“Jingle Bells” is a classic song sung at Christmas time, but it didn’t start out that way. First published in 1857, it was written by James Lord Pierpont, to be sung on Thanksgiving — not ...

Kyna Hamill, a lecturer at BU’s core curriculum and theater programs, traced the history of “Jingle Bells,” initially to try to settle the rivalry between Medford and Savannah, Ga.