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 Weiss joins Christmas Past to explain stollen’s special connection to German Christmas and German baking culture.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Luisa Weiss
• Classic German Baking, by Luisa Weiss

Music in this Episode

• “Winter Fairy Dance – Orchestral with Bells and Choir” — Paul Winter, via Pixabay
• “Wonderful Christmas Time [Classic Version]” — Frank Schroeter, via Film Music
• “Snow Falls Softly at Night” — Frank Schroeter, via Film Music
• “Piano Ballad 2” — Reeg’sB, via Film Music
• “Magic of Christmas” — Sergei Chetvertnykh, via Pixabay

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 financial straits, Emily Bissell created Christmas Seals as a fundraiser. It was as novel as it was effective. More than a century later, Christmas Seals are still one of the prominent sights of the season.

Mentioned in this Episode

American Lung Association

Music in this Episode

• “Autumn Leaves” — Maarten Schellekens, via Free Music Archive
• “Piano Reflection 2” — Agnese Valmaggia, via Film Music
• “Angels We Have Heard” — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• “Reawakening” — Scott Buckley, Scottbuckley.com
• “Ding Dong Merrily on High” — Leigh Robinson, via Pixabay

The earliest myths involving elves portrayed them as mischievous or even malicious creatures that posed dangers to humans and animals. So, how do we get from there to jolly little Christmas elves? It’s a story that takes us from ancient Ancient Europe to the current day — one that involves mythology, modern American influence, the power of poetry and literature, possibly the rise of industrialization, and definitely…sticking it to the Nazis.

Mentioned in this Episode

• Christmas in the Crosshairs, by Gerry Bowler
• Santa Claus: A Biography, by Gerry Bowler
• The World Encyclopedia of Christmas, by Gerry Bowler

Music in this Episode

• “Ivory Pillow” — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
• “Ambient Piano” — BlackPy Beats, via Pixabay
• “Road in the Forest” — Olexy, via Pixabay
• “Christmas Music Box” — Oleg Kirilkov, via Pixabay
• “Gentle Soft Piano | Christmas Vibes” — Alex Productions, via Free Music Archive

As we ease our way into another Christmas season, we’re practicing thta somewhat forgotten tradition of telling ghost stories at Christmas time! In 1883, Temple Bar magazine published a story by a writer and physician named Arthur Conan Doyle. Nowadays, we refer to him as sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and we know him best as the creator of that most famous of detectives: Sherlock Holmes. But this 1883 story isn’t about Sherlock. It’s about a ship trapped in arctic ice and the strange things the captain and crew experience. Join Brian for a reading of The Captain of the Polestar.

Mentioned in this Episode

Biblioasis

Music in this Episode

• “Dewbound” — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
• “Ethereal Relaxation” — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech

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

• “The Poplar Grove” — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
• “Midvinter” — Scott Buckley, via scottbuckley.com.au
• “Felix Mendelssohn: Songs Without Words” Vassily Primakov, via Free Music Archive
• “The First Noel – Silent Night” — Ralph Rousseau Meulenbroeks, via Magnatune Compilation
• “Piano Moment” — Zakhar Valaha Music, via Pixabay
• “Jingle Bells” — Scott Holmes Music, via Free Music Archive

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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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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

• “Bushwick Tarantella” — Kevin MacLeod, via Youtube Audio Library
• “Saloon Piano – Ragtime Retro Vintage Jazz Comedy Music” — FreeGroove, via Pixabay
• “We Three Kings” — James Edwards, via Magnatune Compilation
• “PianoCello” — Reverie Now, via Pixabay
• “Pop Vibration” — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
• “Good King Wenceslas” — Richard Irwin, via Hymns Without Words
• “Jingle Bells” — Scott Holmes Music, via Free Music Archive

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

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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

• “Sleigh Ride” — Marcus Staab, via Musopen
• “Home for the Holidays” — Track Tribe, via Youtube Audio Library
• “Christmas Jazz” — Audio Coffee, via Pixabay
• “171221 – jazz style piano / day / happy / love / life” — WELC0MEИ0, via Pixabay
• “Christmas Magic Night” — Lesfm, via Pixabay
• “Night Jazz” — Music for Videos, via Pixabay

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

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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

• Peter Kimpton’s Website
• Tom Smith’s Christmas Crackers — Book by Peter Kimpton

Music in This Episode

• “The Kishner Method” — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
• “Forget” — Lesfm, via Pixabay
• “God Rest You Merry Gentlemen Christmas Piano Background Music” — Lesfm, via Pixabay
• “Sedative” — Lesfm, via Pixabay
• “Stress Relief Piano” — PianoAmor, via Pixabay
• “Night Jazz” — Music for Videos, via Pixabay

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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Facebook group

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Website