Jingle Bells is a winter song composed between 1850 and 1857 by the American composer James Lord Pierpont under the title The One Horse Open Sleigh and published in 1857 by Oliver Ditson & Co. (Boston).

In 1859 the song was published again, this time under the name Jingle Bells, or The One Horse Open Sleigh, which is still known today. Contrary to popular belief, Jingle Bells is not a Christmas carol, as Christmas is not mentioned in the song and the text has no other Christmas references. Rather, it is a song about horse-drawn sleigh races by young people.