💬 Before we had Christmas, how did we mark this time of year? Ancient humans were celebrating the winter solstice thousands of years ago. But for them it was about surviving the harsh conditions of an unforgiving season. So how did we get from then to now?

⚡ In this episode we explore the many iterations of Christmas that came before it, from Saturnalia to Yule - and the ancient ceremonies held at megalithic monuments like Stone Henge.

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🎧 Stay tuned to learn about:

➡ The many predecessors of Father Christmas

➡ The frightening figures of festive folklore - like the Krampus 

➡ Why winter solstice celebrations were important for ancient people

➡ How Christmas was once rowdy - and how the Victorian’s cleaned it up

➡ How one poem changed Christmas forever 

About the podcast:

What We Did Before is a podcast where we chart the history of modern inventions, from how we kept food fresh before fridges, to how we survived without shoes and what came before AI.

About your host:

Ollie Guillou is an award-winning podcast producer and broadcaster. He's co-founder of OG Podcasts, working with the likes of New Scientist, Dr Karan and Lessons From Our Mothers.

Connect with Ollie:

Website: www.ogpodcasts.co.uk 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ollie-guillou 

Email: [email protected]