"Jingle Bells" wasn't written for Christmas.

Arts & Culture

"J ingle Bells" is one of the most recognizable songs in American history, and the jaunty tune is as much a part of the Christmas season as twinkling lights and shiny ornaments. Take a closer look at the lyrics, though, and an interesting detail emerges: The song doesn't mention the holiday at all. That's because "Jingle Bells" wasn't actually written for Christmas.

Even with its undeniable ubiquity, "Jingle Bells" has a rather murky history. We know that in 1857, the song's composer, James Pierpont, copyrighted the tune under the title "One Horse Open Sleigh" while living in Savannah, Georgia. But various theories about the song's meaning have surfaced over the years: One suggests it was simply written in the style of other popular sleighing songs at the time; another says the song was written for Thanksgiving. A plaque in Pierpont's childhood hometown of Medford, Massachusetts, even claims "Jingle Bells" was composed in a local tavern, years before its copyright date. (Research into the latter two claims has concluded that neither origin story is likely.)

"Jingle Bells" features no direct mention of any holiday, nor even the month of December, but the song nonetheless became a Christmas staple following its release. In December 1943, Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters released a record featuring renditions of "Jingle Bells" and "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," cementing the song's status as an inescapable Christmas classic.

Thank you for supporting our advertisers!

By the Numbers

Year "One Horse Open Sleigh" was renamed "Jingle Bells"

1859

Verses in the original "Jingle Bells"

Did you know?

"Jingle Bells" was the first song played in space.

On December 16, 1965, astronauts Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford, aboard NASA's Gemini 6 spacecraft, reported seeing a mysterious object in space. "We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit," they told mission control. "I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit." What came next was a groundbreaking, if not slightly absurd, moment: The astronauts launched into a musical rendition of "Jingle Bells," using a mini harmonica and small sleigh bells. Schirra and Stafford had rehearsed the Santa bit before even boarding the Gemini 6, and their smuggled instruments provided the first live music broadcast from space.

Thank you for supporting our advertisers!