Is the Christmas Song "Jingle Bells" Racist? Folks Want to Know!
The song's origins are the subject of a social media post that has sparked a debate.
Published Dec. 15 2025, 4:01 p.m. ET
People are wondering if the popular Christmas carol "Jingle Bells" is racist after a social media post shared the origins of the popular Christmas carol. The song was written in 1857 by composer James Lord Pierpont, and after content creator Kahlil Greene shared a video about the song's origins, it was shared by former MSNBC journalist Joy Reid.
Kahlil shared a video about the song's origins with text over the footage, "This is where a racist Confederate soldier wrote 'Jingle Bells' to make fun of Black people." So, is "Jingle Bells" racist?
Is "Jingle Bells" racist?
The video begins by noting the song's composer needed money in the 1800s, so he wrote songs for minstrel shows: racist skits performed by white people in blackface that depicted Black people as lazy, buffoonish, stupid, and happy-go-lucky caricatures. The video notes that "Jingle Bells" was written for a minstrel show.
"The song, first called 'The One-Horse Open Sleigh,' debuted in blackface at Ordway Hall, Boston, in September 1857. White actors in burnt cork used the song to mock and caricature Black people trying to participate in winter activities. The original Iyrics' theme of 'laughing all the way' likely references a racist comedic routine known as the 'Laughing Darkie.' Pierpont's other minstrel works like 'Kitty Crow' and 'The Colored Coquette' repeatedly refer to Black people as [n-words] and darkies."
The video went on to note that in 1859, the racist composer copyrighted the minstrel song as "Jingle Bells" and removed the song's dedication to the Minstrel Hall manager, John P. Ordway.
"Over time, the racist origin of the song was whitewashed and happy myths about its creation became popular," it continued. "Now, America's most popular holiday song is one that began as a mockery of Black people."
"Jingle Bells" was also originally supposed to be a Thanksgiving song.
According to History.com, "The One Horse Open Sleigh" was originally written by James Lord Pierpont for a Thanksgiving church service. Joy Reid shared the video with her Instagram followers, and after it went viral, she was promptly criticized by Fox News. Joy shared a video of her own and doubled down on the song being racist. She sang the song's lyrics with emphasis on specific words that now seem, well, racist.
She captioned the post, "Poor @foxnews … so #triggered by me they forgot to yell at @kahlil.greene … wait till they find out baby Jesus was a brown, Palestinian refugee who #maga would have demanded be deported … also Christmas is #saturnalia, and Santa can absolutely be Black hohoho #merrychristmas #happyholidays."
Fans took note in the comment section, and one replied, "That’s why they’re trying to erase our history because of songs like this. Truth needs to be told!"
"They’re mad because we’re taking the time to educate ourselves rather than waiting to be fed with their foolishness," added another.
At least there is one silver lining in this unhappy story — Joy Reid can SANG! Several people left comments about her voice under the video, including one who wrote, "This is a classic nice-nasty clap back @joyannreid. SN-You can sang gurl!!"