Massachusetts is a proud state. And why shouldn’t it be? We’ve told you before about it’s excellent public education; you all know about the wonderful colleges. Mass also has incredibly low obesity rates, depression rates, even unemployment rates when compared to the rest of the country. Did you know it also gave origin to perhaps the quintessential Christmas song?
That’s right, “Jingle Bells” was written in Medford, Massachusetts.
And Savannah, Georgia is trying to steal the credit.
Well, not exactly trying to steal credit. The matter is a bit more complicated than that. This article, which draws on the expertise of Core’s very own Kyna Hamill, explains the matter fully, but in summary, the song was first written in Medford but published in Savannah so both cities feel the need to take credit. We at Core are inclined to agree with Professor Hamill though:
“ But our claim is of course that the landscape is, that the authenticity is that it’s in the landscape of Medford”
Makes sense. Georgia is usually pretty warm in the winter. Seems difficult to imagine the landscape of Savannah inspiring the lyrics “Dashing through the snow in a one-horse open sleigh”. No matter if Medford has claim to the song, the song immortalizes the snowy landscape we studying in Mass know all too well.
But of course, as the article explains, both cities seem to have equal claims, although none of the cities’ historians would see it like that. What do you think? Should the credit be shared or does it belong more to Savannah or Medford? Tell us below!
