Is “Jingle Bells” racist? US TV host debates origins of beloved Christmas carol Video
A video circulating on social media has drawn attention in the United States after former MSNBC television host Joy Reid shared claims that the popular Christmas song "Jingle Bells" has roots in 19th-century blackface minstrel performances.
The video shows a young man dressed in a Christmas outfit standing outside the former Simpson Tavern in Medford, Massachusetts, a site linked to the song’s creation. A plaque shown in the footage states that James Lord Pierpont wrote the song at the tavern and later copyrighted it in 1857 while living in Georgia, Daily Mail writes.
Text overlaid on the video criticises the plaque, stating: “This plaque in Medford, MA, honors where James Lord Pierpont wrote ‘Jingle Bells’, but ignores its origins in blackface minstrelsy.”
According to the video, Pierpont was experiencing financial difficulties at the time and began writing for minstrel shows, a common form of American entertainment in the mid-1800s that often relied on racist stereotypes of Black people. The song was originally titled "The One Horse Open Sleigh" and debuted in Boston in 1857, the video claims.
The video further alleges that the song was used to “mock and caricature” Black people taking part in winter activities. It also states that Pierpont later enlisted in the Confederate army during the American Civil War.
The video argues that the song’s later popularity led to what it describes as a historical erasure of these origins, claiming that it was “whitewashed and happy myths about its creation became popular.”
“American history is a horror show,” Reid wrote in the caption, followed by red exclamation mark emojis.
Jingle Bells is one of the most internationally recognised holiday songs and is commonly associated with festive celebrations rather than its 19th-century American origins.
By Sabina Mammadli
editor@caliber.az
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