A new round of debate over holiday traditions kicked off this week after former MSNBC host Joy Reid shared a video online that accuses the classic Christmas song “Jingle Bells” of having racist origins. The video, which…

Reporting· Dec 12, 2025

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Jingle Bells

song written and composed by James Lord Pierpont, originally published in 1857

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JJingle Bells· Reporting · 1 source · Dec 12, 2025Story

Former MSNBC Host Claim About Christmas Song Is Hotly Debated

Reporting· Dec 12, 2025

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About Jingle Bells

"Jingle Bells" is an American song and one of the most commonly sung Christmas songs in the world. It was written by James Lord Pierpont. It is an unsettled question where and when Pierpont originally composed the song that would become known as "Jingle Bells". It was published under the title "The One Horse Open Sleigh" in September 1857. Although it has no original connection to Christmas, it became associated with winter and Christmas in the 1860s and 1870s, and it was featured in a variety of parlor song and college anthologies in the 1880s. It was first recorded in 1889 on an Edison cylinder; this recording, believed to be the first Christmas record, is lost, but an 1898 recording—also from Edison Records—survives.

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Not who you're looking for? Others named Jingle Bells: arrangement by Basshunter

Jingle Bells across IJR

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