| It Came Upon the Midnight Clear | |
|---|---|
 The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, 1634, by Rembrandt | |
| Genre | Christmas carol |
| Written | 1849 |
| Text | Edmund Sears |
| Based on | Luke 2:14 |
| Meter | 8.6.8.6 (CMD) |
| Melody | "Carol", by Richard Storrs Willis, or "Noel", adapted by Arthur Sullivan |
"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear", sometimes rendered as "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear", is an 1849 poem and Christmas carol written by Edmund Sears, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Wayland, Massachusetts. In 1850, Sears' lyrics were set to "Carol", a tune written for the poem the same year at his request, by Richard Storrs Willis. This pairing remains the most popular in the United States, while in Commonwealth countries, the lyrics are set to "Noel", a later adaptation by Arthur Sullivan from an English melody.