In 1900, an ornithologist suggested replacing the traditional Christmas morning hunt with a "bird census." It's an idea that has been carried out each year since then. The Christmas Bird Count is an important project that contributes to our understanding of bird populations. And you can get involved! 

Links

Join the Christmas Bird Count page

Music in this Episode

•  Cottonwoods — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
•  Labranche — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
•  Cast and Favor — Blue Dot Sessions, via Free Music Archive

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 trees are for decorating, admiring, and placing decoratively wrapped gifts underneath. But how about...for eating? Baker and designer Julia Georgalis joins me in this episode to discuss her new book, How to Eat Your Christmas Tree. It's the result of a five-year culinary experiment centered around sustainability at Christmas time. 

Mentioned in this episode

• Julia Georgallis on Instagram
• The book: How to Eat Your Christmas Tree
• Julia's Web site
• The Edible Archive

Music in this episode

• Jingle Bells Calm — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• Wish Background  — Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear — Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech

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. 

Christmas trees are for decorating, admiring, and placing decoratively wrapped gifts underneath. But how about...for eating? Baker and designer Julia Georgalis joins me in this episode to discuss her new book, How to Eat Your Christmas Tree. It's the result of a five-year culinary experiment centered around sustainability at Christmas time. 

Mentioned in this episode

• Julia Georgallis on Instagram
• The book: How to Eat Your Christmas Tree
• Julia's Web site
• The Edible Archive

Music in this episode

• Jingle Bells Calm — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• Wish Background

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)

Merry Christmas! The big day is here, and that means it's time for Christmas Past's annual "Christmas in Review" episode. We'll take a look back at Christmas of 2020 to review the trends and headlines that made this Christmas uniquely its own. After all, starting tomorrow, Christmas of 2020 belongs to Christmas past.

Does anything from this year have the makings of a lasting tradition? Only time will tell.

Wishing you and your loved ones all the warmth and magic of the season. Merry Christmas, and happy new year.

Music in this episode

• Silent Night — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• Deck the Halls A — Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech
• O Holy Night — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist

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 Christmas Eve. It’s all been building up to this: tonight and tomorrow — basically one continuous celebration with a long winter’s nap in the middle of it. It's the ideal day for reminiscing about Christmases past. 

And so, as you and I spend part of Christmas Eve together, I’m so happy to present the fourth and final memories episode for the season. I’m so grateful to everyone who’s shared a memory this year, making 2020 truly the biggest and best season yet for sharing warm Christmas memories with the rest of the Christmas Past family. 

Mentioned in this episode

• Echo Boomers podcast
• Kringle Talks Football podcast

Music in this episode

• Wish Background — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech

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 Visit from Saint Nicholas wasn't the first published poem to describe Santa Claus arriving on a sleigh to deliver toys on Christmas Eve. But it is the best known poem to do it. In fact, it's one of the best known poems in the English language. But the story behind A Visit from Saint Nicholas, is in its own way, almost as elusive as catching a glimpse of Santa Claus himself on Christmas Eve. It’s a story of somewhat mysterious origins, disputed authorship, combining of legends, and the making of modern Christmas.

Thank you to Debra Schmidt Bach from the New-York Historical Society for appearing in this episode.

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

Music in this episode

• Wish Background — Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech
•  Night Light — Blue Dot Sessions via Free Music Archive
• Joy to the World —  Don Maue, shared directly by the artist
• Snowy Afternoon  — Borrtex via Free Music Archive
• Deck the Halls A — Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech
• Nostalgic Resonance — Scott Holmes via Free Music Archive
• Relaxing Piano Music” — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech

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 is just days away. At this point in the season, maybe you're feeling like you wish you could slow down time and make it all last just a bit longer. It's the perfect time to really reflect on the warmth and magic of the season, and the memories of Christmas Past. So I'm proud to present another episode this season dedicated to just that!

Music in this episode

• Wish Background — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• Christmas Memories — Jim Witter, shared directly by the artist

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

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)

Just who is Mrs Claus? A token character, destined to play second fiddle? A grandmotherly figure baking cookies? The queen of Christmas? The CEO of the North Pole? Since her off-hand introduction in 1849, the story of Mrs. Claus has been one of a legend that’s been writing itself.

Thanks to Deeana Golden from IBRBS for appearing in this episode. And special thanks to Tiffany Houghton for permission to use her song, Mrs. Claus.

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

Music in this episode

• Mrs Claus — Tiffany Houghton and Tiffany Alvord, via YouTube (used with the artists' permission)
•  Lullaby — JVNA via YouTube Audio
• Wish Background  — Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear — Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech

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)

According to legend, a little girl named Pepita saw her humble nativity offering of roadside weeds miraculously transform into bright red flowers on Christmas eve. For generations, the legend was part of the Christmas celebration for many communities in Mexico. And that's where it could have stayed, if it weren't for a man named Poinset. The story of how the poinsettia came to America and how they came to be so ubiquitous at Christmas, has some strange twists and turns in it. Ones that involve a kidnapping, possibly a murder, international diplomacy, and a good old fashioned American success story.

Thanks to Mark Schmeller for appearing in this episode.

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

Music in this episode

• Wish Background  — Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech
• Drops of Earth — Aakash Gandhi via YouTube Audio Library
• Surface Tension 1 — Podington Bear via Free Music Archive
• Ranch Hand — Blue Dot Sessions via Free Music Archive
• Greensleves — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist
• Dimlight — Podington Bear via Free Music Archive

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 a first! The 2020 season of Christmas Past includes multiple episode dedicated just to you and your Christmas memories. So let's cozy up by the fire and reminisce with the rest of the Christmas Past family with some treasured memories from our listeners.

Don't forget to check out the Definitive Directory of Christmas Podcasts!

Links

• A Cozy Christmas podcast
• Your Creative Brief Youtube channel

Music in this episode

• 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
• Facebook group
• Twitter
• Instagram

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 mince pie is one of the least understood, most maligned, and sometimes subversive Christmas traditions we have. And yet, it’s still here. With its pastry crust and spiced — and often, boozy — fruit filling, it’s a survivor. And its story touches on hallucinogens, Prohibition, food preservation, the Puritans, and a Christmas dessert with a bad-boy reputation. A dessert that’s as American as, well...as American as mince pie. 

Thanks to Veronique Greenwood for appearing in this episode.

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

Music in this episode

• Wish Background  — Kevin MacLeod via Incompetech
• Denzel Sprak — BlueDot Sessions, via Free Music Archive
• Burned — Podington Bear, via Free Music Archive
• Twinkle in the Night — Aakash Gandhi, via YouTube Audio Library
• Stille Nacht — Don Maue, shared directly by the artist

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)