“Jingle Bells” Is Actually A Thanksgiving Song
December 18, 2023 12:03PM EST
Jingle Bells, Or, The One Horse Open Sleigh
Sheet music cover image of the song ‘Jingle Bells, or, The One Horse Open Sleigh Song and Chorus’, with original authorship notes reading ‘By J Pierpont’, United States, 1857. The publisher is listed as ‘Oliver Ditson and Co., 277 Washington St.’, the form of composition is ‘strophic with chorus’, the instrumentation is ‘piano and voice’, the first line reads ‘dashing thro’ the snow, In a one horse open sleigh’, and the illustration artist is listed as ‘None’. (Photo by Sheridan Libraries/Levy/Gado/Getty Images)
“Jingle Bells” is a timeless holiday classic – but we’ve all been associating it with the wrong holiday.
“Jingle Bells” was written in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont, and was originally meant to be sung at Thanksgiving.
Its original title was “One Horse Open Sleigh” and it was inspired by sleigh races that were popular in the town of Medford, Massachusetts.
Did you ever notice that “Jingle Bells” doesn’t mention Christmas or any holidays? What are your favorite Christmas carols?
More about:
