Christmas Past

Christmas Past is back with the first episode of 2022. We're kicking off the preseason with some good old fashioned story time! This one's for the whole family, so gather round and cozy up...we're heading to the Hollow Tree in for some old fashioned Christmas fun! Buy the Christmas Past Book! The Christmas Past book is available for pre-order today, and releases on November 1. Get it in hardcover, e-book, or audio. And remember...it makes a great gift! Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-a-Million IndieBound Mentioned in This Episode https://mrdogschristmas.com/  Music in This Episode "Relaxing Music" — Relaxing Time, via Pixabay "Morning Light" — Lesfm, via Pixabay Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com Facebook page Facebook

Merry Christmas, everyone! The big day has arrived. And it's time for our sixth annual Christmas year in review. We'll recall all the sights, sounds, news, and trends that made this Christmas unique. Plus, I'll review my own Christmas season, and talk about what's to come in 2022.  Thank you to everyone who took part in the season, by listening, sharing memories, leaving reviews, participating in the Facebook group, and reaching out to say hi. A very Merry Christmas to all of you, and a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!  Thank you to The Great Dickens Christmas Fair for inviting me back to check out its drive-through event, and capturing some audio.  Music in this episode "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch

It's Christmas Eve! No matter how you celebrate, or where you celebrate, or who you call family, I hope you’re feeling the Christmas spirit right about now. And I, as well as several members of the Christmas Past family, are here to deliver just a little bit more of it.  Be sure to follow the Tree Twins on Instagram!  Music in this episode "Stille Nacht" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "I'll Stay" — Peder B. Helland, via Soothing Relaxation "Deck the Halls A" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Silent Night" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282 Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

It's Christmas Eve Eve Eve! The big day is almost here. Friends and loved ones are starting to gather and prepare, ready to add a new chapter to their Christmas story, and to reminisce about Christmasses past. And today, so are we…as the Christmas Past family. It’s another episode all about you. About sharing your stories and memories, your traditions and love of our favorite holiday!  Marv from the UK shares a memory in this episode. Check out his podcast, Pods Like Us. Thanks to him and everyone else who shared a memory in this episode! Music in this episode "Away in a Manger" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist "I Saw Three Ships" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist "The First Noel" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist "The Little Drummer Boy" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist "The Little Drummer Boy" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist &q

Christmas is often abbreviate as Xmas, but why? Why does X make a suitable abbreviation, and why does Christmas need abbreviating at all? To find the answers, we'll have to go back to the earliest days of Christianity, and and explore the world of symbology and word origins.  Thank you to Mignon Fogarty, from Grammar Girl for joining me in this episode!  Music in this episode "Golden Hour" — Podington Bear, via Free Music Archive "Prelude No. 11" — Chris Zabrieski, via Free Music Archive "Silent Night" — ZakharValaha, via Pixabay "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/gr

Welcome back for the second consecutive day of Christmas trivia! It's the conclusion of our special double header. Join us today when Rachel plays quizmaster to Brian in a game of "Sheperdy." We're in the final countdown to Christmas of 2021, but rest assured: there's much more Christmas cheer on tap between now and the big day!   Music in this episode "Turning" — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282 Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

In a first here on Christmas Past, we're doing a double header of Christmas trivia. Join me today and tomorrow for back-to-back episodes where you put your Christmas spirit to the test. Today, the name of the game is "Two Truths and a Lie," where your deception detection skills are just as important as your knowledge of Christmas history. All questions in today's game are related to the 1970s. Tomorrow, come back for Sheperdy, a Jeopardy inspired Christmas trivia game. Today and tomorrow, I'll be playing with Rachel in New York! Music in this episode "Inspiring Cinematic Uplifting Piano" — ZakharValaha, via Pixabay Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast Facebook group: htt

Victorian carolers wouldn't go until they got some. But many Americans wouldn't know one if they saw one. The figgy pudding (or plum pudding or Christmas pudding) has been with us for many centuries, and in many forms. How did a Medieval savory soup become a fruity, boozy and exclusively Christmassy dessert? Glen Warren from the Seasons Eatings podcast joins Brian in this episode.  Mentioned in this episode Seasons Eatings:  Podcast Instagram The Village Carolers: Website YouTube channel Instagram Music in this episode "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" — As performed by the Village Carolers, used with permission from the artists "Invisible Beauty" — Aakash Gandhi, via YouTube Audio Library "Just Stay" — Aakash Gandhi, via YouTube Audio Library "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech The clip from A Christmas Carol came from a Librivox recording, narrated by Elizabeth Kl

When this episode arrives, there will be only 10 days remaining until Christmas of 2021. It's a good point in the season to take a breather and snuggle up with a story from the world of classic Christmas fiction. Today, I'm reading The Christmas Fairy, an 1878  story by John Strange Winter. It’s a story for the whole family, about a schoolboy whose plans for Christmas take an unexpected turn. Music in this episode "Relaxing Piano Music" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Holiday is Coming" — Lesfm, via Pixabay Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282 Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast Instagram: https://ww

Christmas and charity are as natural a pairing as you might imagine. But the long history of charity at Christmas time has a few things worth exploring. For example, who has historically done the charitable giving, and why. And how the Victorians generally, and Charles Dickens specifically, laid the foundation for the modern form of Christmas charity that we know today. Thank you to Martin Johns, professor of history at Swansea University in Wales, and author of Christmas and the British: A Modern History, for appearing on this episode.  Music in this episode "The Little Match Girl" — Maarten Schellekens, via Free Music Archive "Swirling Snowflakes - Part 1" — Maarten Schellekens, via Free Music Archive "Lullaby" — Maarten Schellekens, via Free Music Archive "The Silent Grove" — Axletree, via Free Music Archive "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Oh Holy Night" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech Share a Christmas memory on the podcas

In 1945, when songwriter Bob Wells first penned the line "chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." chestnuts were as much a part of the Christmas season as eggnog and gingerbread. And then, just a few years after Nat King Cole recorded his iconic version of that song...they weren't. What happened? It's one of the few examples from recent history of a Christmas tradition dying out — literally — in a single generation. Is it lost forever? Or are we poised for a roasty toasty Christmas comeback story?  Thank you to Sarah Fitzsimmons, director of restoration with the American Chestnut Foundation, for appearing in this episode. Music in this episode "Home for the Holidays" — Chris Haugen, via Youtube Audio Library "Feelings of Twilight" — Shady Dave, via Freesound "Angles We Have Heard" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Fresh Fallen Snow" — Chris Haugen, via Free Music Archive "The Christmas Song" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist Share

It's our first family gathering of the season...the kind dedicated to members of the Christmas Past family and their Christmas memories. Pour the hot chocolate and snuggle up by the tree! It's time for a trip down memory lane.  Music in this episode "Just Stay" — Aakash Gandhi, via Youtube Audio Library "Frozen in Love" — Aakash Gandhi, via Youtube Audio Library "Waterfall" — Aakash Gandhi, via Youtube Audio Library "Arms of Heaven" — Aakash Gandhi, via Youtube Audio Library "Falling Snow" — Aakash Gandhi, via Youtube Audio Library Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282 Twitter: http

In 1937, radio audiences were introduced to The Cinnamon Bear, a magical twenty-six-part Christmas miniseries. Twins Judy and Jimmy search through the enchanted world of Maybeland for their lost Christmas ornament with the help of a talking bear.  The series delighted audiences for many seasons before falling out of the mainstream. But a new audience is discovering the program in the Internet age.  Thank you to Jack French from the Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club for appearing on this episode.  For more info about The Cinnamon Bear https://www.cinnamonbear.org/ Apple Podcasts  Music in this episode "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" — various, via NuBeat Music "Stille Nacht" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist "Heliotrope" — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive  Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to

Today is an episode for the whole family! A Christmas story about two elves who decide to bring their special month-long celebration to humans. I'll narrate Festive of the Elves, a 2020 book, as told by Holly Figgyworth. After the reading, I speak with Angeli Elliott about the origins of the story, and how families can bring a little elfin magic to their own Christmas!  Visit www.festivaloftheelves.com to find out more about the book, and to register for Elf Notes. And find Festival of the Elves on Instagram and Facebook Music in this episode "Cinematic Fairy Tale Story" — ZakharValaha, via Pixabay "In the Bleak Midwinter" — Julius H, via Pixabay "The Dream Song of Olaf Asteson" — Julius H, via Pixabay "In Dulci Jubilo" — Julius H, via Pixabay "Ambient and Soothing Piano Chill Out Music in D-Major for Relaxation" — Julius H, via Pixabay Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@

Christmas and sweaters naturally go together. But how did the idea of a festive holiday sweater become the multimillion dollar industry of recent decades? Is the gawdy, ironic, edgy humored Christmas sweater a passing fad, or are we at the start of something enduring? Today on Christmas Past: The "ugly" Christmas sweater! Thank you to Evan Mendelsohn from Tipsy Elves for joining me. And thanks to my mom, making her third appearance here on Christmas Past! Music in this episode "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Holiday 2" — Dave Depper, via Needledrop "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist "Crinoline Dreams" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Bellow's Hull" — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive "Gentle Marimbas" — Podington Bear, via Free Music Archive Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com

All the different landscapes and climates and cultures in America make for a seemingly endless number of settings for celebrating our favorite holiday. And one kind of setting in particular has earned a special place in American Christmas culture and lore: the small town. That homey, local Christmas spirit is the topic of Small Town Christmas, the new series on UPtv. Series creator and host Megan Alexander joins Brian to discuss. Plus, Brian shares a small town Christmas memory of his own! Music in this episode "In the Bleak Mindwinter" — Julius H, via Pixabay "Owl's Christmas" — Owl Glance, via Pixabay "Holy Night" — Tomomi Kato, via Pixabay "Christmas Day" — Alex MakeMusic, via Pixabay Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gma

A Charlie Brown Christmas became one of the most successful Christmas television specials ever. But the odds were stacked against it in 1965. Written and produced under a crazy deadline, the network executives were sure it would flop like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. But of course, things turned out differently.  This episode includes an interview with Benjamin Clark, curator of the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA. Music in this episode "Nouvelle Noel" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Shades of Spring" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Covert Affair" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/

What happens when a Christmas tree from a secret admirer comes between a young woman and her fiance in New York in 1902? That's the subject of the new Christmas audio drama from Sagacity Productions: "Christmas on Henry Street." This one-hour program, based on real events, will air on several NPR affiliate stations in December. Christmas Past is pleased to share it with you in this special full-length presentation.  For more information about "Christmas on Henry Street" https://www.sagacitytv.com/ Thank you to Bonnie Silva and everyone at Sagacity Productions for creating this program, and for sharing it with the Christmas Past family.  Music in this Episode "It Came Upon The Midnight Clear" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep i

The song now known as "Jingle Bells" is synonymous with Christmas, even though it never mentions Christmas by name. There's much more to the story of this beloved song than you ever could have imagined. Tracing its history will take us through Boston minstrel halls, "sleigh ride culture," and a feud between two American towns that each claim to be the song's birthplace.  This episode features Kyna Hamill from Boston University and the Medford Historical Society.  Music in this episode "Jingle Bells" — The Edison Male Quartet, via Internet Archive "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells" — Vernon Geyer, via Internet Archive "Jingle Bells Calm" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech "Atmospheric Jingle Bells" — Royalty Free Music, via SoundCloud Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short,

There's nothing like curling up with an old fashioned ghost story on a chilly evening during the Christmas season. This one's more ghostly than Christmassy, but it first appeared in a Christmas supplement to the Illustrated London Times. It's The Doll's Ghost, by F. Marion Crawford. And today, I'm reading it to you from the 2021 collection of Seth's Christmas Ghost Stories from from Biblioasis.  Music in this episode "Sal's Piano Solo" — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive "Planet Earth" — Peter D. Helland, via Soothing Relaxation Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from.  Keep in touch christmaspastpodcast@gmail.com Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282 Twitter: http