Jingle Bells Was Written as a Christmas Song myth

Is “Jingle Bells” a Christmas Song?

Jingle Bells may be one of the best known Christmas songs, but it was actually published in 1857 as a Thanksgiving song titled “One Horse Open Sleigh”.^[1]Despite the fact “One Horse Open Sleigh” was written as a Thanksgiving song, today we call the song “Jingle Bells” and sing it at Christmas.

The Origin of “One Horse Open Sleigh”

“One Horse Open Sleigh” copyrighted and published as “One Horse Open Sleigh” by James Lord Pierpont on September 16, 1857. It was meant as a Thanksgiving song. It has been claimed to either be written as a sort of drinking song at a tavern in Massachusetts; or for a children’s choir at a church in Georgia.

Where Did Pierpont Write the Song?

Despite it’s copyright date, there are conflicting stories about how the song was actually written. A plaque at 19 High Street in the center of Medford Square in Medford, Massachusetts commemorates the “birthplace” of “Jingle Bells,” and claims that Pierpont wrote the song there in 1850, at what was then the Simpson Tavern. According to the Medford Historical Society, the song was inspired by the town’s popular sleigh races during the 19th century.^[2]

However, there is another theory that by 1850 Pierpont was the organist and music director of the Unitarian Church in Savannah, Georgia, where his brother, Rev. John Pierpont Jr., was employed. In August of the same year, James Pierpont married the daughter of the mayor of Savannah and stayed in Georgia even after the closing of the church.^[2]

The original cover for Pierpont’s published sheet music and an old photo of Americans eating a thanksgiving meal.

Original “One Horse Open Sleigh” Lyrics

Below are the original 1857 lyrics to Jingle Bells.^[3]