”And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus …”

Nigerian Folk Song
byVia Olatunji and Wendell Whalum
arranged by Barrington Brooks
sung by St. Louis Choir
(virtual choir recording)

The carol “Betelehemu” comes from the Yoruba people, known for their progressive drumming tradition.  Percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, born in the fishing village of Ajido in southwestern Nigeria, brought the song to the United States in the mid-1950s when he was a student at Atlanta’s Morehouse College.  There Olatunji introduced the song to Glee Club director Wendell Whalum, who arranged the song the way it is performed today.  Rhythmic and energetic, “Betelehemu” has become a staple of choral ensembles around the globe.

Extra Credit Reading:  Babatunde Olatunji, a tireless ambassador for African music and culture in the United States, came to Morehouse College on a Rotary International Foundation Scholarship to study diplomacy. Following graduation, Olatunji studied public administration at New York University, where he formed an African drumming and dance group that would eventually turn into his full-time occupation. An appearance at Radio City Music Hall led to a deal with Columbia Records.  Olatunji's 1959 album, ''Drums of Passion,'' the first album of African-style music recorded in a modern, stereo-recording studio, became an international hit.  Its release introduced millions to the power and intricacies of African music and helped to launch a wave of African-jazz fusions in the early 1960s. 

”And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered …”

African American Spiritual
by Robert MacGimsey (1898-1979)
sung by Eric Greene

Sweet Little Jesus Boy” reminds listeners that the true Christmas narrative is found not in the activities of the jolly, red-suited man, but in the birth of the Christ child.  Written in the style of old spirituals—but falling outside the genre’s definition—white composer Robert Hunter MacGimsey sought to portray the sacredness of Christmas as a song sung by slaves. MacGimsey once described “Sweet Little Jesus Boy” as more a meaning than a song, the lyrics depicting an aging black man whose life had been full of injustice “standing off in the middle of a field just giving his heart to Jesus in the stillness.”

A combination of influences inspired MacGimsey’s writing of “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.”  The much stronger, long-term influence came from seeds planted by MacGimsey’s upbringing in Louisiana. Raised in the company of Blacks who shared their gospel, spiritual, and Southern folk music traditions, MacGimsey built a rich foundation in these genres.  He was further inspired by the histories and family stories shared by Black friends and neighbors, who impressed on him that Christmas was a time of worship and for drawing closer to God through prayer and songs of praise.  The second influence, short-term and circumstantial, came about on Christmas Eve 1932 when MacGimsey was in New York City.  Walking home from a church service and passing crowded speakeasies (Prohibition was still in effect) filled with drunken patrons, MacGimsey was struck by the lack of connection to the birth of the baby Jesus or why He came into the world.

Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who recorded the song in 1955, brought the song widespread recognition.  Since then, many artists have recorded and performed “Sweet Little Jesus Boy, which has also become a favorite of school choirs.

Extra Credit Reading: Born into deep South poverty, Mahalia Jackson achieved world renown as a gospel singer and civil rights activist. Profoundly religious, she sang to make a “joyful noise unto the Lord,” resisting efforts by others to transform her into a jazz or blues musician. “Gospel songs are the songs of hope,” she said. “When you sing gospel you have the feeling there is a cure for what's wrong, but when you are through with the blues, you've got nothing to rest on.” Mahalia Jackson sung at Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington in 1963 and at his funeral in 1968.

Italian Christmas Carol
by Pietro Yon (1886-1943)
arranged by James Dausch
sung by Rolando Sanz

The Italian Christmas carol “Gesù Bambino” was composed in 1917 by virtuoso organist and composer Pietro Yon. The song resembles an old Italian pastoral carol, borrowing the melody and lyrics of the chorus from "Adeste Fideles" (O Come All Ye Faithful). It is the best-known composition by Yon, whose catalog of works includes an oratorio, dozens of Mass settings and major works, and many smaller choral and keyboard pieces. 

Born in Italy in 1886, Pietro Yon’s musical talents were apparent from a young age, leading to his appointment as deputy organist of the Vatican before he was 21.  In 1907 he emigrated to America where his first post was organist-choirmaster at the church of St. Francis Xavier in New York City.  He also maintained a busy recital schedule with appearances across the country and composed, in both endeavors building an international reputation.  In 1927, Yon was appointed organist at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a position he held until his death in 1943.

Fun Fact: Pietro Yon was the first to play the new organ at St. Patrick’s Cathedral after it was blessed by Cardinal Hayes on February 11, 1930.  The dedication ceremony for the $250,000 organ, which Yon had helped to design, drew 12,000 people and nearly caused a riot on Fifth Avenue, with large crowds turned away. The concert featured soloists from the Metropolitan Opera Company and several of Yon’s own compositions.  

”Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord …”

United States
Latin song by Ola Gjeilo
sung by St. Louis Choir
(virtual choir recording)

This setting of “Ecce Novum” is by contemporary composer Ola Gjeilo, who was commissioned to write the piece by the Dunwoody (Georgia) United Methodist Church Chancel Choir in 2014.  The text is from Piae Cantiones (Latin for devout songs), a collection of late medieval carols for Christmas and other seasons, published in Finland in 1582.

Gjeilo credits cinematic music with having the greatest influence on his compositions, noting that most of his favorite living composers are film composers working in Hollywood today.  Gjelo defines his style as “broadly classical,” which incorporates and combines other musical genres, such as folk, pop, and jazz.   

Born in Norway, Gjeilo came to the United States for undergraduate and graduate studies at the Juilliard School of Music, receiving his master’s degree in composition from Juilliard in 2006.  Now a resident of New York City, Gjeilo is one of the most frequently performed composers in the choral world.

I. Il Est Né
II. Noël Nouvelet
III. Un Flambeau

arranged by James Dausch
sung by Karla Rivera

The French carol (Chants de Noël) tradition is presented in a medley of three songs: “Il est né, le divin Enfant,” “Noël nouvelet,”and “Un Flambeau Jeannette Isabelle.”

Often considered the best known traditional French carol, “Il est né, le divin Enfant” (“He is born, the Heav’nly Child”) rejoices that the long-awaited prophecy—the birth of the Savior—has been fulfilled.  Beginning with an invitation for singers to join a lively shepherd folk band at the manger, the song then captures the spirit of anyone seeing a newborn baby—“How lovely He is, how fair, how perfect are his graces.”  The carol ends with the observation that the king who will rule over everyone is a child—“Though a little babe you come here…Rule completely over us.”

“Il est né, le divin Enfant” traces its roots to the Provence region. The music is believed to be a 17th or 18th century hunting tune, first published in 1862 in a collection of carols entitled “Airs des noêl lorrain” (1862) by R. Grosjean, organist of the Cathedral of Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. The completed carol with text made its debut in Dom G. Legeay’s “Noêls anciens” (1875-1876).

Whether sung in French, English, or Mohawk (see “Fun Fact”), the spirit of the carol is one of exuberance that Christ was born for us.  Even lacking the instruments to respond directly to the invitation to “Jouez hautbois” (“Play the oboe”) and “Résonez musettes”(“Sound the bagpipe”), we can still make a joyful noise.  

Versions of “Noël nouvelet” (“Christmas Comes Anew”) date to the early 1500s, appearing in sources with varying text.  “Un Flambeau Jeannette Isabelle” (“Bring a Torch Jeannette Isabella”) originated in the Provence region of France in the 17th century.  Jeannette and Isabelle, two shepherd girls, have discovered the baby and his mother in a stable and are urged to bring torches when they spread the news to a nearby villagers.  Torches remain an important Christmas tradition in Provençal, where children dress up as shepherds and milkmaids, carrying torches and candles to Midnight Mass.  

Fun Fact:  Translations of “Il est né, le divin Enfant” include one in the Mohawk language, 'Rotonni NiioRoie Mia', courtesy of Harriet LaFrance and Carol LaFrance Ross of the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation in Hogansburg, New York. 

”For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given”

Nicaraguan Lullaby
arranged by Rosephanye Powell
sung by St. Louis Treble Choir
(virtual choir recording)

“Niño Precioso” (“Precious Child”) is a two-part arrangement of the traditional Nicaraguan folk song, with piano and hand percussion.  Appropriate for the holiday season and year-round singing, Nicaraguan mothers sang this lullaby to their babies as they rocked them to sleep, promising always to keep the child safe. This up-tempo arrangement is in the style of a Spanish dance, complete with hand percussion parts, included in the octavo. 

”And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field …”

Austrian Carol, 1818
by Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr
arranged by James Dausch
sung by Colleen Daly and Liz Mulligan

A perfect storm of people and circumstances in Obendorf, Austria on Christmas Eve 1818 gave birth to the world’s most widely loved Christmas song, “Silent Night.” With music for the Christmas Eve service at St. Nicholas Church threatened by a water-logged organ and leather bellows chewed through by mice, assistant pastor Joseph Mohr devised a makeshift solution. That afternoon Mohr took text he had written earlier about the birth of the Christ Child to the church organist, Franz Xaver Gruber. Mohr asked Gruber to set the lyrics to music that would be suitable for their two voices, the church choir, and a guitar. At midnight mass, with Mohr accompanying the singing on a guitar, “Silent Night” was performed for the first time.

An Austrian group, The Rainer Family Singers, brought the song across the Atlantic as part of their concert tour.  On Christmas Day 1839 the Rainers gave the first performance of “Silent Night” on American soil when they sang in front of the Alexander Hamilton Memorial in New York City.  Soon other groups began to sing it in churches.  By the Civil War, “Silent Night” had become America’s most popular Christmas carol.

"Silent Night" has claimed its place across cultures, with translations available in at least 140 languages, although some references cite translations in 300 languages.  In 2011, it was added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list. Historically, it is associated with the Christmas truce of World War I when soldiers on both sides of the trenches briefly put down their weapons, acting on the suggestion of Pope Benedict XV.  Although accounts vary, on Christmas Eve 1914 German troops began to sing “Stille nacht, heilige nacht” from their side and the British troops joined in: “All is calm, all is bright.”  It was one of the few carols familiar to soldiers on both sides of the war.

Extra Credit Reading:  As the popularity of “Silent Night” spread, so too did erroneous accounts about its origin and author. At different points composition credit was given to Beethoven, Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart.  In 1854 several investigations were underway in Salzburg to determine the true author of “Silent Night,” prompting Franz Gruber to launch a letter-writing campaign to newspapers and publishers and produce documents that authenticated the song’s origins.  Joseph Mohr died penniless in 1848 before being recognized as the carol’s writer.

”The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light …”

Christmas Hymn from Québec
by Jean de Brébeuf, S.J. (1593-1649)
English version by Jesse MIddleton (1872-1960)
arranged by Dan Forrest
sung by St. Louis Choir
(virtual choir recording)

“The Huron Carol” is considered to be the first Canadian Christmas carol and likely the earliest carol composed in North America. Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary among the Wyandot (Huron) people in Canada, wrote the lyrics in their native language around 1642.  The song’s original title is Jesous Ahatonhia (Jesus, He Is Born). At some point, Brébeuf’s lyrics were paired with the melody of a traditional French folk song, Une Jeune Pucelle (A Young Maid). 

In 1649 the Iroquois, enemies of the Wyandot, brutally tortured and murdered Father Brébeuf and drove the Wyandot from their homeland. About 300 Wyandot fled to a mission in New France, carrying the Christmas carol they had learned with them on the 50-day journey east.  

The song remained within the Wyandot oral tradition for 150 years. In 1794, another Jesuit missionary wrote down the words to Jesous Ahatonhia, which were then translated into French.  The French lyrics were first published in 1899.

The most popular English version of “The Huron Carol”—and the one performed at the St. Louis Christmas Concert—was written by Jesse Edgar Middleton in 1926. Middleton’s rendition was more an interpretation than translation from the French, and he took some poetic liberties in preparing his work. Critics point out that Middleton’s lyrics extend beyond the French text and are based on his own distanced understanding of Indigenous peoples.  For example, Jesus is born in a “lodge of broken bark” and wrapped in a “robe of rabbit skin.”  He is surrounded by hunters instead of shepherds, and the Magi are portrayed as "chiefs from afar" who bring him "fox and beaver pelts" instead of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Critics also draw attention to Middleton’s erroneous use of the Algonquian term—Gitchi Manitou—for the Great Spirit, rather than the Wyandot term.  Still, Middleton’s text made the carol accessible to English speakers in North America (including English-speaking Indigenous peoples), was published in hymn books, and helped the song gain a wider currency.

“The Huron Carol” is celebrated as a Canadian national treasure, honored with a national series of postage stamps in 1977 and inspiring at least four picture books.  It is also a connection to a lost language--Wyandot—which had practically disappeared by the 1850s, a consequence of intermarriages with French speakers and the need to conduct business in French.  “The Huron Carol” has been recorded over the years by scores of artists in Wyandot, in French, and in English, as well as in a version that combines the three languages.

Extra Credit Reading: Jean de Brébeuf, Jesuit missionary to the Huron/Wyandot people was also an accomplished linguist, supervising the preparation of the first Huron grammar and dictionary.  Father Brébeuf was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1930 with seven other missionaries, known as the Canadian martyrs.  He was proclaimed a patron saint of Canada by Pope Pius XII a decade later. His feast day is October 19.

”Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem …”

16th Century English Carol
arranged by Mark Hayes
sung by Karla Rivera

The text now known as the “Coventry Carol,” dating from the early 16th century, comes from a cycle of miracle plays performed in Coventry, England.  The carol was performed in the Pageant of the Shearmen and Taylors, which depicted the Christmas story as related in the Gospel of Matthew, covering events from the prophecies of Jesus’s birth, the Annunciation, and the Massacre of the Innocents. The carol itself refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants under the age of two in Bethlehem to be killed, and takes the form of a lullaby sung by the women of Bethlehem. 

The iteration of the song that we know today was likely copied down in the 1530s by Robert Croo, an organizer of that era’s pageants.  The song was part of Croo’s edited manuscript for the entire Pageant of the Shearmen and Taylors. The Protestant Tudor monarchy eventually banned the performance of the Coventry plays due to their Catholic origins, but Croo’s manuscript survived, thanks to Coventry historian Thomas Sharp’s detailed study of the city’s miracle plays.  Sharp made numerous copies of old documents held by the city, including Croo’s manuscript, and eventually published them.  Sharp’s actions would prove to be fortuitous, since Croo’s original manuscript was destroyed in an 1879 fire.

French Carol
by Adolphe Adam (1803-1856)
arranged by James Dausch
sung by Rolando Sanz

Expressions of mystery, wonder, reverence, and majesty in a song that describes a night that is anything but ordinary. That is the beauty of “O Holy Night.” The story behind its creation involves an unknown parish priest, a commissionaire of wines in a small French town, and a Jewish composer.  Years later, unrelated actions by two Americans would bring the song and its powerful, awe-inspiring imagery to the attention of those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. 

Placide Cappeau de Roquemare, commissionaire of wines in a small French town, wrote the lyrics to “Cantique de Noel” at the request of his parish priest, then handed them to his friend Adolphe Charles Adams to be set to music. At mass on Christmas Eve 1847, the song was performed for the first time. 

It didn’t take long for the carol to find its way across the Atlantic.  In 1855, American Unitarian minister and music critic John Sullivan Dwight translated the song into English and published it in his “Dwight’s Journal of Music.”  Dwight translated the original “Peuple à genoux” (kneeling people) to a more urgent call to supplication (“fall on your knees”), creating with those words much stronger imagery of humility and awe evoked by Christ’s birth on this night divine.

On Christmas Eve 1906, Reginald Fessenden, an electrical engineer in Pittsburgh who had devised a means to transmit voice over the radio, read from the gospel of Luke and then played “O Holy Night” on his violin—the first song ever sent through the air via radio waves. To the handful of wireless operators who caught the broadcast, used to hearing only the dots and dashes of Morse code, Fessenden’s radio program of narration and music must have seemed like a Christmas miracle.  

Extra Credit Reading:  John Sullivan Dwight was not only an established music journalist but also an ardent abolitionist.  In pre-civil war America he was moved to introduce “O Holy Night” to his fellow countrymen because he strongly identified with the third verse, recasting the lyrics to read: “Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace. Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother; And in His name all oppression shall cease….”  After publication in “Dwight’s Journal of Music” the carol quickly found favor in America, especially among abolitionists in the North.

"Be not afraid"

United States
by Robert Wells and Mel Torme
arranged by James Dausch
sung by Eric Greene

It took 45 minutes to write the song.  It takes a little more than three minutes to sing it.  If you’re curious about an activity you will likely never perform, it takes about 15 minutes to roast chestnuts on an open fire.  Those are just a few measures of time for “The Christmas Song,” a Yuletide carol with timeless appeal.

Written in 1945 by pianist/singer Mel Tormé and lyricist Bob Wells, “The Christmas Song” distills sentimental images of a Norman Rockwell Christmas in New England.  It came into being, however, on a sweltering summer day in California, when Tormé and Wells met to work on a different musical assignment.  Attempting to cool off by immersing himself in thoughts of cold winters, Wells had scribbled down four lines on a spiral notepad: “Chestnuts roasting….Jack Frost nipping…Yuletide carols…Folks dressed up like Eskimos.”   The scheduled assignment took a backseat and 45 minutes later, the two men had written what was to become a Christmas classic.  That same day Tormé and Wells played the song for Nat King Cole, who loved the song and wanted to record it before the songwriters could offer it to anyone else.

Nat King Cole recorded “The Christmas Song” four times.  The 1961 version, featuring a more sophisticated orchestration than previous recordings, is the most popular and the one that is widely played on radio stations and music streaming services today.  The original 1946 recording by the Nat King Cole Trio was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1974.

Extra Credit Reading: Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song” became the first American Christmas standard to be introduced by a Black musician. Cole was also a groundbreaker in other areas of popular entertainment. In 1946, the radio program King Cole Trio Time was the first radio series to be sponsored by a Black musician. Cole also became the first Black artist to have his own weekly series on network television. Although the program drew tremendous ratings and reviews, it closed in 1957 after 64 weeks because national advertisers would not back a program headlined by a Black entertainer.

United States
by Irving Berlin
arranged by James Dausch
sung by Liz Mulligan

The Irving Berlin catalog comprises more than 1000 songs, spanning from 1908 until 1987, two years before the composer’s death.  Born in Russia, Irving Berlin (Israel Isidore Baline) ranks among the most American of composers.  His prodigious output includes music for 18 Hollywood films, including White Christmas, the most successful film of 1954, earning $12 million the year of its release. One song from White Christmas— “Count Your Blessings” —is featured in this year’s Christmas concert.

“Count Your Blessings” came about from Berlin’s personal struggles with insomnia.  Heeding the advice of his doctor, Berlin penned the song around 1952 and later incorporated it into White Christmas. The song was first sung by Eddie Fisher at a gala banquet and dedicated to President Eisenhower, who Berlin called “our greatest blessing.”

Fun Fact: “Count Your Blessings” was nominated for Best Song at the 1955 Academy Awards, but lost to “Three Coins in the Fountain.”  The movie’s title song was not eligible because it had already won Best Song for another Irving Berlin musical, 1942’s Holiday Inn.  At that award ceremony, Irving Berlin opened the envelope and read his own name as winner, the only presenter ever to do so.  Berlin joked, “I’m glad to present the award.  I’ve known him for a long time.”  The Academy subsequently changed the rules to prevent such an occurrence from happening again.

Extra Credit Reading: New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther wasn’t particularly enamored with the White Christmas story or music in his October 15, 1954 review of the film. Commenting on Berlin’s music, Crowther wrote, “And the music of Mr. Berlin is a good bit less than inspired. Outside of the old “White Christmas,” which is sung at the beginning and the end, there are only a couple of numbers that have a measure of charm. One of these is “Count Your Blessings,” a song of reassurance that Mr. Crosby and Miss Clooney chant, and another is “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing,” which Mr. Kaye sings and to which he and Vera-Ellen cavort. Three numbers are given over to the admiration of generals and Army life, which seems not alone an extravagance but a reckless audacity.”

More Extra Credit Reading: Although Berlin was Jewish, he married novelist and short-story writer Ellin Mackay, a Roman Catholic debutante who chose love over her multimillionaire father’s fortune. On the occasion of the couple’s January 1926 nuptials, Berlin wrote “Always” for his bride and gave her the rights as a wedding gift. The love match between the immigrant from the Lower East Side and the young heiress would last 62 years. Ellin MacKay remained a Roman Catholic for the rest of her life, worshipping at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The couple had four children; tragically, their only son, Irving Berlin Jr., died in infancy.

”In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God …”

United States
by Morten Lauridsen
sung by St. Louis Choir
(virtual choir recording)

Compiled more than 1000 years ago, the prayer-poem “O Magnum Mysterium” (“O Great Mystery”) about the birth of Christ in a manger and the veneration of the Virgin Mary has inspired countless composers over the centuries. Notably, Spanish composer Tomás Luis de Victoria published what has become one of the canonical settings of “O Magnum Mysterium” in his first book of motets (1572) while working as a singer and organist in Rome.  The setting written by the 24-year-old Victoria, one of his most treasured motets, has inspired many successors since, including American composer Morten Lauridsen.

In 1993, the Los Angeles Master Chorale asked the little-known composer to write a piece for the chorale’s 1994 Christmas concert.  The new work would be a second anniversary gift for the wife of the ensemble’s president.  Laurisden immediately agreed, composing a contemporary counterpart to Victoria’s motet.  The wild success of “O Magnum Mysterium” would launch the acclaimed composer’s career, becoming one of Laurisden’s most performed and recorded compositions.

Lauridsen’s inspiration for “O Magnum Mysterium” originated with a visual model, the painting "Still Life with Lemons, Oranges, and a Rose” (1633) by Spanish Baroque artist Francisco de Zurbarán.  In Lauridsen’s words, the painting is “much more than a still life… the objects in this work are symbolic offerings to the Virgin Mary…The painting projects an aura of mystery, powerful in its unadorned simplicity, its mystical quality creating an atmosphere of deep contemplation…For O Magnum Mysterium, I wanted to create, as Zurbarán had in paint, a deeply felt religious statement, at once uncomplicated and unadorned yet powerful and transformative in its effect upon the listener.”

by John Hobbs and Bill House
arranged by James Dausch
sung by Rolando Sanz

Composed by John Hobbs and Bill House, “It’s Christmas All over the World” was included in the soundtrack for “Santa Claus: The Movie,” released in 1985.  A young Terry Eberhardt first heard the song performed by Placido Domingo and Glenn Close on the Hallmark “Repeat the Sounding Joy” CD (1995) and it’s been a favorite ever since.  In Terry’s words, the song “has this joy to it that was part of my Christmas tradition. I love the lightness of the piece, but with the big dramatic ending.”  

Challenged to find an arrangement once he decided to include the song in this afternoon’s repertoire, Terry got some welcome assistance from Executive Producer Jay Dausch, who agreed to arrange the song.  Jay even added some special Christmas sparkle by incorporating St. Louis into the lyrics. Tenor Rolando Sanz agreed to bring the song off the page and into performance life. 

Whether “It’s Christmas All Over the World” is new to you, or, like Terry, a favorite holiday melody, we hope that you enjoy this collaborative interpretation.

Swingin’ Thru the Snow

This instrumental arrangement combines two popular holiday songs about wintertime fun—"Let It Snow” and “Jingle Bells.”

Lyricist Sammy Cahn and composer/Broadway songwriter Jule Styne wrote “Let It Snow” on an oppressively hot California day in July 1945.  The original title echoed the triple iteration of the lyric, "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!,” simplified today to “Let It Snow!”  Why three “let it snow’s” and not two or four?  As explained by Sammy Cahn, “three is lyric.”

Although “Let It Snow!” is typically associated with Christmas, the lyrics contain no mention of the holiday, focusing on ways to spend a snowy day with a loved one—near the fireplace with some popcorn. The song has been covered by some of the biggest names in the music industry, with Dean Martin’s 1966 release regarded by many as the classic version of the song.

“Jingle Bells” is one of America’s most popular seasonal melodies, recorded by thousands of artists and orchestral ensembles. Its backstory, however, is tainted by the pro-slavery sentiments and activities of its composer, his lack of family values, and the song’s debut performance by black-faced performers in a minstrel show. 

The Yuletide staple was written by James Lord Pierpont, a controversial, disreputable man and staunch supporter of the Confederacy.  Originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh” when written in 1857, Pierpont copyrighted it as “Jingle Bells, or the One Horse Open Sleigh” two years later. The first known performance of “One Horse Open Sleigh” was presented in Boston in September 1857 by blackface minstrel performers. 

From an early age, the wild, rebellious Pierpont sought adventures and fortunes far from the family home near Boston.  Pierpont’s father, Rev. John Pierpont, was a fiercely abolitionist Unitarian minister, as was his brother, who was forced to close his church in Savannah and return to the North in 1859 because of his preaching against slavery.  Pierpont moved to Savannah in 1853 to become the organist at his brother’s church, joined the 1st Georgia Cavalry in the Civil War and penned fight songs for the soldiers in grey.  Meanwhile, Rev. John Pierpont was serving Union soldiers as chaplain of the 22nd Massachusetts Infantry.

Pierpont’s residences in Medford, Massachusetts and Savannah, Georgia explain why both towns claim to be the birthplace of “Jingle Bells,” publicized in historical plaques.  Most likely, Pierpont was temporarily living in a Boston rooming house when he composed the song.

Fun Fact: “Jingle Bells'' was the first song ever broadcast from outer space.  With Christmas 1965 a little more than a week away, astronauts orbiting aboard Gemini 6 playfully reported to Mission Control some sort of UFO when it was time to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.  They had just completed a rendezvous with Gemini 7.  “"We have an object, looks like a satellite going from north to south, probably in polar orbit…I see a command module and eight smaller modules in front. The pilot of the command module is wearing a red suit."  The troubling report was broken up by the sounds of “Jingle Bells'' played on a harmonica accompanied by sleigh bells, two of the handful of personal items that astronauts were allowed to bring along with them.  Today, those bells and harmonica—the first musical instruments played in space—are on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  

Fun Fact #2: James Pierpont, the author of Jingle Bells, was the uncle of John Pierpont Morgan, the famous banker. J.P. Morgan was named after the Reverend John Pierpont, his maternal grandfather, and preferred to be called Pierpont by his friends.