While it was originally written with no connection to Christmas, Jingle Bells is one of the most commonly sung Christmas songs in the world today! Written in 1850 by James Lord Pierpont at Simpson Tavern in Medford, Massachusetts, it was first published under the title “The One Horse Open Sleigh.” Here’s a bit of fun trivia: Jingle Bells was first recorded in 1889 on an Edison cylinder. This recording, believed to be the first Christmas record, is lost. But an 1898 recording, also from Edison Records, survives.

Here’s Earl Scruggs and the Bluegrass All Stars picking this holiday favorite: