15 Free Printable Christmas Songs and Carols
Use these free printable Christmas songs to brighten up your holiday season.
Singing carols and listening to Christmas music is a favorite holiday activity for many people.
This fun list of Christmas songs is sure to be a hit when planning your next Christmas singalong!
15 Free Printable Christmas Song and Carols
I’ve put together these digital download free printables for some of my favorite Christmas carols.
Singing classic Christmas songs is a great way to spread Christmas cheer!
Other fun activities include Christmas Bible Trivia and Christmas trees printables, Christmas ornaments printables, and Merry Christmas printables.
While Christmas has the focus of celebrating Christ’s birth, not all of these are specifically Christmas hymns.
Although all songs are in the public domain, please note that these printable digital files are for your personal use only. They are not to be sold or uploaded anywhere else online.
The download link is found at the bottom of this post.
I hope you enjoy looking through this list and printing off your favorite songs to celebrate this joyous time of year!
Silent Night
If you ask people what is the most popular Christmas hymn, many reply, “Silent Night.”
Almost everyone recognizes the carol’s famous line “The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.”
The history behind this song is really interesting.
The lyrics were penned in 1816 by an Austrian priest named Joseph Mohr.
As the story goes, Mohr took a peaceful walk through his town during the Christmas season. He then sat down to write the words to what became one of the most popular Christmas carols of all time.
The carol was not performed until 1818, after Franz Xaver Gruber, a choir director, wrote the melody.
People throughout the world now sing Silent Night every Christmas to celebrate Jesus’s coming into the world.
The First Noel
Another very popular Christmas song is The First Noel.
“Noel” is the Old French word for Christmas.
No one knows who actually wrote the lyrics or melody to this carol. It’s is believed to have been around for at least 400 years.
It first appeared in the form we currently know it in 1823.
This hymn celebrates the first Christmas when angels appeared to shepherds and proclaimed the birth of the promised Messiah.
O Holy Night
The next Christmas carol is O Holy Night.
This famous hymn was likely written in 1847 by a Frenchman named Placide Cappeau de Roquemaure.
Placide Cappeau was apparently not a highly religious man, and the melody was written by Adolphe Charles Adams, a Jewish classical composer.
The song was very popular and widely sung in Catholic services.
However, the French Catholic Church eventually forbade it to be sung due to the irreligious character of the lyricist and composer.
it was eventually translated into English and is today one of the most loved songs for Christmas caroling.
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Another really well known Christmas song is We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
No one knows exactly who wrote this carol. As with many old Christmas songs, it was likely changed over the years.
However, somehow the lines about “figgy pudding” managed to survive!
This is a great song for belting out on Christmas day or when going door-to-door as part of a caroling party.
Jingle Bells
Next up in our list of favorite Christmas songs is Jingle Bells.
This upbeat carol is a favorite of young children and adults like.
Everyone has so much fun singing along to this catchy tune.
Jingles Bells was reportedly written by James Lord Pierpont and first sung in 1850 in Medford, Massachusetts.
One fun piece of trivia is that this carol was actually performed by astronauts in 1965 aboard Gemini 6!
O Come All Ye Faithful
Another favorite Christmas carol is the classic O Come All Ye Faithful.
This hymn was originally written in Latin with the title “Adeste, Fidelis.”
This song’s lyrics and melody were likely composed in the 1740s by John Francis Wade, a musician at the English College in Douai.
The lyrics of this beautiful hymn call us to “come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
O Little Town of Bethlehem
After Silent Night, the second-most popular Christmas hymn may be O Little Town of Bethlehem.
The words to this song were written in 1868 by Episcopal Rector Phillips Brooks with the melody by Lewis H Redner.
This hymn was written for Sunday School at Brooks’ church in Philadelphia.
Brooks had visited Bethlehem in the Holy Land several years prior to writing this now-famous Christmas song.
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
One of the most beautiful Christmas hymns ever written is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.
The powerful words to this song were originally written in Latin, possibly dating back all the way to 12th Century monastic life.
This Latin hymn was first published in 1710, then translated by Anglican priest John Mason Neale in 1851.
However, there are several variations of the hymn’s lyrics.
Any one who carefully considers the beautiful words of this hymn will understand that the true meaning of Christmas is found in the Person of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
The 12 Days of Christmas
One of the more interesting carols of Christmas is The 12 Days of Christmas.
Historically, the 12 days of Christmas are considered to start in the month of December, running from Christmas Day (December 25th) through January 6th, also known as the Epiphany.
January 6th is the day recognized by some groups as the date when the three wise men came to visit Jesus.
This song has a number of variations, but the most popular one was established in 1909 by English composer Frederic Austin.
The exact meaning (real or symbolic) of the different people (such as “my true love”) and items (including a “partridge in a pear tree”) mentioned in the carol is unclear.
However, this fun carol is sure to put listeners in the holiday spirit.
Away in a Manger
Next up in the collection of hymns celebrating the birth of Christ if Away in a Manger.
This song was widely attributed to Protestant Reformer Martin Luther for many years.
It is now believed to have originated in America in the mid-19th Century, although the author remains unknown.
This hymn has long been a favorite to sing on Christmas Eve or as part of a Christmas concert. It would be perfect to include with any list of printable Christmas songs.
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Another Christmas hymn that is not quite as well-known as some of the others is Angels from the Realms of Glory.
This lovely song was penned by James Montgomery on Christmas Even in 1816.
Montgomery, an English newspaper publisher, had written poetry for much of his life.
Henry Smart, a blind songwriter, wrote the melody to accompany Montgomery’s lyrics. The hymn was first sung on Christmas Day, 1821, in an English Moravian church.
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
One more favorite Christmas song is the classic Hark the Herald Angels Sing.
Many people who don’t usually sing traditional Christmas hymns are familiar with this song. This carol was sung on A Charlie Brown Christmas as the Peanuts gang gathered around the Christmas tree.
Hark was originally written as a poem in 1739 by Charles Wesley, brother of evangelist and Anglican clergyman John Wesley. Charles wrote an astounding 6500 hymns in his lifetime!
His poem was then arranged into a song by well-known evangelist George Whitefield in 1753.
The melody comes from composer Felix Mendelssohn, arranged by William H. Cummings in 1855.
This memorable hymn proclaims “glory to the newborn king, peace on earth,” reminding us of the angelic message proclaimed 2000 years ago.
Find More Christmas Printables Here
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Joy to the World
The next song on our Christmas carol lyrics sheets is Joy to the World.
This work was penned by English Congregational minister Isaac Watts in 1719. The majestic line “And heav’n and nature sing” comes from this song.
Watts wrote the lyrics to this hymn as an exposition on Psalm 98. The theme of the lyrics focus more on the Second Coming of Christ than his Advent.
However, after approximately 100 years, music was added to Watt’s poem and it eventually came to be associated with Christmas.
The tune of Joy to the World is credited to Lowell Mason, but parts of the bars are linked to George Frederic Handel’s Messiah.
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Another wonderful printable Christmas song is It Came Upon the Midnight Clear.
This well-known carol was written by Unitarian minister Edmund H. Sears in 1849.
Sears wrote this hymn after a period of personal illness and in light of national and global conflicts with a call for “Peace on the earth, goodwill to men.”
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
The last selection among our list of Christian religious carols is Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus.
This hymn is a perfect selection to be sung during the Advent season.
It was written by Charles Wesley in 1744 and expresses the longing of Israel to see the long-promised Messiah.
Christians today still resonate with the cry to be delivered “from our fears and sins” and to “let us find our rest in Thee.”
Free Printable Download Christmas Songs
I hope these downloadable printable Christmas songs will be a great resource for Christmas song lyrics.
I’ve included some of the best holiday favorites to use at home or church, caroling, and Christmas parties.
Click here for the printable lyric sheets instant download in a PDF file format.
Thank you, I wanted to do a Christmas party for the homeless at our church shelter. This was a wonderful way to give them something to sing from and take with them.. I soooo appreciate your FREE PDF as I do all this ministry out of my own pocket.
You’re very welcome! So glad it was helpful!