Although a similar line had previously appeared in the 1968 anti-war songs ' The War Is Over' by Phil Ochs and ' The Unknown Soldier' by the Doors (which features the refrain 'The war is over'), the use of 'War is over' (minus the definite article) by Lennon and Ono may be coincidental there is no evidence to confirm that they were acquainted with these earlier works, or if so whether they were influenced by them. The song's direct antecedent was an international multimedia campaign launched by the couple in December 1969 – at the height of the counterculture movement and its protests against America's involvement in the Vietnam War – that primarily consisted of renting billboard space in 12 major cities around the world for the display of black-and-white posters that declared 'WAR IS OVER! If You Want It – Happy Christmas from John & Yoko'.

'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' was the culmination of more than two years of peace activism undertaken by John Lennon and Yoko Ono that began with the bed-ins they convened in March and May 1969, the first of which took place during their honeymoon. In a UK-wide poll in December 2012, it was voted tenth on the ITV television special The Nation's Favourite Christmas Song.

The song reached number four in the UK, where its release was delayed until November 1972, and has occasionally re-emerged on the UK Singles Chart, most notably after Lennon's murder in December 1980, when it peaked at number two.Īlso a protest song against the Vietnam War, 'Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' has since become a Christmas standard, frequently recorded by other artists, appearing on compilation albums of seasonal music, and named in polls as a holiday favourite. It was the seventh single release by John Lennon outside his work with the Beatles. ' Happy Xmas (War Is Over)' is a Christmas song released in 1971 as a single by John & Yoko/Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir.

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