The modern lyrics were written in 1824 by the Leipzig organist, teacher and composer Ernst Anschütz. A Tannenbaum is a fir tree. The lyrics do not actually refer to Christmas, or describe a … See more

The tune is an old folk tune attested in the 16th century. It is also known as the tune of "Es lebe hoch der Zimmermannsgeselle" and of "Lauriger Horatius". See more

The tune has also been used (as a contrafactum) to carry other texts on many occasions. Notable uses include:
• "The Red Flag", anthem of the British and Irish Labour Parties
• Florida – " See more

• List of Christmas carols
• Snoopy's Christmas See more

• "Eglite" – old recording of the song and article from The Hermann von Helmholtz Center for Cultural Technology (in German)
• Notes "O Tannenbaum" (sheet music in GIF)
• "O Tannenbaum" multilingual – MIDI and lyrics for … See more