Written by: Music by: Lyrics by: Date: Publisher: "Jolly Old St. Nicholas" is a Christmas song. Its authorship is often credited to Wilf Carter. However, since it is mentioned in earlier works (such as Susan Gregg's Christmas Orphans, pub. 1916), this attribution is unlikely. It has also been credited to Benjamin Hanby, composer of "Up on the Housetop", at some point in the 1860s, although this too may be in dispute. It is traditionally performed to an up-tempo arrangement of Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major".