Published in 1850, the year he was appointed Poet Laureate, it forms part of In Memoriam, Tennyson's elegy to Arthur Henry Hallam, his sister's fiancé who died at the age of 22.
According to the local story, Tennyson was staying at High Beach in the vicinity and heard the bells being rung on New Year's Eve.
This tradition began in 1897 when the young Swedish actor Anders de Wahl was asked to recite the poem.
Since 1977 the Swedish national public TV broadcaster, SVT, has aired the event live, and the first to read the poem on television was the actor Georg Rydeberg.
After that many famous Swedish actors and/or singers have recited the poem, for example Jarl Kulle, Jan Malmsjö and Margaretha Krook.