The 6 Best Christmas Past Podcast Episodes
1) Backstory: Why is Christmas on December 25?
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 actually have no good idea when Jesus was born. And...Show More
2) Backstory: The Original Santa Claus Parade
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 kick off the Christmas season are much newer. The kind...Show More
3) Backstory: The Magi
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 greeting cards...the subject of that classic Christmas song. W...Show More
4) Backstory: Rankin/Bass Christmas Specials
The creative team of Rankin and Bass have produced some of the most enduring, nostalgia-producing Christmas specials in television history. Historian and biographer Rick Goldschmidt joins Brian to tel...Show More
5) Backstory: Toys for Tots
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 needy kids. But there’s more to it than that. From hum...Show More
6) Backstory: Christmas Creep
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 well over a century. And besides, there's one big (...Show More
7) When the Current Was Turned
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 it. Music in This Episode "Vessel Five" — Blue Dot...Show More
8) Christmas Memories 2025 - vol 1
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're all doing a lot of the stuff that Christmas me...Show More
9) Homecoming
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 one you think it is. Music in This Episode "Below the River...Show More
10) The Builder of Tomorrows
Inventor Reginald Aubrey Fessenden received hundreds of patents in his career. And one invention that debuted in 1906 changed Christmas as we know it. Music in This Episode "Agony and Ivory" — Blue Do...Show More