Deck the Halls was ancient. Which it ain't. Well, the tune is old, but not that old...

Anyway, it is strictly speaking a New Year's piece set to a well-known dance/harp tune. Hope that's of interest.

sian