By Joan Brown Wettingfeld
Houses dressed in their holiday finery, trees bedecked with precious ornaments garnered from sources past and present and cherished yuletide traditions bespeak the ever-present yearning we have today for an old-fashioned Christmas. It is the music of the season, however, that makes this festive time deeper and warmer and enhances and emphasizes the joyous bond of this special time of the year.
Over the years in America, we have all been drawn closer during this holiday season by the strains of familiar melodies that fill the air during the month of December. An essential part of the Christmas season is the joy of hearing or joining in the singing of songs and carols.
Until the mid-19th century, most of our favorite carols came to us from abroad, but a number originated in the United States, including “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” written by the Rev. John H. Hopkins (1820-91), “O Little Town of Bethlehem” by Bishop Philip Brooks (1835-93), “It Came Upon the Midnight Clear” by Dr. Edmund H. Sears (1810-76) and the spiritual “Go Tell It on the Mountain.”
Leading the list of American favorites is “Jingle Bells.” It is often listed in a collection of carols and no fine distinction seems to be made in describing the songs of the season as carols.
The word “carol” once meant “circling dance” or “dancing in a ring” and derives originally from the Greek “choros.” In a broad sense, the music of carols had its origin in dance.
The words of old European carols were often changed and rewritten through the ages by those who frowned on gaiety. “Jingle Bells,” like the true carol with its spirit of “love and joy come to you,” voices common emotion in simple language and is set to music that can be shared by all. In that context, “Jingle Bells” rightly could be considered by some anthologists to be included in a collection of carols.
Horse bells have been found in England, for example, dating back to the Roman Empire and over time came to be viewed as sources of good luck. Some even believed such bells would lead to wealth and good fortune.
Written in 1857, “Jingle Bells” had an obscure past and its authorship had long been in doubt. Though it appeared in hundreds of song collections, it was often marked “anonymous” or there was no notation made about the composer. Even today prestigious reference works omit both the title and composer.
In the mid-1960s, however, a story came to light about the origin of the song and identified the composer. James. S. Pierpont, son of the Rev. John Pierpont, pastor of the Unitarian Church in Medford, Mass., had composed a number of musical pieces, none of which became popular.
During the 1850’s, James Pierpont gave his song to an amateur singer, Mrs. Otis Waterman. She was also the owner of a rare commodity in those days: a piano. One evening, James Pierpont approached the instrument and played a tune that had been running through his head. Delighted with his composition, Mrs. Waterman dubbed it “a pretty little jingle,” thus providing a theme for its eventual title.
Some 152 years later, that song retains the popularity never dreamed of by its composer, who otherwise lived out his life in obscurity and with little success. His single contribution to the spirit of Christmas lives on and adds much to the festivity of the season.
Joan Brown Wettingfeld is a historian and freelance writer.
