Christmas Past
Episodes
Christmas Memories 2025 - vol 4
23 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode arrives on Christmas Eve Eve. It's our final family gathering of the season, where members of the Christmas Past family share some o...
The Secret Santa of Kansas City
22 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A mysterious philanthropist spent more than 25 years handing out cash anonymously around Kansas City at Christmastime. Music in this Episode"I K...
Christmas Memories 2025 - vol 3
20 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We're at the end of the last full week of the Christmas season. Christmas 2025 is right around the corner. And today, we're back with anothe...
The Silent Night
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
During the Great War, the fighting briefly ceased on Christmas on some parts of the front line. The so-called "Christmas Truce" has become a...
All of you on the Good Earth
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
1968 was one of the most tumultuous years in modern history. But one bright spot occurred on Christmas Eve: an amazing feat that captivated the world....
The Hero of Dear Old Halifax
15 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A tragic accident at Christmastime in 1917 gives way to a story of a heroic response, a lasting friendship, and a unique Christmas tradition. Read Wa...
Christmas Memories 2025 - vol 2
13 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Boy, are we right in the thick of this Christmas season. Thanksgiving was just a little over two weeks ago. Christmas Day is just a little under two w...
None Appeared More Astonished
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A child's Christmas surprise for his family in 1902 became the stuff of myth and legend. Music in this Episode"Crystal Dreams" — Lit...
The Weeping Waters
10 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1953, a Christmas Eve train bound for New Zealand's capital city met a tragic fate. Music in this Episode"Ourselves at Least" — C...
When the Current Was Turned
08 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In 1882, inventor Edward Johnson set up a one-of-a-kind Christmas display in his New York City home...and it changed the face of Christmas as we know ...
Christmas Memories 2025 - vol 1
06 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Christmas season is in full swing. The tree is up. The carols are playing. The shopping and baking merrymaking of all sorts is here once again. We...
Homecoming
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On a cold winter's night, a man working in a field saw an out-of-place object in the night sky. This is a Christmas story, but it's not the ...
The Builder of Tomorrows
03 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Inventor Reginald Aubrey Fessenden received hundreds of patents in his career. And one invention that debuted in 1906 changed Christmas as we know it....
The Birthday Gift
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Teenaged Annie Ide resented being born on December 25 because Christmas always overshadowed her birthday. But a unique birthday gift from an eccentric...
Season 10 Announcement, Dickens Fair, etc.
29 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Just dropping by with a quick hello, now that the season is in full swing. Today, I share an announcement about this season of Christmas Past, as well...
Story Time: Lucky's Grove
27 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! It's the kickoff to the main season of Christmas Past. What better way to get things going than with a cozy gatheri...
Interview: Vaughn Joy, Author of Selling Out Santa
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In today's episode, Vaughn Joy, Ph.D. joins Christmas Past to discuss how the social and political climate of the mid-20th century shaped the Chr...
Interview: Thomas Ruys Smith, author of Searching for Santa Claus
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today, we welcome back a frequent guest on Christmas Past. Thomas Ruys Smith is a professor of American literature and culture at the University of Ea...
Interview: Alonso Duralde, author of Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today, I'm talking to Alonso Duralde, film critic, podcaster, and author of Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas (2nd Edition).Music in this ep...
Story Time: The Mistress in Black
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Halloween, everyone! 👻🎃 And welcome to the 2025 pre-season for Christmas Past.For the past several years now, we've kicked off the pr...
Christmas 2024 (plus listener memories)
25 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The big day is here, and so is our final episode of 2024. As we so do every year, we'll take a look back at all the news, trends, sights, and sou...
Backstory: Wren Day
23 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The small, unassuming wren may be nothing much to look at, but wait till it starts singing. Its loud, complex songs, and its tendency to sing them thr...
Backstory: The Yule Lads
20 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
One by one, over a series of nights during Christmastime in Iceland, the Yule Lads come down from a mountain, making mischief, rewarding good behavior...
Backstory: Ded Moroz
18 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Ded Moroz ("Grandfather Frost"), went from folk tale to fairy tale, from beloved symbol of Christmas to exile, and then back to beloved symb...
Your Christmas Memories 2024
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Once again it’s time for one of my favorite traditions here on Christmas Past: dedicating an entire episode to you and your Christmas memories! I lo...
Backstory: Ivy
16 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For a long time, ivy conjured images of all things pagan, superstitious, gluttonous, debauched, and morbid. For those reasons, it would be forbidden f...
Backstory: Gremlins
13 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Forty years ago, audiences got into the Christmas spirit by watching a little green creature get killed in a blender. Gremlins was more than a movie t...
Backstory: Why is Christmas on December 25?
11 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
If Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus, and we celebrate it on December 25, then Jesus must have been born on that day, right? Not so fast! We a...
Backstory: The Original Santa Claus Parade
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Who doesn't love a parade? The very idea of a procession, usually involving costumes and music, is at least 4,000 years old. But grand parades to...
Backstory: The Magi
06 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The three kings. The wise men. The magi. They're the supporting cast in many a Nativity scene...the subject of several postage stamps and greetin...
Backstory: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials
04 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The creative team of Rankin and Bass have produced some of the most enduring, nostalgia-producing Christmas specials in television history. Historian ...
Backstory: Toys for Tots
02 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The more than 75-year success story of Toys for Tots may seem like a fairly simple story: the Marine Corp reserve starts up a holiday charity for need...
Backstory: Christmas Creep
28 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
A lot of people complain that Christmas comes earlier every year. But, is that really true? Extended holiday shopping seasons have been the norm for w...
Danny Pellegrino, Author of The Jolliest Bunch
21 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Danny Pellegrino is a bestselling author, actor, and screenwriter. His latest book, The Jolliest Bunch: Unhinged Holiday Stories, is a nostalgic trip ...
Interview: Actor John Rhys-Davies on Scrooge: A Christmas Carol
14 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Actor John Rhys-Davies (Lord of the Rings, Indiana Jones) joins Brian to discuss Scrooge, A Christmas Carol. Rhys-Davies plays Dickens's narrator...
2024 Indie Christmas Music Playlist
07 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
We're in the early Christmas preseason. It's the perfect time to discover some new Christmas music before the radio stations start overplayi...
Storytime: "Podolo"
31 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Halloween, everybody! And more than that: welcome to another season of Christmas Past. Yes, it’s still Halloween. But that's the perfect ...
Christmas 2023
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
It's our eighth consecutive Christmas together. As we close out the 2023 season, we're taking a look back at the news and trends that made t...
Backstory: Boxing Day
22 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here in America, the day after Christmas is simply that: the day after. The party's over. But in England, it's an official holiday. December...
Your Christmas Memories: 2023, vol 2
20 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Christmas Day is less than a week from now. In this final stretch of the 2023 season, let's have another gathering of the Christmas Past family. ...
Backstory: A Meatless Christmas Eve Meal
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For many families, the Christmas Eve feast is a so-called "meatless meal." It's a tradition of European Christian roots that has gone o...
A Visit to Old Fezziwig's Christmas Eve Ball
17 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Old Fezziwig sure knew how to throw an office Christmas party. Dickens's description of Christmas Eve in Fezziwig's counting house included ...
Backstory: Christmas Postage Stamps
15 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the late nineteenth century modern postal systems were still coming into their own. Around the turn of the century, many countries, including Engla...
Interview: Christopher Knight on The Brady Bunch: The Voice of Christmas
13 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Brady Bunch is an iconic American sitcom that ran for five seasons. But it produced only one Christmas episode during its original run. "The ...
Backstory: Shortbread
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For a bread that’s short, its history is long. Exactly how long, and the particulars of how it all came about, though, are unclear. But one this is ...
Your Christmas Memories: 2023, vol 1
10 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of my favorite parts of creating Christmas Past is sharing your Christmas memories. I love the warm connections I’ve had with so many of you ove...
Backstory: Wishbooks
08 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Colorful, glossy, enticing. For generations of children, the annual department store Christmas catalog was a field guide, a treasure map, and the fuel...
Backstory: Stollen
06 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Stollen is a Christmas staple in German homes. This cake/bread hybrid is packed with flavor and shaped to resemble a swaddled baby. Food writer Luisa ...
Backstory: The Mari Lwyd
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The mostly warm, fuzzy, cozy, sanitized Christmas is mainly a product of 19th and 20th century American influence. In earlier times, Christmas had a s...
Backstory: Christmas Seals
01 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
By the turn of the 20th century, tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in America by far. In 1907, when a tuberculosis treatment clinic was in f...
Backstory: The Twelve Days of Christmas
29 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
These days, the Christmas season is the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Way back when, it was the period beginning on Christmas Day, an...
Backstory: Elves
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The earliest myths involving elves portrayed them as mischievous or even malicious creatures that posed dangers to humans and animals. So, how do we g...
Backstory: Nutcrackers
23 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Decorative nutcrackers — most often resembling a toy soldier, but available in countless other characters — are synonymous with the Christmas seas...
Story Time: The Christmas Sing In Our Village
16 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Order your copy today! Of Christmases Long, Long AgoConnect with Me Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links Email: chris...
Interview: The Christmas Stories of Mary Wilkins Freeman
09 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman was a prolific author in the 19th century. Her Christmas stories showed up every year in newspapers and magazines. Professor T...
Story Time: The Captain of the Polestar
31 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
As we ease our way into another Christmas season, we're practicing thta somewhat forgotten tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas time! ...
Christmas 2022
25 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 20...
Backstory: Pfeffernusse
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
They're the spiced cookie with the funny sounding (to American ears) name. Pfeffernusse — or, "pepper nuts" in English — contain ne...
Backstory: Christmas Popcorn Tins
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 aski...
Backstory: Panettone
19 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 w...
Your Christmas Memories, 2022
16 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Backstory: Classic American Christmas Music
14 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Backstory: It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
12 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 M...
Backstory: Christmas Crackers
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Backstory: Father Christmas
07 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
"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...
Backstory: Pantomime
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Backstory: The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
02 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Since the early 1930s, Rockefeller Center has been home to an enormous Christmas tree, elaborately decorated and introduced each season with great fan...
Backstory: Aluminum Christmas Trees
30 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
They were a symbol of the Space Age and then, quickly, they were a relic of the past. Aluminum Christmas trees burst onto the Christmas scene in the l...
Backstory: Christmas Trees
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's the universal symbol of the Christmas season: a tree (typically a fir) adorned with ornaments and lights. But...what does any of that have t...
2022 Season Kickoff from the Great Dickens Christmas Fair
24 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're officially kicking off the 2022 season of Christmas Past with a Thanksgiving family gathering, a return to a beloved Bay Area tradition, an...
2022 Indie Christmas Music Playlist
21 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Yes, we return to our traditional favorite songs each year. But there's nothing like discovering a new favorite! If you believe that too, then yo...
Two Truths and a Lie: Four Decades
14 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's an annual tradition on Christmas Past: The game of Christmas trivia where you have to spot the lie! Join Todd Killian from Christmas Clatter...
Interview: Tru-Tone Founder, David Andora
08 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Those of a certain age remember those classic C7 incandescent Christmas bulbs and the soft glow they produced. Sure, LEDs are longer lasting and more ...
Interview: Emily Zarka, host of PBS's Monstrum
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Halloween, sugarplums! What better way to get into the spooky Christmas spirit than discussing Christmas monsters? Better yet, I'm doing it...
Story Time: Christmas Eve on a Haunted Hulk
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's story, our hero finds himself stranded on Christmas Eve, alone in an abandoned ship. But is he really alone? It's "Christmas...
Story Time: The Corner Shop
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Time for another ghost story! This one is more sentimental than spooky. It's The Corner Shop, in which a man buys a trinket in a curio shop that ...
Story Time: The Dead and the Countess
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
It's story time once again. Snuggle up, but beware of things that go bump in the night! Today, we're taking a trip of the imagination to a c...
Story Time: Mr. Dog's Christmas at the Hollow Tree Inn
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 f...
Christmas 2021
25 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Christmas Eve, Christmas Memories 2021
24 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 rig...
Your Christmas Memories: 2021, vol 2
22 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Backstory: Xmas
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Trivia Double Header: Sheperdy
19 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome back for the second consecutive day of Christmas trivia! It's the conclusion of our special double header. Join us today when Rachel play...
Trivia Double Header: Two Truths and a Lie: 1970s
18 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 yo...
Backstory: Figgy Pudding
16 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Story Time: The Christmas Fairy
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 s...
Backstory: Christmas Charity
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 explorin...
Backstory: Chestnuts
11 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1945, when songwriter Bob Wells first penned the line "chestnuts roasting on an open fire..." chestnuts were as much a part of the Christ...
Your Christmas Memories: 2021, vol 1
09 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Backstory: The Cinnamon Bear
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In 1937, radio audiences were introduced to The Cinnamon Bear, a magical twenty-six-part Christmas miniseries. Twins Judy and Jimmy search through the...
Story Time: Festival of the Elves
05 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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&apos...
Backstory: Ugly Christmas Sweaters
04 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Christmas and sweaters naturally go together. But how did the idea of a festive holiday sweater become the multimillion dollar industry of recent deca...
Interview: Megan Alexander, host of Small Town Christmas on UPtv
02 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
All the different landscapes and climates and cultures in America make for a seemingly endless number of settings for celebrating our favorite holid...
Backstory: A Charlie Brown Christmas
01 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A Charlie Brown Christmas became one of the most successful Christmas television specials ever. But the odds were stacked against it in 1965. Written ...
Christmas Past Presents: Christmas on Henry Street
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Backstory: Jingle Bells
28 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The song now known as "Jingle Bells" is synonymous with Christmas, even though it never mentions Christmas by name. There's much more t...
Story Time: The Doll's Ghost, by F. Marion Crawford
26 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Backstory: TV Christmas romance movies
25 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Get ready for small town Christmases and hometown hunks! Today, we're looking at made-for-TV Christmas romances, and exploring how and why they&a...
Interview: Brandon Gray, co-author of I'll Be Home For Christmas Movies
04 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Now that Halloween is behind us, it's officially Christmastime! Time for a mug of cocoa, some foofy jammies, and the Hallmark Channel. Today, Bra...
Christmas Past Presents: The Midnight Carols: Chapter 1
31 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Happy Halloween, everybody! Christmas and Halloween go together perfectly because they have something very special in common: a tradition of telling g...