OH? ... WHAT FUN?

BU prof’s find of racist origins in ‘Jingle Bells’ hits sour note

‘At no point have I ever made a claim on what people should or should not sing at Christmas.’

A Boston University professor is defending her controversial research that uncovered racist origins in the beloved Christmas song “Jingle Bells,” blaming the media for trying to “rile people up at this time of year.”

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. — the two cities that claim to be the birthplace of the iconic Christmas tune.

Her research found “Jingle Bells” was first performed in blackface in a minstrel show as “One Horse Open Sleigh” at Ordway Hall on Washington Street in Boston.

That discovery sent her down a completely different path than simply settling the Medford/Savannah dispute and she started digging deeper.

“In 1857 when it was performed in blackface — that is white men blackening up with burnt cork on their faces — it would have been racist,” she wrote yesterday in an email in response to a Herald request for an interview.

“This performance tradition is historical fact and continued in the U.S. until the 1930s as an amateur entertainment.”

Over the past few days, media outlets including Fox News and Breitbart have picked up the story and Twitter users have denounced her findings as liberal political correctness.

But Hamill insists she doesn’t think “Jingle Bells” should be considered a racist song today, and isn’t discouraging people from singing it.

“I never said it was racist now,” said Hamill. “Nowhere did I say that. My point was that because it is now included in the Christmas catalog of songs — attention is only given to it during the Christmas season — it has eluded rigorous study.”

She added: “I did not write the article to make people upset. At no point have I ever made a claim on what people should or should not sing at Christmas.”

Breitbart even went so far as to claim Hamill wants Medford to cancel its annual Jingle Bell Festival — which Hamill strongly denies.

— KYNA HAMILL BU lecturer

“There were many incorrect details in the Breitbart article, which seemed to be timed perfectly to rile people up at this time of year,” Hamill said.

“I never asked the city to stop the Jingle Bell Festival,” she said. “I would never do that knowing it is an important event for the city of Medford.”

Ironic footnote: Hamill did conclude that the song was not written in 1850 at the Simpson Tavern in Medford — as a plaque in the city claims.