Even Mickey Mouse and his friends have a version of “Jingle Bells” available for streaming on Spotify. However, “Jingle Bells” wasn’t initially meant to be a Christmas song.

It's true that "Jingle Bells" songwriter James Pierpont did not have Christmas in mind when he penned the tune — which does not mention the holiday in its lyrics — in the 1850s.

ZALESKI: That song, you know, celebrates love and celebrates Christmas, and jingle bells really kind of represent that exuberance. HENSEL: There's a reason they're so ubiquitous at this time of year.

Whether you believe Christmas music is meant to be played before Thanksgiving or after Thanksgiving, one thing is true. "Jingle Bells" was originally written as a Thanksgiving song.

The NBA is promoting its slate of games on Christmas Day by remixing a classic commercial, Jingle Hoops, from over a decade ago. It was 2013 when the original version of this ad debuted and it is ...