Old Christmas

The Very Old Christmas

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Merry Podcast of MyMerryChristmas.com
The Very Old Christmas
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Christmas is thousands of years old and in this episode we take a look at the very old Christmas. It is an age of Christmas that is not talked about enough — a time when so much of what we consider important to Christmas happened.

This is an age of Christmas before Dickens, before Christmas trees, before Santa Claus or Rudolph or shopping.

These are the years of Christmas between 1200 and 1500 — long after the life of Christ and long before the advent of the printing press, mass communication or even the widespread knowledge of the Bible story.

How did Christmas exist and how did it survive?

This episode tells the story of Francis, a monk who thought it important to teach the masses about the Birth of Christ only after he had visited the site of Jesus’ birth in the holy land. His tireless efforts led to a widespread tradition that continues to this day in many parts of the world and is considered a central part still in the celebration of Christmas.

This was also an age when the music of Christmas really has its beginning and in this episode we discuss some of the oldest Christmas songs since known and popular today.

In this merry episode we explore the times and the culture of Christmas during these important years.

Christmas Anniversaries

Christmas Anniversaries

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Christmas Anniversaries
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Even Christmas has birthdays — special occasions of Christmas past that we have to look back on and remember. Is this episode of the Merry Little Podcast we explore the Christmas anniversaries of 2017 including the greatest hits of 50, 60, 70, 80 — even 160 years ago!

You can’t have an episode like this without spilling into some Christmas history either. For example, did you know that 2017 marks the anniversary of the first time eggnog was consumed in America?

Come along and enjoy this stroll down Christmas memory lane as we celebrate the anniversaries of Christmas.

Santa’s Replay

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Santa's Replay
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Tracking Santa is a timeless tradition of Christmas. We’ve been doing it for more than a quarter century!

In this special episode of the Merry Little Podcast we recap the breaking news from the North Pole from last Christmas Eve. It showcases in a small way just what the epic 50-hour Christmas Eve broadcast from Kringle Radio is like.

Kringle Radio is our sister site, a year round stream of commercial free Christmas that gets taken over by elves on Christmas Eve. From the moment Christmas Eve dawns in the South Pacific until Santa returns to the North Pole on Christmas morning the elves track Santa with music, good humor and timely reports.

This episode of the Merry Little Podcast, in fact, is hijacked by one of those elves. His name is Elf Crash Murphy and he has a special assignment on Christmas Eve. He reports on Santa from a sleigh following him around the world.

So you’ll hear his voice a lot on the podcast and in the news from last Christmas.

Giving Dickens the Dickens

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Giving Dickens the Dickens
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Charles Dickens will be the subject of a new Christmas movie now filming in England titled “The Man Who Invented Christmas”.

The story is about the very Christmas tale of how Charles Dickens created “A Christmas Carol”.

The movie stars Dan Stevens as Dickens, pictured at the right. It also features Christopher Plummer in the role of Ebeneezer Scrooge.

You see? Already there’s a problem with this movie. Dickens is a real character. Scrooge is a character of fiction. And that will be the problem with this film — determining what is fact and what is fable.

The movie is based on the book of the same name by Les Standiford, a historian and a novelist. In declaring the 19th century author as the “inventor of Christmas” Standiford makes a critical historical mistake. And in the process he destroys what is really the true story.

This episode explores the book and exposes the lies that will be told in the upcoming tale of Dickens.

To read Dickens is to know Dickens and like the many Hollywood productions of A Christmas Carol demonstrate there is more than one way to tell a story. This movie is a Hollywood production and shouldn’t fool the Christmas purist when it comes to the truths about Dickens.

As the title of both the book and movie pronounce, Dickens saved Christmas. This episode of the Merry Podcast declares the more obvious truth: Christmas saved Dickens.

When it comes to Christmas we believe true stories are more entertaining, more enlightening and more believable than what Hollywood produces.

That is true of Santa Claus. That is true of Jesus Christ. And that is true of Charles Dickens.

Will we see the movie? Of course we will. But we have no problem reviewing it now. If it came from this book — The Man Who Invented Christmas — it will not be a great Christmas movie.

war on christmas

Debunking Everyone on the War on Christmas

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Debunking Everyone on the War on Christmas
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war on christmasIf we have to talk about this at all we’re coming out with all guns blazing. The War on Christmas has guilty parties on every side and we’ve got a take-no-prisoners attitude.

This is the truth, the straight truth and nothing but the truth about this goofy, silly thing called the War on Christmas.

Do you say Merry Christmas? Do you call it a holiday tree? Have you read the Constitution? Do you understand what the word “establishment” means? Have you ever read the declaration of Christmas as a national holiday?

We’re guessing that if we gave a quiz with these questions to any combatant on any side on this war on Christmas stuff they would fail miserably.

And why?

Because the war on Christmas isn’t actually about Christmas.

We don’t know what it is about. But it ain’t Christmas.

Thanksgiving

Ironies of Thanksgiving and Christmas

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Ironies of Thanksgiving and Christmas
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Puritan ThanksgivingThanksgiving and Christmas are not what they seem to be. One holiday was declared with an eye squarely towards the heavens and acknowledging the hand of God. The other holiday is a mostly secular affair marked with wild celebrations, gluttonous feasts and nearly every kind of excess.

One holiday is called Christmas and the other is known as Thanksgiving.

One is noted with arguments of separation of Church and State. The other breaks every rule of separation of Church and State.

In this brief episode we explore the real origins of Thanksgiving and why Christmas drove its creation.

We also share the untold story of Squanto, who was nearly sold into slavery years before our Pilgrims arrived — and period that led to him gaining command of the English language and paving a path for future interaction with those famed starving Puritans of Thanksgiving lore. His story — and the pious gratitude of the new American settlers blazed a path for what would one day come to be called the Christmas season — a time bookended by a sacred holiday to begin with followed by a secular day to complete it.

Thanksgiving and Christmas today quite nearly meld into one long holiday — and time seems to be blurring why it all began in the first place.

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Gossip and Lies of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

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Gossip and Lies of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
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Rudolph the Red Nosed ReindeerRudolph the Red Nosed reindeer has a short history compared to other legends of Christmas. He is a completely modern invention. And yet, in less than 80 years he became a Christmas superstar and his story is beloved by generations of Christmas fans.

But wait until you hear the story of how Rudolph was created. It will wrench your heart and change the way you look at him.

Nearly everyone knows that Rudolph was born of a writer working for Chicago department store Montgomery Wards in the 1930s. But what they don’t know is the heartbreaking tale of a devastating illness that led the writer of the story to struggle to explain to a 4-year-old little girl why her mommy was “different”.

If anyone knew different, it was this red nosed reindeer.

The story of Rudolph captured the heart of that four year old — and of millions of kids around the world.

By his 10th birthday, Rudolph had a hit song and a cartoon to his credit. But his story was not finished. He continued to grow in legend for nearly two decades until a stop motion animated Christmas television special cemented his legend for all time and took the story of the different reindeer to new generations.

He had arrived as one of the legendary animals of Christmas.

But what if the story of his creation is a lie? What if the story-behind-the-story never happened?

Does it diminish Rudolph? Is it scandalous enough to knock Rudolph from his Christmas pedestal?

We think not. But we warn listeners not to believe everything they hear on the Internet.

Tracking Santa

Tracking Santa Highlights

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Tracking Santa Highlights
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How do you track Santa? We do it the old fashioned way — with the news and the data of tracking Santa coming straight from the North Pole. This episode features highlights of Santa’s wild Christmas ride of last Christmas Eve as broadcast on Kringle Radio.

Over the course of 50 hours the North Pole streams the greatest of Christmas music for Santa via Kringle Radio and the world gets to listen in — especially as news breaks every 15 minutes or so giving the world Santa’s position and tells the stories that make up “Operation Merry Christmas”.

The story unfolds on our sister site, SantaUpdate.com, a merry little effort founded more than 25 years ago. All year long this festive, commercial-free site tells kids the story of Santa, elves, reindeer and life at the North Pole.

Each day from Thanksgiving to Christmas Eve a new update is posted and it all culminates with the radio broadcast on Christmas Eve long before Santa ever launches from the North Pole.

Why does it take more than 50 hours to broadcast? That’s because Christmas Eve dawns in the far corners of the world when it is still December 23rd for the rest of us. We want to tell the story to them as much as anybody.

In this episode you’ll hear snippets of the news in sequence with the story line. You will hear news broadcasts, interviews with eyewitnesses who saw Santa in flight or in their homes, and you will hear discussions between elves as they analyze Santa’s flight and how it was going. It’s great fun and entirely unique.

Bing Crosby

Bah, Bah, Bah Bing

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Bah, Bah, Bah Bing
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Bing CrosbyBing Crosby was the first true superstar of American multi-media. He was bigger than Elvis. Bigger than Sinatra. Bigger even than the Beatles. He sold millions and millions of records, had more #1 hits than anyone and his name was trusted over the President of the United States and the Pope.

And, oh yeah, he totally owned Christmas.

How is it possible that Bing Crosby could dominate one season of the year not only during his lifetime but also nearly 40 years since his passing? From the 1930’s — when he dominated radio, he performed on Christmas every year. Nearly every home had a radio.

In the 1940s he sang the #1 Christmas song of all time and performed it live on radio, with other artists and published on albums that were produced so many times he had to record a new master 3 years before the decade was over. Nearly every home had a record player.

In the 1940s and 1950s he took to acting — and won an Academy Award. Some of his films had Christmas themes. He also embraced the new medium of television. He host variety shows, appeared as a guest on hundreds of specials and hosted his own Christmas television special every year through the 1970s. By then every home had a television too.

For 50 years he was the voice everyone compared themselves to. And, like Santa Claus, he was there every Christmas.

Bing Crosby was much, much more than just a singer. He was an innovator. And believe it or not, he was one of the earliest sex symbols. He was every bit as edgy as Michael Jackson, just a showy as Elvis and more beloved than Madonna. And his talent reached across generations.

In this merry episode we explore the many Christmas contributions of the legendary Bing Crosby.