#7 most-searched carol in the US · 1935
We Wish You a Merry Christmas: the story behind the carol
🧒 Easy for kids🏡 Great for caroling🎤 Everyone knows it
- Words
- English traditional (West Country)
- Music
- English traditional; popularised by Arthur Warrell (1935)
- From
- West of England
- Type
- Secular / folk
The story behind “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
It comes from the old English custom of wassailing, when carolers went door to door and wealthier neighbours rewarded them with food and drink — hence the singers' cheeky demand for pudding and refusal to leave until they get some.
The version everyone sings was arranged by the Bristol music teacher Arthur Warrell for his university choir in 1935, from a West Country folk song.
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
- O Come, All Ye Faithful1743 · England / France (Latin hymn)
History retold from the carol's Wikipedia article and its sources; checked 2026-09-30.