Christmas traditions are huge part of popular culture. In fact, they’re such a huge part of popular culture that — despite the so-called war on Christmas — they pretty much infuse the western winter holidays regardless of your religion or beliefs. It’s the “holiday” season. But, no matter how secular we try to make things, Trees, ornaments, cards, songs, food… Christmas is all around us. The memes that make up Christmas traditions are the popular culture for the bulk of December. But how did we get here and why do they endure?
On this week’s episode, Mav, Hannah and Katya postulate that a lot of Christmas traditions are really just a way of feeling grown up. They’re a nostalgic connection to childhood that we inherit from our parents and pass on to our children. Unfortunately, none of us have any, so we needed to go out and find some parents! So this episode weare joined by returning guests Amy Hummel and Connie Eaton to talk about the origins of Christmas traditions both historically and within our own families. What traditions do you inherit from your family and which ones do you throw away? What’s counts as a Christmas cookie? How are Christmas cards secretly just an elaborate scam to bolster the fledging postal industry? (And honestly, if that’s the case — and it is — shouldn’t we be supporting that?) Listen (and check out our gallery of Christmas tradition photos) and let us know what you think in the comments below.
Citations and Links:
- This episode’s Call for Comments
- “The Victorian Christmas Card as Aesthetic Object: ‘Very interesting ephemeræ of a very interesting period in English Art-production’” by Patricia Zakreski
- “The History of Creepy Victorian Christmas Cards” by Colton Kruse
- “Bacon Bourbon Chocolate Chunk Cookies” recipe
- Thank you to Maximilian’s thoughtForm Music for our theme
- Follow Hannah on Twitter: @hannahleerogers
- Follow Mav on Twitter: @chrismaverick
- Follow Katya on Instagram: @justthatnerdkid
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