Happy Xmas (War Is Over) is a Christmas protest song by John Lennon and Yoko Ono, released in 1971 as a single by the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir. The B-side is Listen, the Snow Is Falling. It was born from Lennon's peace activism and the couple’s international War Is Over billboard campaign, which urged peace during the Vietnam War. The track, produced by Phil Spector with Lennon and Ono, begins with spoken Christmas greetings to their children and was recorded in New York City in late October 1971. It reached the UK top five after its 1972 release there and later surged again in Britain following Lennon's murder in 1980. The song, a blend of rock and Christmas music, later appeared on the Lennon's compilation Shaved Fish and has since become a Christmas standard frequently covered by other artists.
