Large Print Christmas Carols: Free Printable Lyrics PDF

These are the words of well-known Christmas carols in large print, one carol to a sheet. Choose 18, 24 or 28 point, download a single carol or the whole set, and print. Every carol here has words first published in 1929 or earlier, so it is free to copy in the United States.

Quick facts
Songs	Silent Night, Joy to the World, Away in a Manger and more
Layout	One carol per sheet, or all carols in one PDF
Type size	18, 24 or 28 pt
Paper	US Letter, A4 or 11 x 17 in
Rights	Words published 1929 or earlier, public domain in the US

Preview of the Large Print Christmas Carols: Free Printable Lyrics PDF printable, page 1, 18 point type on US Letter paper

Which Christmas carols are on this page?

Each carol below has its own section and its own download. The table gives the author and a date for the words: the year of first publication where a source gives it, and otherwise the year they were written. Every date is well before 1929, which is how we decided each one was safe to include.

Carol	Words
Silent Night	Joseph Mohr, written 1816; English words John Freeman Young, 1859
O Come, All Ye Faithful	Latin hymn attributed to John Francis Wade, first printed 1751; English words Frederick Oakeley, 1841, in print 1852
Joy to the World	Isaac Watts, 1719
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing	Charles Wesley, 1739; altered by George Whitefield, 1753
O Little Town of Bethlehem	Phillips Brooks, 1868
It Came Upon the Midnight Clear	Edmund H. Sears, 1849
Away in a Manger	Anonymous; earliest known printing 1882, our text follows 1885
The First Noel	Traditional English carol, in print by 1823
We Three Kings	John Henry Hopkins Jr., written 1857, published 1863
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen	Traditional English carol, in print about 1760

We print the words only, without music. Carols are sung in many slightly different versions, so if your congregation sings a variation, check the sheet against the book you use before you hand it out.

Each carol has its own page with its story and a printable sheet. Silent Night and O Come, All Ye Faithful are the two most often asked for, and Joy to the World is the carol with the most entries in North American hymnals. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing and O Little Town of Bethlehem suit a service, while It Came Upon the Midnight Clear and Away in a Manger are quieter. The older English carols have pages too: The First Noel, We Three Kings and God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. Two more songs of the season have their own pages, Good King Wenceslas and The Twelve Days of Christmas. For a reading to go with the carols, print the large print Christmas story from Luke 2.

How do I print large print Christmas carols?

Pick a carol, choose a type size and a paper size, then press its download button. A single carol usually fits on one or two pages at 18 point. At 28 point it takes more pages, which is the price of larger letters. To print the whole set, use the button for all the carols; it makes one PDF with all the carols in it.

Use 18 point as the smallest size. The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) says a document is not large print below that. For a group singing together, 24 point is a better choice, because people hold the sheet at a distance and share the light. Use 28 point for a reader who has more advanced sight loss. Our page about what large print is explains where those numbers come from.

The lines are set left aligned, in one column, in plain type with no italics, with each verse separated by a blank line so the eye can find its place. Choose the cream background if white paper glares. Choose matte paper, and print single-sided if the paper is thin.

If a carol you need is not here, copy your own words into the large print maker and print them the same way. Check first that the words are free to use.

How can I use these carol sheets in a service or activity room?

For a carol service, print the sheets at 24 point on 11 x 17 inch paper, one carol to a page, and set a few aside for people who ask. Do not make the large print copy a special or separate thing. Put it in a folder at the door with the ordinary order of service, so nobody has to ask.

In a care home or activity room, a carol sing-along works best with songs people already know. Give each person a sheet for the first carol and change the sheet as you move on. Read the first line aloud before you begin, then let the group carry it. Keep the sheets in plastic sleeves or a ring binder and they will last through the whole of December. If you keep a plan for the month, add each sing-along to the large print calendar so residents and families know the day.

If the group also sings hymns during the year, the large print hymns page has words for old favorites in the same layout, so one folder can hold both. Each carol also has its own page, such as Silent Night in large print and Joy to the World in large print, and more are gathered under large print prayers and hymns.

Each sheet has a line at the foot saying that it may be copied freely for personal, family, church, library and activity-room use. You do not need to ask us.

Are these Christmas carols in the public domain?

In the United States, yes, for the words we list. A work published in the United States before 1931 is out of copyright, as of 2026. We are stricter than that. We use only words first published in 1929 or earlier, and we show the author and a date in the table above so you can check.

A hymn or carol has separate parts, the words, the tune and the arrangement, and each has its own date. The United Methodist Church explains that if any part is dated 1930 or later, or has been renewed, the piece as published is still under copyright. That is why we print words only and do not print modern arrangements. A recent translation or a modern rewording of an old carol can also be protected, even when the original is not.

The rules are different outside the United States, where copyright often lasts for the life of the author plus seventy years. If you are copying carols outside the US, check your own law.

This is information, not legal advice. If you rely on a carol for a purpose beyond personal, church or activity-room use, check its history yourself first.

All songs on this page

Silent Night

Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright
round yon Virgin Mother and Child,
Holy infant so tender and mild,
sleep in Heavenly peace!
sleep in Heavenly peace!

Silent night! Holy night!
Shepherds quake at the sight;
glories stream from Heaven afar,
Heavenly hosts sing Alleluia,
Christ, the Saviour, is born!
Christ, the Saviour, is born!

Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, Love's pure light
radiant, beams from Thy Holy face,
with the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth.

Words: Joseph Mohr (written 1816). Music: Franz Xaver Gruber (1818). Public domain in the United States: words published 1859 (US, published 1929 or earlier).

O Come, All Ye Faithful

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;
Come and behold him born the King of angels;

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ, the Lord.

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation,
O sing, all ye bright hosts of heaven above;
Glory to God, all glory in the highest;

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ, the Lord.

Yea, Lord, we greet thee, born this happy morning,
Jesus, to thee be all glory given;
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;

O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
O come, let us adore him,
Christ, the Lord.

Words: Latin hymn Adeste fideles, earliest surviving manuscript by John Francis Wade (1751). Music: John Francis Wade (1751 manuscript). Public domain in the United States: English words translated 1841, this wording in print 1852 (US, published 1929 or earlier).

Joy to the World

Joy to the world! the Lord is come;
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare him room,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing,
And heaven and nature sing.

Joy to the world! the Saviour reigns;
Let men their songs employ
While fields and floods,
rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of his righteousness,
And wonders of his love,
And wonders of his love
And wonders, and wonders of his love.

Words: Isaac Watts (1719). Music: Lowell Mason, arr. from Handel (1836). Public domain in the United States: words published 1719 (US, published 1929 or earlier).

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Hark! The herald angels sing,
'Glory to the new-born King;
Peace on Earth, and mercy mild,
God and sinners reconciled!'
Joyful, all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With th'angelic host proclaim
'Christ is born in Bethlehem!'
Hark! the herald angels sing,
'Glory to the new born king!'

Christ, by highest heaven adored,
Christ, the everlasting Lord!
Come, Desire of Nations, come,
Fix in us thy humble home.
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see;
Hail th'Incarnate Deity,
Pleased as man with men to dwell;
Jesus, Our Emmanuel!
Hark! the herald angels sing,
'Glory to the new born king!'

Hail, the heav'n born Prince of Peace!
Hail the sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all he brings,
Risen with healing in his wings;
Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that no more may die,
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth;
Hark! the herald angels sing,
'Glory to the new born king!'

Words: Charles Wesley (1739), altered by George Whitefield (1753) and others. Music: Felix Mendelssohn (1840), arr. William H. Cummings (1855). Public domain in the United States: words published 1753 (US, published 1929 or earlier).

O Little Town of Bethlehem

O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth,
The everlasting Light;
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight.

For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortals sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together,
Proclaim the holy birth,
And praises sing to God the King,
And peace to men on earth!

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him, still
The dear Christ enters in.

O holy Child of Bethlehem,
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in;
Be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!

Words: Phillips Brooks (1868). Music: Lewis H. Redner (1868). Public domain in the United States: words published 1868 (US, published 1929 or earlier).

It Came Upon the Midnight Clear

It came upon the midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
From angels bending near the earth,
To touch their harps of gold:
Peace on the earth, goodwill to men,
From heaven's all-gracious King;
The world in solemn stillness lay
To hear the angels sing.

Still through the cloven skies they come,
With peaceful wings unfurled;
And still their heavenly music floats
O'er all the weary world:
Above its sad and lowly plains
They bend on heavenly wing,
And ever o'er its Babel sounds
The blessed angels sing.

And ye, beneath life's crushing load,
Whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way,
With painful steps and slow,
Look now, for glad and golden hours
Come swiftly on the wing;
O rest beside the weary road,
And hear the angels sing!

For lo! the days are hastening on,
By prophet-bards foretold,
When with the ever-circling years
Comes round the age of gold;
When peace shall over all the earth
Its ancient splendors fling,
And the whole world give back the song
Which now the angels sing.

Words: Edmund H. Sears (1849). Music: Richard Storrs Willis (1850). Public domain in the United States: words published 1849 (US, published 1929 or earlier).

Away in a Manger

Away in a manger,
No crib for his bed,
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down his sweet head,
The stars in the sky
Looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus,
Asleep in the hay.

The cattle are lowing,
The poor baby wakes,
But little Lord Jesus,
No crying he makes.
I love thee, Lord Jesus,
Look down from the sky,
And stay by my side
Until morning is nigh.

Words: Anonymous (1885). Music: James R. Murray (1887), the tune printed in this source. Public domain in the United States: words published 1885 (US, published 1929 or earlier).

The First Noel

THE first nowell the angel did say
Was to three poor shepherds in the fields as they lay;
In fields where they lay keeping their sheep,
In a cold winter's night that was so deep.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.

They looked up and saw a star
Shining in the east, beyond them far,
And to the earth it gave great light,
And so it continued both day and night.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.

And by the light of that same star,
Three wise men came from country far;
To seek for a King was their intent,
And to follow the star wherever it went.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.

This star drew nigh to the north-west,
O'er Bethlehem it took its rest,
And there it did both stop and stay
Right over the place where Jesus lay.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.

Then did they know assuredly
Within that house the King did lie;
One entered in then for to see,
And found the Babe in poverty.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.

Then enter'd in those wise men three,
Most reverently upon their knee,
And offer'd there, in His presence,
Both gold, and myrrh, and frankincense.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.

Between an ox-stall and an ass,
This child truly there born He was;
For want of clothing they did Him lay
All in the manger, among the hay.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.

Then let us all, with one accord,
Sing praises to our Heavenly Lord,
That hath made Heaven and earth of nought,
And with His blood mankind hath bought.
Nowell, nowell, nowell, nowell,
Born is the King of Israel.

Words: Traditional English carol, in print by 1823; text as printed by William Sandys (1852). Music: Traditional English melody, harmonized by John Stainer (1871). Public domain in the United States: words in print by 1823 (US, published 1929 or earlier).

We Three Kings of Orient Are

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.