Public Domain Christmas Songs (Full List)

Here is the thing almost everyone gets wrong about public domain Christmas songs: the composition can be free to use while a specific recording of it is not. The song Silent Night is public domain. Bing Crosby singing it is not.

Updated: September 28, 2026

Christmas Songs in the Public Domain

These Christmas compositions are old enough that their music and original lyrics are in the public domain. You can perform them, arrange them and record your own version without permission or royalties.

Song	Year	Composer
Silent Night	1818	Franz Xaver Gruber (Joseph Mohr, lyrics)
Jingle Bells	1857	James Lord Pierpont
We Three Kings	1857	John Henry Hopkins Jr.
O Holy Night	1847	Adolphe Adam
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear	1849	Richard Storrs Willis
Up on the Housetop	1864	Benjamin Hanby
What Child Is This	1865	melody "Greensleeves" (William Chatterton Dix, lyrics)
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas	1860s	traditional American
Deck the Halls	1862	traditional Welsh melody (Thomas Oliphant, English lyrics)
O Come, All Ye Faithful	1751	John Francis Wade
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing	1739 / 1840	Charles Wesley (Felix Mendelssohn, melody)
Joy to the World	1719 / 1848	Isaac Watts (Lowell Mason, arrangement)
The First Noel	pub. 1823	traditional English
O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)	1824	Ernst Anschütz (traditional melody)
Away in a Manger	1885 / 1895	traditional (Murray and Kirkpatrick melodies)
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen	traditional	traditional English (18th c.)
We Wish You a Merry Christmas	traditional	traditional English (16th c.)
Toyland	1903	Victor Herbert (Glen MacDonough, lyrics)

Popular Christmas Songs Still Under Copyright

Most of the beloved 20th-century Christmas hits are still protected. Using any of these, the song or a recording, requires a license.

White Christmas: Irving Berlin, 1942, still under copyright
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: Johnny Marks, 1949
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!: Styne and Cahn, 1945
The Christmas Song: Tormé and Wells, 1945
All I Want for Christmas Is You: Carey and Afanasieff, 1994
Jingle Bell Rock: Beal and Boothe, 1957
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree: Johnny Marks, 1958
Frosty the Snowman: Nelson and Rollins, 1950

You can see many of these in context on our list of the 50 best Christmas songs of all time.

Compositions vs Recordings: What You Can Actually Use

Two separate copyrights exist for any song. One covers the composition (the melody and lyrics on the page). The other covers the sound recording (a specific performance captured in the studio). They expire at different times and belong to different people.

So public domain sheet music can be performed and recorded freely: you can hire musicians to play Silent Night and own that recording outright. But Bing Crosby’s 1935 recording of Silent Night is a separate protected work, and you cannot lift it without clearance. When in doubt, make your own recording of a public domain composition and you are safe.

Looking for holiday music to listen to rather than license? Start with our instrumental Christmas playlists or the cozy Christmas jazz collections.

Disclaimer: This page is general information, not legal advice. Copyright terms vary by country and change over time. For a specific commercial use, confirm the status of both the composition and the recording, and consult a qualified attorney if anything is unclear.