Try as you might, you won't find Santa Claus in the Bible. Or Christmas trees, or camel-riding Magi, or even December 25th! In the first centuries of Christianity, Christmas wasn't really a "thing." The birth of Jesus was far less important than his death and resurrection. So how did Christmas evolve from an afterthought into the biggest holiday on the planet?

We're thrilled to have Kyle Smith back on the podcast to present a deep-dive cultural history of Christmas. Why do we have so many different dates for Christmas? (12/25, 1/6, even 1/19!) Did the Three Kings have names (and were there actually three)? And how did St. Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop from Turkey, transform into rosy-cheeked St. Nick?

Kyle is hard at work on a cultural biography called The Many Lives of Saint Nick, which should be coming out in the next year. In the meantime, enjoy these fascinating articles from our content partner Bible Odyssey:

• Luke's Nativity and the Battle Over Christmas
• The Nativity (written by Helen!)
• The Political Significance of Luke's Christmas Story

Support the show

Theme music written and performed by Dave Roos