Tiny Tannenbaum

O Tannenbaum

O Tannenbaum, commonly translated into English as O Christmas Tree, is a German song based on a 16th-century Silesian folk song by Melchior Franck that was completely unrelated to Christmas. 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 decorated Christmas tree. Instead, the song hails the evergreen tree as a symbol of constancy and faithfulness, in contrast to a faithless lover. As the custom of the Christmas tree developed in the course of the 19th century, the song came to be seen as a Christmas carol.