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2025 kicks off in a big way with a big country. We travel this episode to one of the cradles of civilization.  It’s a place with a rich history and a diverse geography.  Considered to be one of the four exceptional civilizations, it has nearly 18% of the world population, spans the equivalent of five time zones, and borders fourteen countries.  We are exploring the People’s Republic of China!  This is an ancient culture that has only recently begun to recognize Christmas in the last few decades, and yet China manufactures more than two thirds of the Christmas decorations in the world.  We discover Yiwu in tonight’s film, Merry Christmas, Yiwu, a documentary about a city in China with over 11 million residents and 600 factories.  It is an area surrounded by Christmas all year long.

Unlike our other holiday films, this one presents a different perspective.  It features real people living in crowded dormitories and dealing with long hours, chemical fumes, glitter and glue guns – all to make our Christmas celebrations shiny and bright.  We see workers gluing pompoms onto Christmas hats, dipping colored balls into glitter, checking Christmas tree lights, and assembling Santas and reindeers. Most of them do not know about Christmas. It is not a part of their culture and they do not understand what the fuss is about. It is a striking contrast to watch how these residents travel miles away from their families and loved ones to live at their jobs in order to provide for themselves, and for us. After watching this, Christmas decorating will never feel the same.

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Live from Crystal Lake, IL, It’s Festive Foreign Film Fans!

Today’s special holiday show is a recording of our first live show at Duke’s Alehouse in Crystal Lake, IL.  We really want to thank Mike and Rusty from the “Snow in Southtown” podcast for letting us use their Vista Blue song “Crystal Lake”!  It was a great crowd opener.

In fact, you will hear us thank all of our friends and family, guests and our host location in this episode for their incredible support.  However, we’d also like to do a shout out to our brethren of the Christmas podcast network.  These are the other shows who, like us, are discussing and enjoying Christmas most of the year.  We would advise you to listen to all of them to lift your spirits and make the year a little more fun, no matter the season or month.

Specifically, I want to single out Chad and Seth from “Christmas Cousins” and Joe the Christmas Aficionado for the energy and the beer tasting throughout the year; Jack Ford at “Total Christmas” who is so funny and inspired us to start our podcast; Tim Babb at “Can’t Wait for Christmas” for introducing us to Christmas podcasts; Scott and Bran at “Christmas Morning” for giving us something to look forward to all year; “Tis the Podcast”, “Totally Rad Christmas”, and  “Merry Britmas” for introducing us to so many new things, and finally to Sean Sotka at the “Christmas Podcasts Podcast” who covers all of us all year.

It is fun to know that you have Yule brothers and sisters who share the same passion.  Merry Christmas to all — may it be everything you dream of and wish for, but if not, try to make it special in your own right!
,

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During this week of Thanksgiving, we are grateful to learn so much this episode, really, especially for a holiday week.  We are spending our Black Friday just basking in these hard truths.  After a vain search for a Colonial Christmas movie, we really learned what the Pilgrims thought about Yuletime festivities – that they should be banned.  Instead, we decide to travel to another area that is equally unfriendly to our favorite holiday, just to learn how initial appearances can be deceiving.  We visit Algeria, located in North Africa, a place that offers us a true story on film, with thoughtful resonance and emotional impact.  It is a real-life event that challenges perceptions about religion, sacrifice, and obligation.  What does it mean to have deep faith and to be tested with your life?  How strong is your belief and your convictions?  These are the weighty questions that we still contemplate while dining on turkey and stuffing.

We embrace the diverse challenges posed by a place with remarkable beauty, a sprawling desert, and a powerful ethnic heritage.  Despite the heartache of the film and its true-life events, it does offer hope and joy, but it also poses a question of what it means to be festive.  Unlike many of the other countries that we visit, Christmas is a private event for the small Christian minority in Algeria and the challenges they face.  And yet, since we were concerned, they are still able to celebrate with delicious delicacies like bourek with creamy bechamel sauce, cinnamon and butter topped Tamina, and a basket of dates, dried figs, and nuts.  At least some things are the same wherever you go.  Yum!

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The Festive Fans are getting steamy this episode, but not in the way you might think.  Unless you mean a penis panic.  The boys are off to the balmy island state of Singapore where the Christmas celebrations are full of warm memories, but mostly from the temperature.  This tropical country is over the top in its Yule-themed festivities, from the Orchard Road Street Party to the Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay.  Bob knows this, because he experienced it firsthand when he traveled there in December.

The two also have time to go shopping, or, more specifically, to review the film “Gone Shopping”, which takes place at Christmastime.  It is an examination of three lonely individuals, the stereotypes and prejudices of the culture, and the familiar Singaporean pastime of shopping.  While not festive, it does allow the 4F crew to explore the country’s holiday traditions with their own unique Asian twist.   Singapore is a place where they embrace a white Christmas so much, they fake it by using foam snow.  Join us to see how this country celebrates in a way that is truly magical and an extravaganza of lights, sound and spectacle.

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This episode is a wistful look back to an earlier time in the welcoming country of Senegal, known as the “Gateway to Africa”.  We visit this westernmost point on the continent to view the 1994 film Ça Twiste à Poponguine.  The story is set in post-colonial Senegal, right after the tiny nation gained its independence. It is a challenging time for this remote village as it struggles with the  American and French influence on the youth and the changing African customs and traditions. The film is a fond tribute to the early 1960s, a time when any dream seemed possible, especially for these young Africans and their new nation.

Set at Christmastime in Popoguine, a small seaside town, this tale of internal strife is depicted by the teenagers who are divided into rival gangs. The main characters are played by untrained non-actors from Senegal, giving the movie a realistic feel. The first group, the “Ins” (or Inseparables) have adopted the names of French pop stars – Johnny Halliday, Sylvie Vartan, “Clo Clo” and Eddie Mitchell. They attend school and have female members, but they don’t own a record player. The other gang, the Kings, style themselves after popular American artists – Otis Redding, Ray Charles and James Brown. They work as fishermen and don’t have any girls, but they do have a record player.  The cultural struggle around them is seen in blended elements like when Chubby Checkers’ Let’s Twist Again is being sung in French, and wafting over this Senegalese village with locals dressed in traditional garb.

This is a classic, coming of age story, and the Festive Fans love a good coming of age film, especially since we are coming of age – old age.  In keeping with the film’s theme of mixed cultures, although Senegal is 95% Muslim, Christmas is a popular holiday in the country.  The Senegalese believe that the holiday is about coming together for something greater than themselves and putting differences aside, even if it’s for only one day.

As Mr. Benoit remarks about the actions of the “Ins” against the “Kings” and the elders against the youth – “Civilizations die that reject the Other. Universal civilization is the fruit of give and take.” When the village comes together at the end for a giant Christmas dance party, we realize this is a sentiment we should all should, and can, embrace.

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How do you want to spend Christmas?  If you like to celebrate in a warm and colorful locale with incredible natural beauty, lush beaches, and a stunning rainforest, grab a holiday speedo or thong, because you are going to love this episode.  We heat it up by exploring the joys of Brazil.  We travel to the world’s fifth largest country and learn how they enjoy Christmas — with all of the sexy and smooth vibes of a passionate tango.  We first learn of the fate of Jorge, the star of this episode’s festive foreign film Tudo Bem No Natal Que Vem or “Just Another Christmas”.  He wakes up and every day is Christmas, only he can’t remember the previous year.  It’s like Groundhog Day, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Family Man combined with all of the cultural richness of Brazil.

Next, we learn the secret of the Chester, a meaty Frankenstein meal of big breasts and thighs. And finally, we meet Joyce Moreno, a multi-talented musician, and her Christmas track “O Velhinho” (“The Old Man”).  It is a national favorite, with the traditional bossa nova and samba sounds of Brazil, that deliver both a sophisticated and festive sound.  It’ll be more fun than a bite from the Brazilian Wandering Spider.

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G’day Mate!  We’re so stoked.  The Festive Fans are firing the barbie today for holiday tucker — heaps of prawns and snags.  We’re putting on some cozies and thongs (well, Mark’s in a budgie smuggler) to enjoy our visit to Straya.

Beware the mozzies because it’s a summer celebration.  We’ll be going off, skulling a few frothies, getting some Macca’s, and making a visit to the “December Boys” out in the woop woop.  This film is a beauty.  Crikey, it’s a bloody good prezzie.  There’s orphans, a sea captain, a stunt motorcyclist, and some sick Sheilas.  It’s just what you want in your festive film and a real cracker.

We learn how to say “Happy Christmas” like the Aboriginal people: Gaadha Gayaa!  Then after brekkie, we’ll spend the arvo at the beach, waiting for Caroling by Candlelight.  We’ll also enjoy the sounds of “How to Make Gravy”, a local tune steeped in the Yule culture Down Under.  You can truly see, feel, and experience this song by Paul Kelly.  He’s a popular fixture of Melbourne folklore and on its music scene.  Dardy!

This is a true Aussie Chrissie and it’s good on ya!

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This episode is our longest and most special.  It is Part 2 of our anniversary show.  We welcome our first guest, author and podcaster Alonso Duralde; we pick our favorite global holiday songs and movies; and, most importantly, we enjoy and celebrate our podcast, and our listeners, and everything new this first year has taught us.  When we started, we were told that our topic was super niche and no one was going to be interested in a discussion of foreign Christmas movies — especially those that are hard-to-find and from obscure countries.  The practical advice would have been to find a topic more relatable to a larger audience.  Instead, we decided to stick with a concept that we care about.  We know our audience is small, but we hope that they engage with us and with the podcast in the same way that we do.  It’s not only about Christmas, or movies, or customs, but it is about basic goodness, spiritual hunger, and human kindness.  We  live in a world divided, and we can be incredibly self-focused and distant from other countries.  We often look through a prism that reflects only ourselves and our experience.  It is our hope that in some small way this podcast can build bridges and break down walls.  Watching international films, you will see a different view of the world.  When we learn to look outside of ourselves and appreciate other cultures, we can accept the unique world around us, and that is the true meaning of Christmas.

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OK, Festive Fans, pour yourselves a Mai Thai and get ready for the last episode of our first season!  We are heading east – Far East – to Thailand, a captivating land of beaches, palaces, ruins, and temples.  It’s the perfect ending for a final holiday outing to shake our Christmas booties with the Buddhists and elephants.

First, we review the film Rak haeng Siam or The Love of Siam.   The portrayal of life in the film is very realistic:  family dynamics, confusing emotions, and the painful truth that you don’t always get what you want.  It is a multi-layered drama that deals with loneliness, longing, pain, tragedy, alcoholism, peer pressure, success, sexual awakenings, and family responsibilities, all in one film.  Merry Christmas!  No wonder the film is so long.

And yet, there is nothing more poignant than when Mew finally receives the last piece of Tong’s gift, completing the wooden Santa.  It accurately captures all of their pent-up emotions without dialogue — the memories they made together, the love they share, and the reality that they can’t be together.  If there is a lesson here, it is about societal separation, and coping with being apart from ones you truly love.  Not cheerful or merry, but honest and emotional, which is what the holidays are all about.

We also discuss the open way that Buddhists accept the Christmas celebration and the teachings of Jesus.  It is uplifting and spiritual how Thai culture shines through in their local approach to the holiday.  Many Thai will celebrate Christmas, but will also incorporate Buddhist traditions as well.  We all share the core beliefs of togetherness, love, generosity, and care for others that are on display at Christmas.  We can’t  think of a better common message of brotherhood and community on which to end our first season.   Optimum est alius nondum venit (the best is yet to come)!

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