JINGLE BELLS by Mary Davis

By Mary Davis

Jingle Bells is one of the quintessential Christmas carols and probably the best known one around the world. It was originally titled One Horse Open Sleigh and is a standard at Christmas. The season wouldn’t be the same without it.

BUT . . .

 

Jingle Bells wasn’t written as a Christmas song. Nope. It was written for Thanksgiving. That makes it a Thanksgiving carol. However, it’s not even really about Thanksgiving. It’s about horse racing and dating. LOL!

 

Though the author of this time-tested carol is not in question, when and where it was written is.

 

Let’s roll back time to 1850. James Lord Pierpont was a young man of twenty-seven. (I won’t get into some of his less desirable traits.) His father and older brother were both ministers of Unitarian churches.

 

In 1850, James’s father asked him to write a song for the upcoming Thanksgiving celebration, or so the story goes. At that time, Thanksgiving wasn’t a national holiday. It was celebrated sporadically since 1789. It wasn’t until 1863, when President Lincoln declared a national day of thanksgiving to be observed on the last Thursday in November, that it became consistent across the country. Controversy surrounded which Thursday to observe this celebration, moving to different Thursdays in the month at the current president’s discretion. In 1942, Thanksgiving finally had a permanent home on the fourth Thursday in November.

 

Now, back to 1850 in Medford, Massachusetts. James was struggling with what to write for a Thanksgiving song when he saw some children sledding. He went out and joined them for over an hour, racing down the hill on a borrowed sled. His time in the snow brought back memories of when he was a teen racing horse-drawn sleighs with his buddies. At the end of the races, the winner would receive a hug from one of the girls watching. Which meant, they were racing for hugs and for the admiration and respect of girls. Things haven’t changed much.

James Lord Pierpont

James, being a bit of a rebel, penned verses of those younger years, racing horses to impress girls. He thought that was something to be thankful for. The song was a hit at the Thanksgiving service causing people to hum the tune as they left, and they asked for it to be performed again at Christmas. The repeat performance was received equally as well. Out-of-town visitors at the Christmas service enjoyed it so much, they jotted down the words and memorized the tune.

 

When James Pierpont headed down South in 1857, he took his Thanksgiving song with him. Oliver Ditson and Company published it in that same year in August, and James got it copyrighted a month later on September 16. This is what leads to the confusion of when and where it was penned. Both Medford, Massachusetts and Savannah, Georgia lay claim to the origin of this little ditty.

Back to this being a racing and dating song.

 

Line one of verse one — “Dashing through the snow”. Dashing denotes speed or a race.

 

In verse 2 (lesser well known) — “And soon, Miss Fanny Bright was seated by my side”—the narrator has a girl in the sleigh, and then proceeds to drive either at a great speed or in a reckless manner to end up in a snow bank and tipped over—“He got into a drifted bank and then we got upsot.”

 

Then in verse 3 (also lesser known) — He falls in the snow and a rival laughs at him.

. . . I went out on the snow,

And on my back I fell;

A gent was riding by

In a one-horse open sleigh,

He laughed as there I sprawling lie,

But quickly drove away.

I think they were racing because he says “on” the snow, not in the snow.

 

Last but not least, in the final verse — the narrator tells another fellow to pick up some girls, find a fast horse, then go racing with the fast horse.

. . . Take the girls tonight;

. . . Just get a bobtailed bay

Two forty for his speed

Hitch him to a sleigh

And crack! You’ll take the lead.

Two forty was a horse that could run a mile in two minutes and forty seconds or 22.5 mph.

 

Regardless of how this beloved carol began, over the decades, recording artists—such as Benny Goodman, Glenn Miller, Bing Crosby, the Andrew Sisters, and many others—have put their stamp on the tune and turned it into a Christmas favorite. Also, the lyrics and pacing have been tweaked since James Pierpont’s original version.

 

So special is this carol that Jingle Bells was the first song to be performed in outer space. On December 16, 1965, the crew of the Gemini 6 played it on harmonica backed up by sleigh bells. Both of which they smuggled aboard before liftoff.

Gemini VI

MRS. WITHERSPOON GOES TO WAR (Heroines of WWII series)
3rd Place 2023 SELAH Award

A WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) flies a secret mission to rescue three soldiers held captive in Cuba.

Margaret “Peggy” Witherspoon is a thirty-four-year-old widow, mother of two daughters, an excellent pilot, and very patriotic. She joins the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots). As she performs various tasks like ferry aircraft, transporting cargo, and being an airplane mechanic, she meets and develops feelings for her supervisor Army Air Corp Major Howie Berg. When Peggy learns of U.S. soldiers being held captive in Cuba, she, Major Berg, and two fellow WASPs devise an unsanctioned mission to rescue them. With Cuba being an ally in the war, they must be careful not to ignite an international incident. Order HERE!

MARY DAVIS, bestselling, award-winning novelist, has over thirty titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her latest release is THE LADY’S MISSION. Her other novels include THE DÉBUTANTE'S SECRET (Quilting Circle Book 4) THE DAMSEL’S INTENT (The Quilting Circle Book 3) is a SELAH Award Winner. Some of her other recent titles include; THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT, THE DAUGHTER'S PREDICAMENT, “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in The MISSAdventure Brides Collection, Prodigal Daughters Amish series, "Holly and Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection, and "Bygones" in Thimbles and Threads. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of thirty-seven years and one cat. She has three adult children and three incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at: Books2Read Newsletter Blog FB FB Readers Group Amazon GoodReads BookBub

Sources

Stories Behind The Greatest Hits Of Christmas, by Ace Collins

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jingle_Bells

https://www.grunge.com/285218/the-history-of-jingle-bells-explained/

https://www.liveabout.com/jingle-bells-history-2456082

https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-jingle-bells

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_(United_States)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Lord_Pierpont

Thanksgiving Through the Years

 By Sherri Stewart

 

As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, I thought it useful to consider how our modern-day traditions correspond to those of the first Thanksgiving and even the Thanksgivings of the first few centuries. It is easy to celebrate when everything is going well in one’s life, but if any of us have experienced losing a loved one before a major holiday, the word thanksgiving doesn’t flow so glibly off the tongue. Indeed, in that first Thanksgiving of 1621, only four women of the original eighteen who’d reached the new world survived to cook the three-day celebration for the remaining fifty men and children, and the Wampanoag. The disparity in numbers may have been due to the fact that the women had to remain on the Mayflower while the men went ashore to build shelters. Susan Hardman Moore. Yale Books. November 2014  

www.history.com

While Washington and Adams (the first two presidents) were in favor of celebrating the national holiday of Thanksgiving, Thomas Jefferson was adverse to the idea of the government legislating a national holiday. In his letter to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802, he said there should be a “Wall of Separation between the Church and State.” Note that this was in a letter, not in the Constitution, but because of a bigamy case, Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145 (1878), the Supreme Court ruled that Jefferson’s letter should be used to interpret the First Amendment of the Constitution. For the next sixty years, Thanksgiving was relegated to the jurisdiction of the state or the colony.

www.monticello.org

It wasn’t until 1863 that Abraham Lincoln instituted Thanksgiving as a national holiday, in part because the president wanted to unify a country that was badly broken after the Civil War. He was also moved by an impassioned letter written to him by Sarah Josepha Hale, who was editor of Godey’s Lady Book, a ladies’ magazine. She also wrote, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Her lobbying effort to make Thanksgiving a national holiday can be traced back to a passage of her 1827 novel Northwood. “We have too few holidays,” she wrote. “Thanksgiving like the Fourth of July should be a national festival observed by all the people … as an exponent of our republican institutions.” Olivia B. Waxman. Time. Nov 2016

Although most Americans consume turkey on Thanksgiving Day, the first Thanksgiving in 1621 most likely featured deer or fowl (partridge, quail), due to the fact that chickens, turkeys, and cattle were not  slaughtered because of their ability to produce eggs and milk. Advertisements, menus, and cookbooks show that the traditional turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie meal hasn’t changed much since the early part of the twentieth century.

whatcomtalk.com

Many of the origins of Thanksgiving’s modern traditions may surprise the reader. While Thanksgiving may be a huge day for food consumption, it’s also the most popular day of the year to run in a race. “Turkey trots” have been around since 1896 when the Buffalo YMCA hosted their first holiday 8K. These days, more than 14,000 runners will run in turkey trots all over America. For those Thanksgiving revelers who prefer to play “armchair quarterback,” the first official Thanksgiving NFL game took place between the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears in 1934, but playing football on this particular holiday can be traced back to 1869.  Although the dismal origins of Black Friday go back to 1869, only in the last decade have stores begun to open on Thanksgiving Day. Erin Johnson, MakeItGrateful.com So, what traditions do you keep with your family? Your answer, please.

peachridgeglass.com

Selah Award finalist Sherri Stewart loves a clean novel, sprinkled with romance and a strong message that challenges her faith. She spends her working hours with books—either editing others’ manuscripts or writing her own. Her passions are traveling to the settings of her books and sampling the food. She traveled to Zürich for Secrets Dark and Deep. A widow, Sherri lives in Orlando with her lazy dog, Lily. She shares recipes, tidbits of the book’s locations, and other authors' books in her newsletter.

Subscribe at stewartwriting.com/newsletter

An Uncommon Gift

Ella Davis’s papa always told her there’d be no class difference in Heaven, but Ella has years to live on God’s green earth until she reaches her reward. She’s content to be a maid on the Huntington Estate, as long as she has her books and her kitten. But when her ladyship, Amberly Huntington, coerces Ella to take her place on the Mauretania, the fastest ocean liner in 1910, Ella’s worst nightmare has come to pass. She must pretend to be nobility for the eight days it takes to reach New York. In other words, she must live a lie—and this just before Christmas! https://bit.ly/47MTvYX

A Victorian Thanksgiving Menu?

Picture the Victorian era, and America doesn't usually spring to mind. We think of England. Women in elaborate gowns ride in carriages beside men in top hats, cravats, and tailored jackets. Meanwhile, in London town, impoverished waifs with dirt-smeared faces shiver in icy winds. Did you know that the term, “street urchin,” originated in Victorian times? No wonder Charles Dickens featured them in his writing. It's not amazing that we find ourselves transported to the land of Queen Victoria. The era that took Victoria as its namesake spanned her entire reign (from 1837 to 1901). 

America also experienced the Victorian era. It coincided with western expansion and encompassed the Civil War, Spanish-American War,  Mexican-American War, and the annexation of Texas. The Pony Express rose and fell, and a golden spike completed the Transcontinental Railway during this period. Vast herds of buffalo and indigenous nations dwindled in the face of Manifest Destiny. Nineteen states joined the Union. Hawaii's King Kamehameha lit his palace with electric lights. 

A Victorian Thanksgiving Menu

The first Thanksgiving feast didn’t much resemble the traditional meal familiar today. There’s some debate on whether turkey was even present. One of two firsthand accounts mentions them, but not cooked or as the main course. That position may have belonged to duck and geese, unless the wildfowl was carrier pigeon or swan. The pilgrims also ate fish, eel, and shellfish, along with a variety of vegetables (peas, beans, squash, and corn, plus cabbage and carrots). They consumed no mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes, as these hadn’t made their way to North America yet. They wouldn't have possessed enough sugar for cranberry sauce. Pumpkins were plentiful, but other pie-making ingredients were not.

By Victorian times, Thanksgiving dinner included traditional dishes we know today but also unusual ones. Jenny June’s American cookery book by J. C. (Jane Cunningham) Croly (1870) suggests the following menu: “Oyster soup, cod, with egg sauce, lobster salad, roast turkey, cranberry sauce, mixed pickles, mangoes, pickled peaches, cold slaw, and celery; boiled ham, chicken pie ornamented, jelly, mashed potatoes browned, tomatoes, boiled onions, canned corn, sweet potatoes, roasted broccoli. Mince, and pumpkin pie, apple tarts, Indian pudding. Apples, nuts, and raisins."

Oyster soup

Victorians cherished oysters. They ate these in a variety of dishes, including beef and oyster pie, bacon-wrapped angels on horseback (an appetizer) and on a special plate with a well in the middle for the dipping sauce. It’s not surprising to find them featured in this opulent menu.

Cod with egg sauce

Cod was popular for eating but also the source of cod liver oil, which people often took in the 19th-century to ward off sickness. This seafood dish seems a carryover from the first Thanksgiving.

Lobster salad

This is another luxurious concoction that hearkens to a pilgrim’s feast.

Roast turkey

Turkey shares the honors with other entrées.

Cranberry sauce

The sugar necessary to make cranberry sauce became more readily available in 1876, when America signed the Reciprocity Treaty with Hawaii, allowing the import of tariff-free products from Hawaii. The sugar beet industry was also picking up.

Mixed pickles

Special glass jars framed in plated silver, often with silver-plated tongs or a pickle fork, sat on many Victorian tables. These contained pickled vegetables and fruits. The presence of a pickle castor meant that the family was wealthy enough to pay servants both to fill and serve them. Pickle castors were made of pressed, colored, or art glass and decorated with gargoyles, lattice, beading, cherubs, birds, animals, and other ornamentations.

Mangoes

Loved since Ancient times, mangoes are native to southern Asia but then moved to other tropical climates. They arrived in Mexico in the early 19th Century. They came to Florida in 1862 or 1863 and to California in 1880.

Pickled Peaches

You may not have heard of these delicacies if you’re not a Southerner. That seems the area of the United States where the recipe has survived. (I did see some for sale in an Amish store.) Judging by the number of recipes posted online, pickled peaches are delicious. If nothing else, including them in the Thanksgiving menu provided an opportunity to impress guests by putting out a second pickle castor.

Cold Slaw

No, that’s not a typo. By 'cold slaw' Jenny June’s cookbook means 'cole slaw,' the shredded cabbage salad. This represents a misspelling, as ‘cole’ is the Dutch word for cabbage. A quick search reveals numerous Thanksgiving cole slaw recipes online. One blogger praised this dish because it doesn't wilt like regular salad.

Celery

This humble vegetable has been a Thanksgiving staple for over a century. People serve it chopped with mayonnaise, in celery soup, stuffed with peanut butter or cottage cheese, and more. It’s still going strong.

Boiled Ham

I haven’t tried this method of cooking a ham, but folks swear by it. Here, for the interested, is the original Victorian boiled ham recipe from Mrs. Beeton’s Book Of Household Management (1861).

Chicken Pie Ornamented

You will notice the abundance of meat selections in this menu. People in the past usually consumed more variety than we do today. 

I can link to a Victorian chicken pie recipe, but the ornamenting is up to you.

Jelly

People in the Victorian era loved making savory and sweet molded gelatin dishes. The molds they used are a popular antique item.

Mashed Potatoes Browned

I believe these were not the browned butter mashed potatoes we see today, although those sound yummy, but rather oven-browned mashed potatoes. Duchess potatoes seem the modern equivalent.

Tomatoes

Victorians preferred cooking their vegetables. They probably sliced and baked or stewed tomatoes, as shown in this article from VegHotPot.

Boiled Onions

This may refer to the creamed pearl onions we serve at holiday feasts today. Americans use onions in lots of dishes, but we tend to overlook them as a separate vegetable. New England Recipes provides instructions on boiling onions.

Canned Corn

Corn is a uniquely American vegetable, which makes it perfect for Thanksgiving.

Sweet Potatoes

Christopher Columbus carried this tuber to Spain, and it was cultivated in Virginia by the early-1700s. Recipes don’t pair marshmallows with them until around 1917, although American Cookery (1796) by Amelia Simmons contains a recipe for potato pudding topped with egg whites and baked.

Roasted Broccoli

Broccoli likes cooler weather, and it’s vibrant around Thanksgiving.

Mince

This strikes me as more a British traditional item. Victorians liked to add meat to their mince recipes, like this one by From the Larder.

Pumpkin Pie

America’s standard Thanksgiving dessert takes a bow! Lisa Cook teaches how to create a light Victorian version.

Apple Tarts

Victorians loved pies and tarts, something we have in common with them. What could pair better with pumpkin pie than apple tart? Honestly, I don’t know how anyone would have room for dessert after everything else on this menu.

Indian Pudding

This treat is a historical dessert made from cornmeal and molasses. Early colonists created it, possibly as a substitute for hasty pudding. I’d never heard of it before, and you might not have either. The recipe is not well-known, but the view from great island has us covered.

Apples, Nuts, and Raisins

Hosts included these items to fill any possible empty spaces in guests’ stomachs. Right? ;) 

Whew! Just thinking about cooking that meal is exhausting, and most people couldn't afford such a spread. Not to worry. The mixed pickles give away that folks with servants served this feast. I think this was the ideal that folks strove to attain, kind of like trying to scale up your home to match beautiful images on Pinterest. Still, breaking away from tradition to try something new doesn't hurt. I want to include Indian pudding in this year’s Thanksgiving dinner. How about you?

What's New with Janalyn Voigt

Fall is the perfect time for sinking into a comfortable chair and reading. It's one of my favorite things to do. Adding a  cozy fire earns me bonus hygge points. No, I didn't swear. 'Hygge' (pronounced hoo' ga) is a Danish word for that feeling of contentment you feel while drinking hot chocolate with snow flying outside the window. It comes when you dine by candlelight with someone you love. Watching vintage movies in your pajamas is sure to bring it on. 

These days, we could all use more hygge in our lives. I hope, as the days grow shorter and darker, that you will take time to savor quiet moments and good company.

Janalyn Voigt is the author of the Montana Gold western historical fiction series and the Tales of Faeraven medieval epic fantasy series. Learn more about Janalyn Voigt.