The 6th of December is the feast day of Saint Nicholas, better known to  you and me as Santa Claus. The story of this man's journey from  Greek/Turkish orphan to international globe trotting magical gift giver  could be a superhero blockbuster film plot. Resurrecting children,  cannibalism, calming the seas, the battle between good and evil, culture  wars and alcohol, it has everything!   A fascinating journey into myth making and reinvention that will amaze  and bewilder. You thought you knew Santa Claus, well, prepare to be  amazed!  

Alt Xmas Flicks

The Night before Christmas  

The Three Kings

"Hello again Word Lovers!"

Rather than investigate the origin of words this episode, we discover the original meaning of the letters of the alphabet. 

The associated article for this episode can be found here

This programme is also on YouTube

Saint Andrew the Patron Saint of Scotland, fisherman and a host of other  places and people is celebrated on his feast day 30th November.   

Read the article version of this episode here.

Find our programmes on Youtube

"Hello again word lovers"  

A brief by-water of etymological discussion, hybrid words. Mixing words from Latin and Greek roots.  

Associated article is available here.

Saint Cecilia, the Saint of musicians amongst many others, celebrates her feast day on the 22nd of November.   

For the article version of this episode head over to our website

Find our program on Youtube as well.

To Listen to Ode to Saint Cecilia by Purcell go here 

"Hello again word lovers"  

We continue our exploration of Greek with more prefixes and some interesting nods to mythology.  

Associated article is available here  

"Hello again Word Lovers!"

We continue our exploration of Greek as we delve into the words for people and relationships between people, numbers, academia and study.

We can start to see some words in English made by combining two Greek words, for example the city of brotherly love Philadelphia is Philos - love of Adelphus - brother

Associated article is available here

"Hello again word lovers"  We begin our dive into Ancient Greek with some prefixes and parts of the  body. There is a huge amount of material to cover and this is only the  beginning so strap in and away we go....

Remember, Remember the 5th of November: A cultural touchstone in Britain, Guy Fawkes night, Bonfire night or Fireworks night is celebrated every November 5th. An opportunity to remember when an ambitious and devious plot was foiled in 1605. A Catholic conspiracy to blow up the Parliament, killing King James, his whole family and the entire political class in one explosion was narrowly averted after an anonymous tip off. The plotters were brutally tortured and executed but the elite instigated an obligatory annual night of thanksgiving that has become a lasting tradition in British culture. Find out all you need to know about the plot and how the personality of Guy Fawkes has become an international icon, through the comic book and film V for Vendetta and the mask of his face becoming the symbol of anonymous protest. 

We have alternative resources on the gunpowder plot, including a previous podcast discussion, class worksheets, an article on the plot and a further article on the anonymous mask in culture. 

"Hello word lovers!"

We deviate from our usual path this episode to investigate some translation from the Bible. The word of God can be tricky and translation can be challenging.

Is the virgin birth down to a misunderstanding of language?

Did you know Jesus liked a word play joke?

Did John the Baptist actually survive on a diet of locusts?

These and many other mysteries are examined by Charly on this latest episode.

A full associated article with more consideration of some of the  theological implications of these translations is available on our  website:

https://www.bulldogz.org/post/interesting-etymologies-48-the-bible