#3 most-searched carol in the US · 1719
Joy to the World: the story behind the carol
⛪ Church & choir🏡 Great for caroling🎤 Everyone knows it
- Words
- Isaac Watts (1719)
- Music
- Lowell Mason, "Antioch" (1839), after themes credited to Handel
- From
- England; tune from Boston
- Type
- Sacred carol
The story behind “Joy to the World”
The English minister Isaac Watts wrote it in 1719 as a paraphrase of Psalm 98. It wasn't meant for Christmas: it celebrates the Lord coming as king, and only later became a Christmas hymn.
The tune everyone knows was arranged by the American Lowell Mason, who credited it to Handel. The first four notes do match a chorus from Handel's Messiah, but scholars today think the likeness is mostly chance.
By 2009 it was the most-published Christmas hymn in North America.
More carols like this
- Silent Night1818 · Oberndorf, Austria
- Jingle Bells1857 · Boston, Massachusetts
- O Holy Night1847 · Roquemaure, France
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing1739 · England
- Deck the Halls1862 · Wales; English words from Scotland
- We Wish You a Merry Christmas1935 · West of England
History retold from the carol's Wikipedia article and its sources; checked 2026-09-30.