Classic Christmas Song ~ Jingle Bells

This was another tough one because there are so many classic Christmas songs. I thought about “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “Silver Bells,” and several others.

But I read something interesting about “Jingle Bells” the other day that I want to share with you.

When the song was written, in 1857 by James Lord Pierpont, the word “jingle” had a different meaning than it does for us today. We think of it as a way to describe those tiny little bells shown in the photo.

But for sleigh-riders, “jingle” was an action–one that could prevent an unpleasant accident. These bells were attached to a horse’s harness to alert others of the sleigh’s presence.

While sitting high in your own one-horse open sleigh, you might realize your neighbor’s one-horse open sleigh is just around the bend in the road. But the jingle bells let you know that sleigh was coming your way.

Isn’t it cool how sweet and joyful that warning must have sounded on a brr-cold wintry day?

Perhaps we could replace our blaring car horns with jingle bells. Or “Jingle Bells”!

Twenty-Five Days of #BlogMas

My chosen theme for this series of blog posts is Classic of the Day. I hope you’ll join me in these days leading up to one of our most cherished–and classic–holidays.