#16 most-searched carol in the US · 1864
Up on the Housetop: the story behind the carol
🧒 Easy for kids🏡 Great for caroling🎤 Everyone knows it
- Words
- Benjamin Hanby (1864)
- Music
- Benjamin Hanby (1864)
- From
- Ohio, USA
- Type
- Secular / folk
The story behind “Up on the Housetop”
Benjamin Hanby, a pastor's son from Ohio, wrote it in 1864. It's one of the earliest songs about Santa himself — landing on the roof with his reindeer and climbing down the chimney with toys.
Gene Autry, who also made "Rudolph" a hit, recorded it in 1953 and put it back on every Christmas radio playlist.
More carols like this
- Silent Night1818 · Oberndorf, Austria
- Jingle Bells1857 · Boston, Massachusetts
- Joy to the World1719 · England; tune from Boston
- 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.