Episode 14: Christmas

Saturday, December 24th, 2016
“It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes or bags!… Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! …” (Dr Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 1956). It can only be the Unexpected History of Christmas!
Let us once again join the Santa of Historical Skepticism, Professor James Daybell and the Charles Dickens of Christmas Past, Dr Sam Willis as they untangle the tinsel and unravel the lights to reveal the unexpected history of Christmas. Upon Santa’s sleigh, they will dash from medieval carousing to a Dickensian Christmas, and from racing crabs on Christmas Island in the 1950s to the Puritans and Christmas riots in Canterbury, 1647.
Like Christmas Elves they’ll assemble the links between rituals and traditions, Minst pies (not a typo) and celebrations, international date lines and land shy ravens. Listen out as James plays ‘guess the day an island was discovered,’ and Sam suggests one way to get two Christmases in one day. Oh, and whoever wrote the song about the three kings following the star, well they may need to rewrite, although it may not have quite the same rhyming style! “God bless us, everyone!” (Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, 1843)
“Good tidings we bring for you and your kin
We wish you a merry Christmas
And a happy New Year”
More Podcasts

Episode 50: How to be a historian – Episode 3
6, 9, 2017 - ‘The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future’. Theodore .... Read More

LOSERS KEEP ON LOSING!
3, 12, 2020 - LOSERS KEEP ON LOSING! In this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and .... Read More

Patients! Back for another check up…
24, 11, 2020 - In this BONUS episode, the Histories of the Unexpected duo, James and Sam, reopen the medical .... Read More
Subscribe to our newsletter
Keep up to date with Histories of the Unexpected