Christmas Past is a term that conjures up a lot of images in the mind. In those two words we are instantly reminded of things that are precious to us. The power of Christmas past is evident in nearly all that we do to celebrate the season. Our music is filled with the golden oldies of Christmas, our decorating yields to even ancient practices of yore, and our foods are traditionally festive and have been so since before we were born. We love to celebrate in ways that are old, to remember of...

The Baby of Bethlehem is the topic of this very personal episode of the Merry Little Podcast. We sing of Him in song and celebrate the Nativity as a part of every Christmas - but why? Based on this sincere question from a listener we discuss the tender mercies of Christmas and the effect it has on the living and the dead. How does one without faith makes sense of it all? Our listener celebrates the season year round, enjoys great traditions of family and joy, and yet cannot connect the...

The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square are featured in this merry episode about Christmas in our own backyard. We are local to Salt Lake City and enjoy a wide variety of Christmas culture. This includes the magnificent downtown venue of Temple Square, home to the Salt Lake Temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Temple Square is famously decorated for Christmas and features one of the largest Christmas light displays in the world. It also has stunning...

We are pleased to present our annual and traditional episode of new Christmas music. This is far and away our most popular episode every year and it has nothing to do with the host. These featured artists graciously offer up their music for review and allow us to include them in this special episode. Evidently you love it too. Last year’s episode has not only been listened to more than a quarter of a million times it is still going strong, drawing downloads in the thousands weekly. This...

Great Christmas podcasts are made of one very simple ingredient: love. That is the conclusion of two very different podcasts we feature in this episode. One is two years old and has published dozens of episodes. The other is brand new, only weeks old. Yet the commonality in their creation and the motivation for bringing it all online is surprisingly the same. In fact, we have found this in nearly every other podcast we have featured and we claim the very same for our own. In this merry...

Christmas podcasts have exploded in number over the past couple of years. A decade ago there were just a handful of us podcasting Christmas. Now there are several hundred. How do you sort all that out? What are the truly great podcasts of Christmas? Sure, that is a subjective thing. But if you want a balanced look at the Best of Christmas Podcasts, we point you to a two-month project that surveyed listeners, Christmas publications, Christmas radio stations, Christmas communities, Christmas...

Christmas of the 20th Century takes a very progressive turn in Part 3 of this series, this one covering the 1920s. It was a time of technological explosion and it touched nearly every part of Christmas. American homes were increasingly converted to electric service, making the use of washing machines, dishwashers, lights, and every imaginable appliance now a fact of modern living. There were many devices that affected Christmas: the radio, the phonograph and the light bulb. All of these...

Christmas of the 20th Century continues with this new episode exploring the years from 1910 to 1919. It was an epic era of change fueled by World War I and a global pandemic. But what was it really like? Everything in the world was changing. During these years we went from horse-and-buggy to speedy automobiles. News was soon to be heard over the radio before it could be printed in newspapers. Houses were starting to become wired for electricity and life in the home was forever changed as...

Christmas decorating could be a problem this year. Have you noticed how your local grocery store has no selection of bottled water? Believe it or not, the same thing causing a shortage of bottled water could affect Christmas decoration supply this year. It just another reality heading into our 2nd pandemic Christmas. This episode of the Merry Little Podcast talks about how Christmas decorating will be different this year because of all the weird going on in the world. We reached out to...

Our annual anniversaries episode of the Merry Little Podcast celebrates Christmas Cowboys and several iconic elements of the season celebrating a Christmas birthday of sorts. Our friend Glen Warren of the Seasons Eatings Podcast sets down his ladle for a look into the legend and life of Gene Autry, the original crooner of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and author of a variety of legendary Christmas hits. This episode also celebrates the 75th anniversary of both The Christmas Song by Nat...

The future of Christmas present is definitely on the minds of many as we head into the New Year. What just happened? How do we explain the Christmas we just experienced? Try as we might to predict ahead of time what Christmas 2020 would be like we still have been flooded with feedback about the Christmas we all just went through. For many of us, it was a Christmas unlike any other in our lifetime. But – it’s not like history has not recorded a Christmas like this. In this episode we look...

Shepherds and Angels are forever a part of the Christmas story. But why? And what things can we learn from them? In this exploration of a different angle on the Nativity story we ask a lot of questions. The idea is not to cast doubt. It is to celebrate clear facts — surprising things about the shepherds and angels that you may not know. In this merry episode we discuss the part that shepherds in particular played in the story. They were a curious choice for being key witnesses to the most...

In this episode we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas together with a mix of old and new. Thanksgiving — that All-American holiday of festive foods married with historical debates — get a look through the lens of pandemic past. We explore the Thanksgiving of 1918 and how it was the same and how it was different. This conversation comes as a backdrop to modern-day calls to abolish Thanksgiving by The New York Times and The Atlantic. While we agree some liberties have been taken with the...

New Christmas music in 2020 is like everything else related to 2020: very different. In fact, we would say there is more heart to the music this year and nothing showcases that better than the good work of the artists and musicians whose songs we feature in this traditional episode of the Merry Little Podcast. Each year we try to do this. To share new music of Christmas is to share Christmas better than almost anything else. We purposely steer clear of the mainstream and the known in this...

Let it Be Christmas – despite what 2020 has become. That is the theme and the message of this merry episode of the Merry Little Podcast that is filled with music. We take a look back at our thoughts of Christmas just months ago and the predictions we made last spring about what this Christmas will be like. It’s here now — so how are we dealing with it? We have some pretty serious issues, not the least of which is the unexpected mental toll this year has taken on many. Are you feeling it? Have...

This was our Christmas tree hunt as a family in 1972. The could very likely be the Christmas of one of the stories shared in this episode. Family history in Christmas is something everyone has. In fact, the stories of family at Christmas can possibly be the most cherished family memories we possess. In this merry episode of the Merry Little Podcast we take it to a very personal level when it comes to Christmas history as we discuss the sharing and retention of our family Christmas stories. We...

Classic Christmas movies are those that get watched year after year. We all have our favorites. And we all have those that maybe we can do without. In this merry episode we take on some truth-telling about some classic Christmas movies that everyone knows and most like but movies that nonetheless really suck. Is such a thing possible? We think so and yes we go there. Lest you think I’m just a Christmas movie Grinch consider that complaining about Christmas movies is something of an art on the...

This special episode marks our 10th anniversary of the Merry Podcast. What better way to celebrate International Podcast Day? Given the harshness of our times  in 2020 we thought the best way to celebrate this milestone would be to take a look back at some of the best moments of the Christmas community online. In other words, we’re not making this episode about us – it’s about YOU! If you’re down, weary, worried, concerned, fed-up, or depressed this episode is for you. You will smile. You may...

Scrooge is the most recognizable character in the history of Christmas, second only to Santa Claus. The mere mention of his name immediately brings to mind images that are both good and bad. His story – A Christmas Carol – is known around the world, in multiple languages, and in nearly every corner of the world. Every year, it is a story told and retold on stages large and small. It is a story read and re-read by Christmas fans everywhere. Charles Dickens did not invent Christmas but he did...

Our series on the Victorian Christmas concludes with an in-depth look at the stuff of Christmas – the décor, the music, the food and the celebration. We also get a good look at the fads, which include the runaway tradition of Christmas cards that, for some, got a bit out of hand. The dialogue, the poetry and the debates of Christmas cards are discussed as part of an exploration of the relationships between men and women – and they their gift giving differed during the late 19th century. We...

The Victorian Christmas is named after England’s Queen Victoria. Victoria very famously and quite unexpectedly became Queen around the age of 18 or so. She was young, pretty and different compared to England’s royalty of the past. Her coronation took the world by storm and was big news, especially in America. She was an iconic figure during an expansive time. But did she really do anything for Christmas? Modern historians on both sides of the Atlantic credit Victoria and her German husband,...

The Victorian Christmas had it all. In this episode, it takes a dark turn thanks to the powerful lessons brought on by the American Civil War. Is it wrong to say this is an important episode? Candidly, I tell you few episodes have affected me as emotionally as this one did. It was necessary to dig deep into journals and letters from this time period. What they went through, how they felt and what they said is frankly haunting. Christmas was, up to the time of the war, a more joyous time. For...

The Victorian Christmas is defined by many diverse things over a 60-year period of the 19th century. In this episode of the Merry Little Podcast we explore the struggle the media had in defining the very face of Christmas during the Victorian Era – Santa Claus. Moore’s poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, made very clear who Santa was and what he looked like. But from the start of the century to the end, Santa evolved into two really different looking men — thanks to the media, to product...