In 1937, radio audiences were introduced to The Cinnamon Bear, a magical twenty-six-part Christmas miniseries. Twins Judy and Jimmy search through the enchanted world of Maybeland for their lost Christmas ornament with the help of a talking bear. 

The series delighted audiences for many seasons before falling out of the mainstream. But a new audience is discovering the program in the Internet age. 

Thank you to Jack French from the Metropolitan Washington Old Time Radio Club for appearing on this episode. 

For more info about The Cinnamon Bear

• https://www.cinnamonbear.org/
•  Apple Podcasts 

Music in this episode

• "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" — various, via NuBeat Music
• "Stille Nacht" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist
• "Heliotrope" — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive 

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

Connect with Me

• Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links
• Email: [email protected]

Books

Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)

Today is an episode for the whole family! A Christmas story about two elves who decide to bring their special month-long celebration to humans. I'll narrate Festive of the Elves, a 2020 book, as told by Holly Figgyworth. After the reading, I speak with Angeli Elliott about the origins of the story, and how families can bring a little elfin magic to their own Christmas! 

Visit www.festivaloftheelves.com to find out more about the book, and to register for Elf Notes. And find Festival of the Elves on Instagram and Facebook

Music in this episode

• "Cinematic Fairy Tale Story" — ZakharValaha, via Pixabay
• "In the Bleak Midwinter" — Julius H, via Pixabay
• "The Dream Song of Olaf Asteson" — Julius H, via Pixabay
• "In Dulci Jubilo" — Julius H, via Pixabay
• "Ambient and Soothing Piano Chill Out Music in D-Major for Relaxation" — Julius H, via Pixabay

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

Connect with Me

• Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links
• Email: [email protected]

Books

Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)

Christmas and sweaters naturally go together. But how did the idea of a festive holiday sweater become the multimillion dollar industry of recent decades? Is the gawdy, ironic, edgy humored Christmas sweater a passing fad, or are we at the start of something enduring? Today on Christmas Past: The "ugly" Christmas sweater!

Thank you to Evan Mendelsohn from Tipsy Elves for joining me. And thanks to my mom, making her third appearance here on Christmas Past!

Music in this episode

• "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• "Holiday 2" — Dave Depper, via Needledrop
• "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist
• "Crinoline Dreams" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• "Bellow's Hull" — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
• "Gentle Marimbas" — Podington Bear, via Free Music Archive

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

Connect with Me

• Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links
• Email: [email protected]

Books

Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)

 All the different landscapes and climates and cultures in America make for a seemingly endless number of settings for celebrating our favorite holiday. And one kind of setting in particular has earned a special place in American Christmas culture and lore: the small town. That homey, local Christmas spirit is the topic of Small Town Christmas, the new series on UPtv. Series creator and host Megan Alexander joins Brian to discuss. Plus, Brian shares a small town Christmas memory of his own!

Music in this episode

• "In the Bleak Mindwinter" — Julius H, via Pixabay
• "Owl's Christmas" — Owl Glance, via Pixabay
• "Holy Night" — Tomomi Kato, via Pixabay
• "Christmas Day" — Alex MakeMusic, via Pixabay

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

Connect with Me

• Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links
• Email: [email protected]

Books

Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)

A Charlie Brown Christmas became one of the most successful Christmas television specials ever. But the odds were stacked against it in 1965. Written and produced under a crazy deadline, the network executives were sure it would flop like a Charlie Brown Christmas tree. But of course, things turned out differently. 

This episode includes an interview with Benjamin Clark, curator of the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA.

Music in this episode

• "Nouvelle Noel" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• "Shades of Spring" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• "Covert Affair" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

Connect with Me

• Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links
• Email: [email protected]

Books

Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)

What happens when a Christmas tree from a secret admirer comes between a young woman and her fiance in New York in 1902? That's the subject of the new Christmas audio drama from Sagacity Productions: "Christmas on Henry Street." This one-hour program, based on real events, will air on several NPR affiliate stations in December. Christmas Past is pleased to share it with you in this special full-length presentation. 

For more information about "Christmas on Henry Street"

https://www.sagacitytv.com/

Thank you to Bonnie Silva and everyone at Sagacity Productions for creating this program, and for sharing it with the Christmas Past family. 

Music in this Episode

"It Came Upon The Midnight Clear" — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

 

Connect with Me

• Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links
• Email: [email protected]

Books

Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)

The song now known as "Jingle Bells" is synonymous with Christmas, even though it never mentions Christmas by name. There's much more to the story of this beloved song than you ever could have imagined. Tracing its history will take us through Boston minstrel halls, "sleigh ride culture," and a feud between two American towns that each claim to be the song's birthplace. 

This episode features Kyna Hamill from Boston University and the Medford Historical Society. 

Music in this episode

• "Jingle Bells" — The Edison Male Quartet, via Internet Archive
• "Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells" — Vernon Geyer, via Internet Archive
• "Jingle Bells Calm" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• "Atmospheric Jingle Bells" — Royalty Free Music, via SoundCloud

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

Connect with Me

• Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links
• Email: [email protected]

Books

Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)

There's nothing like curling up with an old fashioned ghost story on a chilly evening during the Christmas season. This one's more ghostly than Christmassy, but it first appeared in a Christmas supplement to the Illustrated London Times. It's The Doll's Ghost, by F. Marion Crawford. And today, I'm reading it to you from the 2021 collection of Seth's Christmas Ghost Stories from from Biblioasis. 

Music in this episode

• "Sal's Piano Solo" — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
• "Planet Earth" — Peter D. Helland, via Soothing Relaxation

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

Connect with Me

• Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links
• Email: [email protected]

Books

Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)

Get ready for small town Christmases and hometown hunks! Today, we're looking at made-for-TV Christmas romances, and exploring how and why they've become the dominant form of Christmas entertainment in recent decades. Brandon Gray and Alonso Duralde, co-authors of I'll Be Home for Christmas Movies, help us make sense of it all.

Mentioned in this episode

I'll be Home for Christmas Movies:  Amazon,  Barnes and Noble

Music in this episode

• "Hardwood Lullaby" — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
• "Snowy Afternoon" — Borrtex, via Free Music Archive
• "Green Fields" — Scott Holmes, via Free Music Archive
• "Oh Christmas Tree" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech

 

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ChristmasPastPodcast
• Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/173778110150282
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/XmasPastPodcast
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/christmaspastofficial/ 

Connect with Me

• Links to all the things https://christmaspastpodcast.com/links
• Email: [email protected]

Books

Of Christmases Long, Long Ago: Surprising Traditions from Christmas Past (2025, Lyons Press and Recorded Books) It's Christmas as you've never seen it before, and it makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life.

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions (2022, Lyons Press and Recorded Books)

It's our last "preseason" get-together before Thanksgiving. And I'm ready to share a WICKED BIG Announcement with the Christmas Past family. Plus, I share some new Christmas podcast recommendations, and one of my own Christmas memories. 

Stay subscribed all season long for lots of Christmassy fun and surprises! 

Mentioned in this episode

• Planning for Christmas Podcast
• Christmas Countdown Show

Music in this episode

• "Away in a Manger" — Don Maue
• "Stille Nacht" — Don Maue

Both songs shared directly by the artist

More Christmas fun

Be sure to check out the "Definitive Directory of Christmas Podcasts"

Share a Christmas memory on the podcast! Just record a voice memo into your phone and send it to [email protected]. Keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name and where you're from. 

Keep in touch

• [email protected]
• Facebook page
• Facebook group
• Twitter
• Instagram