A look at the history of jingle bells

A look at the history of jingle bells We explore the history of the bells that have become so tied with the Christmas season: jingle bells. DANNY HENSEL, BYLINE: Those jingle bells Sinatra's singing about are much older than the song. Zeller says there's no clear moment when jingle bells transformed from a tool to an instrument, but he guesses the back half of the 19th century. HENSEL: Zaleski says of all the Christmas classics, there's one song that uses jingle bells especially well. ZALESKI: That song, you know, celebrates love and celebrates Christmas, and jingle bells really kind of represent that exuberance.