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Christmas Past

Behind every Christmas tradition is a story, often a forgotten one. Every year as we put up a tree and pour the eggnog, we’re continuing generations-old narratives, while being mostly unaware of their starting chapters. Join Brian Earl to explore the fascinating stories behind the most wonderful time of the year. It's equal parts nerdy deep dive and warmhearted celebration. Think: NPR meets Clement Clarke Moore! Christmas Past is one of the longest running Christmas podcasts, now in its seventh season. Vanity Fair says: "With excellent production, engaging narration, and short, digestible running times, Christmas Past is perfect to put on while decorating your tree or preparing Christmas dinner." Brian's new book is out now from Lyons Press and Recorded books! Get your copy today, wherever books are sold. And remember...it makes a great gift!
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Now displaying: December, 2022
Dec 25, 2022

Join Christmas Past one last time in the 2022 season. It's our annual look back at the sights, sounds, news, and trends that made Christmas of 2022 what it was.

Merry Christmas to all, and many thanks for being part of the 2022 season of Christmas Past.

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Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

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Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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. 

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Dec 23, 2022

They're the spiced cookie with the funny sounding (to American ears) name. Pfeffernusse — or, "pepper nuts" in English — contain neither pepper nor nuts. And for centuries, the original recipe has been a closely guarded secret. Baker and podcaster Glen Warren joins me in this episode. 

Mentioned in This Episode

Seasons Eatings Podcast

Music in This Episode

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

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Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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

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Dec 21, 2022

Those decorative tins filled with three kinds of popcorn have been a Christmas staple for decades. But...why? In this episode, we find out — by asking the guy responsible for the whole thing!

Music in This Episode

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

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Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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

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Dec 19, 2022

It's fluffy, sweet, and studded with raisins and candied fruit peel. It's the Italian Christmas cake known as Panettone. Get ready to talk with your hands, along with me and Max Miller of Tasting History as we dig in. 

Mentioned in This Episode

Tasting History

Music in This Episode

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

IndieBound

Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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

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Dec 16, 2022

Cozy up with the Christmas Past family for some reminiscing! It's one of our favorite annual traditions...where I turn things over to you and let you guide my sleigh tonight on a trip down memory lane!

Music in this episode

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

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IndieBound

Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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

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Dec 14, 2022

Most of the classic American Christmas songs come from the 1940s. What was it about that decade that accounts for an explosion of Christmas music that's stood the test of time? What is it about those songs that sounds so Christmassy? And why are Christmas classics so few and far between in recent generations? Join me and Berklee College of Music professor Chris North to dive in! 

Music in This Episode

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

Amazon

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IndieBound

Share a Christmas memory

Be 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

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Dec 12, 2022

Strictly speaking, a Christmas carol is a song that tells the Nativity story. That's what made Edmund Sears's song, "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" so unusual when he wrote it. It didn't tell the story of Jesus's birth; it told the story of how people reacted to the news. This "humanist carol"  arrived at a time when music itself was in the midst of some major changes. 

Music in This Episode

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

Amazon

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IndieBound

Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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

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Dec 9, 2022

They're the festive party favors containing a paper crown, a trinket, and a joke — and wrapped in a package that goes "bang" when you open it! Christmas Crackers are an invention of the Victorian age. And more specifically, one confectioner named Tom Smith. Smith single handedly created a tradition that has endured for generations. 

Mentioned in This Episode

Music in This Episode

 

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

IndieBound

Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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

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Dec 7, 2022

"Father Christmas"...that's what they call Santa Claus in England, right? Well, sort of, but there's more to it than that. Join me and guest professor Gerry Bowler to look into the origins of this often misunderstood Christmas character. 

Music in This Episode

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

IndieBound

Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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

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Dec 5, 2022

It's the theater experience that's as rollicking and raucous as it is festive! And it's also mostly unknown to American audiences. Join Brian in this episode to hear all about the British tradition of Pantomime.

Mentioned in This Episode

Music in This Episode

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

IndieBound

Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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

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Twitter

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Website

Dec 2, 2022

Since the early 1930s, Rockefeller Center has been home to an enormous Christmas tree, elaborately decorated and introduced each season with great fanfare and spectacle. The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has become America's Christmas tree. Christine Roussel, the official Archivist of Rockefeller Center, joins Brian to tell the tale of this iconic institution. 

Music in This Episode

Buy the Christmas Past Book!

Order your copy today. And remember...it makes a great gift!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

IndieBound

Share a Christmas memory

 Be 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 group

Twitter

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Website

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