Holiday Song History: ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’

• Song - O Come, All Ye Faithful
• Year - 1744 (composed), 1751 (published)
• Written By - Unknown, but attributed to multiple people

Other Random Facts

• The song was originally written in Latin, with the name Adeste Fideles
• It's not exactly known who wrote the song, but John Francis Wade, John Reading, and King John IV of Portugal have all been attributed with writing it.
• The English translation of the song was written in 1841 by English Catholic priest Frederick Oakeley.
• The original manuscript of the oldest known version dates back to 1751.
• In the United States, it is often sung in a arrangement by Sir David Willcocks, which was originally published back in back in 1961 by Oxford University Press in the first book in the Carols for Choirs series.
• The original version of the song had only 4 verses, but more have been added through the years.
• In performance, verses are often omitted because there have been so many added, it makes the song incredibly long.