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2025 kicks off in a big way with a big country. We travel this episode to one of the cradles of civilization.  It’s a place with a rich history and a diverse geography.  Considered to be one of the four exceptional civilizations, it has nearly 18% of the world population, spans the equivalent of five time zones, and borders fourteen countries.  We are exploring the People’s Republic of China!  This is an ancient culture that has only recently begun to recognize Christmas in the last few decades, and yet China manufactures more than two thirds of the Christmas decorations in the world.  We discover Yiwu in tonight’s film, Merry Christmas, Yiwu, a documentary about a city in China with over 11 million residents and 600 factories.  It is an area surrounded by Christmas all year long. 

Unlike our other holiday films, this one presents a different perspective.  It features real people living in crowded dormitories and dealing with long hours, chemical fumes, glitter and glue guns – all to make our Christmas celebrations shiny and bright.  We see workers gluing pompoms onto Christmas hats, dipping colored balls into glitter, checking Christmas tree lights, and assembling Santas and reindeers. Most of them do not know about Christmas. It is not a part of their culture and they do not understand what the fuss is about. It is a striking contrast to watch how these residents travel miles away from their families and loved ones to live at their jobs in order to provide for themselves, and for us. After watching this, Christmas decorating will never feel the same.

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Live from Crystal Lake, IL, It's Festive Foreign Film Fans!
 
Today's special holiday show is a recording of our first live show at Duke's Alehouse in Crystal Lake, IL.  We want to thank Mike and Rusty from the "Snow in Southtown" podcast for letting us use their Vista Blue song "Crystal Lake"!  It was a great crowd opener and perfect for our host city.  
 
In fact, you will hear us thank all of our friends and family, guests and our host location in this episode for their incredible support.  However, we'd also like to do a shout out to our brethren on the Christmas Podcast Network.  These are the other shows who, like us, are discussing and enjoying Christmas most of the year.  You should listen to them all, if you want to lift your spirits and make the year a little more fun, no matter the season or month.  
 
Specifically, I want to single out Chad and Seth from "Christmas Cousins" and Joe the Christmas Aficionado for the energy, entertainment and the beer tasting throughout the year; Jack Ford at "Total Christmas" who is so funny and inspired us to start our podcast; Tim Babb at "Can't Wait for Christmas" for introducing us to Christmas podcasts; Scott and Bran at "Christmas Morning" for giving us something to look forward to all year; "Tis the Podcast", "Totally Rad Christmas", and  "Merry Britmas" for introducing us to so many new Christmas topics and specials, and finally to Sean Sotka at the "Christmas Podcasts Podcast" who covers all of us all year.  You all make each non-Christmas Day a little more festive.
 
It is fun to know that we have Yule brothers and sisters who share the same passion.  Merry Christmas to all -- friends, fans, and podcast family -- and may it be everything you dream of and wish for, but if not, try to make it special in your own right!  Looking forward to 2025!
 

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For this episode, we travel to the Middle East and the region which today is known as the Palestinian Territory. In the same way that Festive Fans covered Russia and Ukraine last December, we wanted to visit another area in need of hope during this holiday season.  Finding joy during times of war can be deeply challenging.  What is ironic is how the birthplace of the Prince of Peace has seen such ongoing human suffering, political tension, and regional instability.  We view the State of Palestine through the eyes of a father and son, Abu and Shadi, featured in the 2017 film Wajib.  Not only is there the existing tension between the Palestinians and the Israelis, but also the strained relationship between the father and son. 

Abu lives in the daily shadow of oppression, trying his best to continue a normal life.  Shadi lives in Italy, after having been forced to leave because of his political activity.  Their internal struggle is brought to the surface when Shadi returns to Nazareth for his sister’s wedding.  Shadi is angry by what he sees as the humiliation of the Palestinian people, but Abu is loyal and devoted to his homeland.  The two spend the day together hand-delivering wedding invitations.  The constant bickering can be exhausting, but their quiet resolution is touching and reminds us how hope can flourish even in the midst of strife.  If there is a Christmas message here, it is the importance of human connection among all people. This offers the only possibility for peace and the promise of a better tomorrow.

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During this week of Thanksgiving, we are grateful to learn so much this episode, really, especially for a holiday week.  We are spending our Black Friday just basking in these hard truths.  After a vain search for a Colonial Christmas movie, we really learned what the Pilgrims thought about Yuletime festivities – that they should be banned.  Instead, we decide to travel to another area that is equally unfriendly to our favorite holiday, just to learn how initial appearances can be deceiving.  We visit Algeria, located in North Africa, a place that offers us a true story on film, with thoughtful resonance and emotional impact.  It is a real-life event that challenges perceptions about religion, sacrifice, and obligation.  What does it mean to have deep faith and to be tested with your life?  How strong is your belief and your convictions?  These are the weighty questions that we still contemplate while dining on turkey and stuffing.  

We embrace the diverse challenges posed by a place with remarkable beauty, a sprawling desert, and a powerful ethnic heritage.  Despite the heartache of the film and its true-life events, it does offer hope and joy, but it also poses a question of what it means to be festive.  Unlike many of the other countries that we visit, Christmas is a private event for the small Christian minority in Algeria and the challenges they face.  And yet, since we were concerned, they are still able to celebrate with delicious delicacies like bourek with creamy bechamel sauce, cinnamon and butter topped Tamina, and a basket of dates, dried figs, and nuts.  At least some things are the same wherever you go.  Yum!

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Greece is the word, is the word that you heard

In honor of our good friend Liz Schuh, the Festive Fans visit the homeland and the cradle of Western civilization this episode.  We head to the Greek islands, past Athens and those incredible ancient Acropolis and Parthenon ruins, and onto the sun-drenched beaches, the piercing blue skies, and the balmy Aegean Sea.  When you have stunning Santorini and fun-filled Mykonos, who needs Christmas?  We do!  

It's got groove, it's got meaning

The boys finally travel to a country that one of us has recently visited.  Mark just returned from Greece to provide us with a unique Man on the Street (in a beautiful foreign locale) report.  Does he learn to say “Merry Christmas” in Greek? – no;  Does he visit any of the movie locations? – no;  Does he ask the locals about their Christmas traditions and customs? – no.  Does he go cliff diving in a thong? – well, no again, but it does provide a hilarious visual.  We kind of feel like a jealous mistress, when Mark is on vacation, he forgets all about us …  

Greece is the time, is the place, is the nation

We take this cinematic opportunity to experience the Christmas Tango.  We watch as First Lieutenant Stefanos Karamanidis learns to tango from a nervous, young soldier, Lazaros Lazarou.  Karamanidis wants to dance with the wife of his superior, the hard-as-nails Colonel Manolis Loggos, at the camp’s Christmas party.   We put this ballroom instruction to good use when we grab the Kalikantzaroi and all start to boogie to Despina Vandi’s Xristougenna.  That’s even before we eat the Melomakarona and Kourabiede cookies!  Ain’t that right Liz?

Greece is the way we are feeling!

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The Festive Fans are getting steamy this episode, but not in the way you might think.  Unless you mean a penis panic.  The boys are off to the balmy island state of Singapore where the Christmas celebrations are full of warm memories, but mostly from the temperature.  This tropical country is over the top in its Yule-themed festivities, from the Orchard Road Street Party to the Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay.  Bob knows this, because he experienced it firsthand when he traveled there in December.  

 The two also have time to go shopping, or, more specifically, to review the film “Gone Shopping”, which takes place at Christmastime.  It is an examination of three lonely individuals, the stereotypes and prejudices of the culture, and the familiar Singaporean pastime of shopping.  While not festive, it does allow the 4F crew to explore the country’s holiday traditions with their own unique Asian twist.   Singapore is a place where they embrace a white Christmas so much, they fake it by using foam snow.  Join us to see how this country celebrates in a way that is truly magical and an extravaganza of lights, sound and spectacle.

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Slovenia is such an unexpected delight for the Festive Fans.  This episode’s movie is full of pleasant surprises – two young and engaging leads; a stunning, baroque cityscape; and an honest and moving story – it has everything any podcaster could ever want.  We laughed, we cried, we cheered, and that was just for our introduction.  If you are looking for a way to launch your holiday season, try this Kapa/Beanie on for size.  You will be taken in by the landscape, charmed by the story, and left feeling ready to hug Christmas in true festive fashion.  

What more could you expect from a country that has three, count them, three iconic gift givers -- Sveti Miklavž, Dedek Mraz, and Božicek. Plus, one of them wears genuine dormouse fur.  They also have a giant nativity event in a cave, a Krampus night with fireballs, chains and a dance party, and girls who can get a husband just from eating some poppyseed bread.  How can you not love this place?  But don’t take our word for it, join us on this audio tour of the best hidden holiday secret of Central Europe. 

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This episode is a wistful look back to an earlier time in the welcoming country of Senegal, known as the “Gateway to Africa”.  We visit this westernmost point on the continent to view the 1994 film Ça Twiste à Poponguine.  The story is set in post-colonial Senegal, right after the tiny nation gained its independence. It is a challenging time for this remote village as it struggles with the  American and French influence on the youth and the changing African customs and traditions. The film is a fond tribute to the early 1960s, a time when any dream seemed possible, especially for these young Africans and their new nation.

Set at Christmastime in Popoguine, a small seaside town, this tale of internal strife is depicted by the teenagers who are divided into rival gangs. The main characters are played by untrained non-actors from Senegal, giving the movie a realistic feel. The first group, the “Ins” (or Inseparables) have adopted the names of French pop stars – Johnny Halliday, Sylvie Vartan, “Clo Clo” and Eddie Mitchell. They attend school and have female members, but they don’t own a record player. The other gang, the Kings, style themselves after popular American artists – Otis Redding, Ray Charles and James Brown. They work as fishermen and don’t have any girls, but they do have a record player.  The cultural struggle around them is seen in blended elements like when Chubby Checkers' Let's Twist Again is being sung in French, and wafting over this Senegalese village with locals dressed in traditional garb.

This is a classic, coming of age story, and the Festive Fans love a good coming of age film, especially since we are coming of age – old age.  In keeping with the film’s theme of mixed cultures, although Senegal is 95% Muslim, Christmas is a popular holiday in the country.  The Senegalese believe that the holiday is about coming together for something greater than themselves and putting differences aside, even if it's for only one day.  

As Mr. Benoit remarks about the actions of the “Ins” against the “Kings” and the elders against the youth – “Civilizations die that reject the Other. Universal civilization is the fruit of give and take." When the village comes together at the end for a giant Christmas dance party, we realize this is a sentiment we should all should, and can, embrace.

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If you want to enjoy a true Middle Eastern Christmas, one with diverse religions and languages, but also filled with historic, cultural, culinary and artistic delights, join the Fans as we head on a festive jaunt to amazing Lebanon.  This is a unique holiday location, with incredible natural beauty, that offers a little something for everyone -- ancient Roman ruins and castles, limestone caves, beautiful beaches, and mountainous ski resorts.  It is a well-kept secret and a hidden gift that you didn’t know you needed, but one you should unwrap nonetheless. 

We explore a Memory Box filled with journals, notebooks, cassette tapes and photographs. It is the basis for a film that incorporates different media and textures, where still photographs turn into mini-animations to illustrate a story that folds together the past and present.  It begins one snowy Christmas Eve in Canada but flashes back to the Lebanese Civil War of the 1980s and Beirut on the brink of being torn apart.  The box serves as a portal to painful and buried memories and experiences.  Although not exactly common Christmas fodder, this is a deeply personal tale of old friends who still “eat with the dead and the ghosts” of the past. 

And yet, when they reunite at the conclusion, now middle-aged and greying, they still can dance to Blondie’s One Way or Another with the same reckless abandon they had as teenagers.  This moving echo of a memory seamlessly melding into modern day Beirut signals a brighter future for all, just as the brilliant sun rises over a reborn city.  It provides a hopeful note that resonates with literal warmth and brightness.  We can’t think of a better message to embrace for Christmas.

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How do you want to spend Christmas?  If you like to celebrate in a warm and colorful locale with incredible natural beauty, lush beaches, and a stunning rainforest, grab a holiday speedo or thong, because you are going to love this episode.  We heat it up by exploring the joys of Brazil.  We travel to the world’s fifth largest country and learn how they enjoy Christmas -- with all of the sexy and smooth vibes of a passionate tango.  We first learn of the fate of Jorge, the star of this episode’s festive foreign film Tudo Bem No Natal Que Vem or “Just Another Christmas”.  He wakes up and every day is Christmas, only he can’t remember the previous year.  It’s like Groundhog Day, It’s a Wonderful Life, and Family Man combined with all of the cultural richness of Brazil.  

Next, we learn the secret of the Chester, a meaty Frankenstein meal of big breasts and thighs. And finally, we meet Joyce Moreno, a multi-talented musician, and her Christmas track “O Velhinho” (“The Old Man”).  It is a national favorite, with the traditional bossa nova and samba sounds of Brazil, that deliver both a sophisticated and festive sound.  It’ll be more fun than a bite from the Brazilian Wandering Spider.

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