One Danish tradition, that not many know of now a days, is that the last of the christmas candy must be finished on the day of the 3 holy kings (6th of January). Certainly a day to look forward to as a child, I did. ❤️
I like that! I know here in the UK, its often thought to be bad luck to keep your tree and any decorations out after 6th January (12th night) I wonder if that's connected? FWIW, we used to have the Danegelt here in the UK, (half of the British mainland was ruled by Danes) so there might be connections via that?
In Mexico and some that have carried on the tradition in the U.S. celebrate the Day of the Magi. The Christmas tree comes down on or after the 6th of January.
Thank you for all your videos Kat. My grandad has dementia and it's hard to keep him engaged in TV content, even stuff he specifically asked us to record, but he always seems to stay awake and alert when I put on one of your videos for us to watch together
How interesting. I wonder if it’s the presence of advertisements on tv that removes his attention from the program he’s watching? And here the commentary is uninterrupted. It’s definitely something to wonder about.
My mom does altar guild for the Episcopal church (which is what the Church of England became in the US after the revolution) and technically you’re still not supposed to get married or have funerals during purple seasons (Advent and Lent) and it pissed her off when it gets ignored. Not for liturgical reasons, but because she has to take down the purple hangings and put them back up again.
Here in the Caribbean, there are no weddings during Advent or Lent in the EC(English Catholic/Anglican/CoE) churches, when we were getting married our parish priest said to us Advent is out of the question but Boxing day is fine (we have a lot of Boxing Day weddings here).
My partner has shared the tradition they created for themselves after moving far from everyone they would normally have spent time with, and only the 25th/26th off work. Get food at the Asian market which is open on the 25th. Get drunk and cook a magnificent dinner for one. Now two of us. Since becoming an adult family celebrations had turned into an opportunity for others to coerce me into an interrogation and subtle criticism session under the name of “tradition”. The pandemic excusing me from any possible need to say “no thank you” to demands on my presence has been excellent. I haven’t enjoyed the holidays this much since I was a kid!
It seems that many original (& original to hundreds of years ago, in time) characteristics of the first immigrants to settle the Eastern USA survived in isolated, rural America. From language nuances, ways of doing things, traditions, music, etc. - the remnants can still be found, today. Sometimes, they have actually been lost in the mother country, only remaining in the descendants of people that left that land so long ago.
Mumming is still going strong in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was outlawed for a while, but the tradition is back and every year in St. John's there is a Mummers Parade. Basically, in the Newfoundland tradition, a group of people will dress outrageously and have their heads covered with a small sack or cloth with eye holes cut out and will go door to door in their neighbourhood and sing songs, play music (portable instruments such as fiddles and accordions and an instrument called an "ugly stick" are often part of the performances) and caper about. The host of the house tries to guess who is under the costume by asking them questions. The Mummers eventually take off their "masks" and enjoy food and drink and then move on to another house.
Merry Christmas! I remember when almost all the stores would have their windows painted in all kinds of Christmas scenes, from Frosty to Rudolph or even Jingle Bells. Wish that would come back.
my family does wassailing (in fact were doing it on Tuesday). my nan has an orchard wich we bless each year. essentially we make lots of noise with drums and flutes, give the chosen tree cake and cider then eat loads of food! it's really good fun
I love the Wassailing tradition. We tried that one year for the plum tree on our allotment garden. It's nice as a "thank You" to the tree, and a hope for next year :-)
Happy Christmas/Merry Christmas, which ever is more appropriate. I re-introduced the Yule log, last year. Before that I had a candle the was shaped like a log, standing on end, that I would light each year until it was used up. So I tried an actual Yule log, but my goal was for it to burn for one night. With the help of a fire starter, it worked and was lovely. I will do the same this year, and hopefully each year to come.
I will miss your "dulcet tones'" but I can always re-watch your earlier videos as you said. Thanks so much for explaining the "mumming." I always wondered what Loreena McKennitt's "The Mummers' Dance" was about. I think your son is very lucky to have a mother who understands and cares about keeping Christmas. Hope your family has a fantastic Christmas this year. And a great New Years too!
Here in the Caribbean, our traditions have been influenced by the various parts of Europe. In my island of Trinidad there is a huge Spanish influence in many of our traditions, and there are some French elements and of course Victorian era traditions as well. We have parranderos a group singing Christmas songs in Spanish that used to visit house to house, in my childhood my paternal grandmother's relatives would come in the early morning hours, all the songs were about the nativity and the annunciation, that tradition now has been restricted to villages where there are mostly Spanish descendants. We have the parang bands at shows that we pay to see or at malls etc. We make a cake called a black cake which is a variation of a Christmas pudding. Enjoy the the festive season with your little boy and your loved ones! Happy Christmas and a bright and wonderful 2022.
Thank you Dr Kat for explaining the Christmas Cracker. We Americans encounter this in literature, among British friends and in all those productions by the BBC, but this is the first time I've actually learned what it is. A wonderful video! Happy holidays to you.
That was a lovely post; thank you very much. Question: when did the British tradition of telling scary stories on/around Christmas begin? With Dickens? Here in the States, it's not a wide-spread tradition.
I don't remember where I heard it, but I heard that it was because ghosts could not find you during Christmas - so you wouldn't accidentally summon or invite in the ghosts you were telling stories about. Dunno if that's the truth though
The scarey story tradition started before the Victorian Era. I believe this tradition may have started during pagan times and stemmed from the worry about "the dying of the sun".
@@artdiaries2260 if only that were true. My father’s ghost showed up at my brother’s house on Xmas. My nephew and I both saw him, and a pic I took of the tree has a huge orb in it. My dad loved Xmas so it doesn’t surprise me that he popped in.
The Christmas cake reminds me of the King cake that is used to celebrate Mardi Gras in Louisiana and here in Texas. The King case has a plastic baby baked into it and whoever gets the slice with the baby hosts next year's Mardi Gras party.
Do people feel like they’ve won if they get the baby? Or do people hope it will be someone else so they don’t have to do all the planning / clean up after? Have I just shown myself to be both lazy and antisocial 😂🙈?
@@ReadingthePast Neither lazy nor antisocial. People generally avoid the baby. I have seen people put the baby back into a different slice of the cake just to avoid getting the baby.
Going door to door Christmas carolling was something that I loved as a kid (both doing and watching) but it’s gone out of style. I’d love for that tradition to come back
Oh I remember having little ones. Christmas was so much fun and you can relive the magic you used to have as a child yourself. Have a Merry Holiday every one! Wishing Peace on earth good will towards men.
Okay, we're barely through the intro, and I am misty-eyed. I remember when my little ones each reached an age where they could 'understand' Christmas - it's such a joy! The first year when they're old enough to ask Santa for a gift, oh my heart. 🥹 I hope your family has been having Merry Christmasses! 🎄
I'm surprised to have realized by the end that this video was over 40 minutes long! I enjoyed it so much that it practically flew by. Thank you, Dr. Kat. I wish you and your family a merry Christmas and wonderful new year. ^_^
I had the same thought ! Gosh, if Fox and Friends think there is a “war on Christmas” now they should re-visit the past when the day was banned as a feast day!
my mother never liked the whole "encourage your kids believe in Santa and then tell them the truth and expect them to be fine" concept, so she told us that the "character" of Santa was "based" on an ancient greek bishop "who was very nice and love children". as a result, I never really believed in Santa (though my sisters took a little longer to put two and two together)
Not that I think you'll see this, but I just popped on over to your channel because this is the first time I've heard of it, and so far I absolutely love it! I can't tell you that on your channel because your comments are turned off so I thought I would pop back over here and tell you that. Thank you so much for your hard work!
Hi @@elenaderoet4926 this just pinged through on my emails ☺️ Thank you ever so much for taking the time to write this, this means a lot, so happy to hear you are enjoying the channel! Happy new year! Lx
I grew up in the 1960s in a house in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan built by Clement Clarke Moore. He is best known today as the author of "A Visit From St Nicholas" ("T'was the Night Before Christmas"). That poem basically invented the modern American "Santa Claus", drawing on both Dutch and English traditions. The house was the rectory of the local Episcopal parish, and we always had big celebrations centered around that blasted poem. I was sick of Santa Claus by the age of four.
Literally as soon as this video ended I watched Lady Rochford - that was a good documentary and I was excited to see you featured! I do hope you are given the chance to appear in more!! I love this video too - have a very merry Christmas!
Thank you very much for this. Hereford Cathedral (UK) still has a boy Bishop. I wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas, especially as it's the first your little boy will take notice of! At this age, he'll probably love the wrapping paper and boxes more than what's inside! Have a wonderful time!
Merry Christmas to you and your family (our babies were born at the same time so I hope you're enjoying the toddler spirit this Christmas 😅). I'm from Australia and we now have big seafood lunches and pinocoladas for breakfast (by the pool!). So I especially love listening to the European version :-) here's hoping you reach 100k, I've got all my fingers crossed for you xox
I have always enjoyed your videos and the history uou bring alive fir us, BUT... since your candid and insightful sharing of your long history with dyslexia my admiration and respect have soared sky high. Thank you for sharing your story and achievements which will surely inspire many who struggle on their own journeys. Thank you! I just subscribed!!
I'm from New Zealand, so my Christmas traditions are a bit different! My family would always get together and have a barbecue, and often go to the beach.
My maternal family always opened presents on Christmas Eve. That can be traced directly to one of my Great Grandparents who immigrated to the US from England in 1845. We also have some traditions from French ancestors as well as some less clear ancestry. I love Christmas time. I love gift giving, family, the tree, the traditions of when, what and how things are "supposed" to be celebrated. It's the best time of the year. I loved this sharing! I enjoy your offerings and look forward to them. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
The “left”, or sinistra woke, are the Parliamentary and “Puritan” social leaders during that period after The Civil War following Charles the First. No fun or joy allowed. It’s very comforting to know that this happened once before, and will falter alike sooner than later. Your essay on Christmas is brilliant, and you are reverential to IHS, and meant it. In fact, that’s all part and parcel of your video’s. You are reverential and endearing as a superb story teller of history……without entirely of any slight. Between you Dr. Kat and Jools Guides of London, I am made to smile and live care freely. A blessed Advent and Christmas to you and your family Dr. Kat from Princess Anne, Maryland.
Mr. Bell, thank you for my first smile and laugh of the day. So true! I, now, better understand my reflexive scorn of Puritans. Merry Christmas to you, sir!
I didn’t get to see this one “live”, but it was still wonderful hearing it at Christmas 2023. I am fascinated how many of my family traditions are still quite British/German. Are there any uniquely Welsh traditions besides the Mari Llywyd? My mother’s family was Welsh farmers in northern Ohio.
I'm so impressed at your relating the whole history of Christmas in 43 minutes. I thought it would be a tall order but you did it Dr Kat. No fun those Puritans,it must be their descendants who are now behavioural scientists. I was taught by my Mum and Dad that we give presents in emulation of The Three Kings. St Nicholas or his avatars had no place in my childhood Xmas - I'm glad to say,defo a dodgy geezer. My Dad absolutely would NOT have us thinking Santa Claus was real,his reason being kindness,that is he did not want us thinking we would get piles of the latest must have toys when they had no money to buy them. So I think that's GOOD. Actually us kids were not the sort that wanted all the latest etc....and my parents would never have got themselves in debt. We still had fabulous,fun Christmasses.
I would like to wish you a very merry Christmas, and I hope you spend all the time you can with your family over the holidays. In my community, here in Nova Scotia, Canada, we have mincemeat with plenty of meat in it. Barrington Township was first settled in 1763 by British Loyalists and Planters. We were rather isolated until recent times and retained many of the traditions of that period, including mummers. Some of your Victorian traditions, like crackers, are rather new to some of us older folks.
My grandmother was born in poverty, started work at 12. She was very poor all her life and widowed in 1926 with 4 children from 12 to 2 to bring up. In the 1950s when she made her mincemeat she put into it finely minced ‘lights’ which is lung meat. I bet a lot of women of her generation and in poverty probably did the same.
The magic is through the eyes of a child indeed. my memories and experiences from childhood were the best time of my life. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Dearest Dr. Kat, as much as I eagerly await each new video you upload, I would rather you spend this time with Jamie (sp?) and Gabriel, especially since the little one may be just old enough to enjoy rhe sights and sounds this season. Hoping you and your family have a lovely Christmas and a healthy, happy 2022!
When I lived in Kent, the local children used to sing a delightful traditional carol, that went: "Weeshooamericrim, weeshooamericrim, weeshooamericrim, annapannayir, can we have some money, please?"
Here in the USA, crackers are not a usual part of our Christmas traditions. Our daughter first learned of them from the Harry Potter books. Crackers are also mentioned in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. We became curious. Several years ago, we found some at "The Brit Store" in the Kansas City area and started a "new" tradition at Christmas dinner.
Merry Christmas To You & Your Family!! ❤️🎄🎄❤️ Enjoy your time with family & friends! See you in the New Year! (Thank you so much for all you do with this channel, many Blessings...❤️)
Making mincemeat pies is still done in Northern New England using venison. However, it is a tradition that is disappearing quickly as we older folks pass on. Deer hunting season ends at the end of November just in time to make the pies.
Evening Dr Kat,its 10pm on Christmas Eve&I'm so late catching up with this vid,sorry hun.im a fairly new subscriber,only a few months,thank u TH-cam algorithm😻💖my degree is in Ancient History&Egyptology but that woz 30yrs ago(yep I'm getting on a bit😋)I just love ur channel.the way u explain history is absolutely brilliant,thank you 4 all ur hard work.Merry Christmas,Happy New Year&hve a fantastic time with ur family🤗🤗I'm really looking 4ward 2 watching&learning with everything u hve planned 4 next year🎅🎅🎅🎅xxxxx
Even with today's restricted mobility I have found that taking the trouble to call a friend or loved ones is in the spirit of the season. May we all remember the view of Christmas as children do.
Most of the world has a "green" Christmas. I was 25 before I saw my first White Christmas for myself. Lots of movies and music makes that seem like the norm, but it really is more the outlier. Thanks again for your information I always learn something new watching you. I wish we'd bring back caroling around the neighborhood.
Those childhood Christmasses of Dickens must have been held as very special as only a few years later his father was in debtors' prison and Charles was working in a factory. Loved the video. Happy Hogswatch to all.
Hello Dr. Kat. I’ve been meeting to send you a comment for some time. I watch your videos regularly, and enjoy each one. You have such an excellent way of presenting material that is informative, but not pedantic. You mentioned the preparation of mincemeat. I live in Canada, on the East Coast. Here homemade mincemeat is still often made with actual meat. The meat of choice is either ground venison or ground moose meat. My. Mother made it some years when the ingredients were available. I can still remember exactly how it tasted. It was a regular mincemeat, but the addition of the meat gave it a deeper, richer taste. You couldn’t taste the meat itself because of all the spices, apples, and raisins. Thanks again for your videos. I can only guess how much work goes into preparing for each one. Have a wonderful holiday with your family.
As a Pennsylvanian, I've always wanted to bring back the German-American tradition of Belsnickeling! As my grandma tells it, it was very like mumming: people dressed up in what we'd probably today call Halloween costumes (especially masks) and went around to friends' houses, where those visited had to guess who the Belsnickelers were (and probably give them something to drink, though Grandma didn't mention that lol). I'd also like to revive blessing the fruit trees while wassailing! I know it was about ensuring a good harvest, but "blessing the trees" sounds like a great Neo-pagan tradition to start up again. :)
I really enjoyed this discussion. It brought back childhood memories of family and friends long gone, especially my son's first Christmas. Wishing you and your family the best and a very Happy and safe Christmas.
Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year to you and your family. I do agree with you about children and Christmas. I miss not having little children. Even my grandchildren are no longer little. Please enjoy your little one and make as many memories as possible! Take my word for it you won't believe how fast the time flies! I enjoy your videos very much and hope you will continue making them in your informative and professional manner!!
A tradition in my family, that was handed down through my mother's Swedish heritage family, was when you ate a rice porridge there was an almond hidden in the porridge. Whoever got the almond was said to be getting married in the next year. In Philadelphia, PA every year on New Years Day there is a mummer parade. It's an all day event. People spend the entire year making their mummer costumes. And they are usually drunk when they mummer. I always wondered where that came from, now I know.
@@reflectionsinthebible3579 it's not. But these are traditions that came from various old traditions in Europe before Christmas was even celebrated. So they just got incorporated into Christmas.
This was very interesting!:) Especially hearing about the wassailing and mumming traditions. Our Christmas in Finland has the same basics: eating well, etc. (Though the foods are different.) But our Santa comes from the door and he rides his sleigh on the ground. I believe this fundamental difference in our Santa is due to the earlier tradition of nuuttipukki, a character with a goat mask and an upside down turned coat who comes to demand a drink of booze on Canut's day (in Swedish Knut, hence Nuutti in Finnish). Edit: that was the traditional Santa, in the modern times we've fully embraced what we call the "Coca Cola Santa", the one with red clothing, white beard, etc.
I am from New Orleans and we do king cakes with plastic babies in Mardi Gras season with begins on 12th Night. And during Mardi Gras parades they throw beads and doubloons (traditional colors were silver and gold though there are other colors now).
Merry Christmas to you, Dr Kat, and to all of your loved ones. May the season bring you joy. Thank you for being one of my go-to TH-cam historians for the last couple of years, and may there be many more. All the best!
🌟 Your expressive eyes, smile and expressions are simply Beautiful. Indeed, our dreaming of Christmas Present is firmly rooted in our Christmas Past - as a child. AND SWEET GABRIEL WILL BE PROVIDING YOU, JAMIE and your families SUCH great holiday memories. 🤍 JOY OVERLOAD AHEAD!
What a great video! Thank you! I was very interested in the "mumming". Having lived in Philadelphia for many years, the New Year's Mummer's parade was always a huge city tradition. Fun to link that to the past. Have a wonderful holiday with your family.
For several years before the pandemic my friend would hold a carolling party in early December. Now having gone two years without it the Christmas season feels oddly empty or incomplete.
Delightful! Thoroughly enjoyed it. So interesting to see where the traditions come from and how yours in the UK differ from some of our American customs. I’d love to have a time machine to travel back a few decades to enjoy the holidays with loved ones who are now in heaven.
What a wonderful time for you all, your son’s first participatory Christmas. Even a one-year old will be able to share in the excitement and joy of Christmas, while multiplying yours a thousand times. Merry Christmas to you all in the UK, and try to stay at home when you can, because of Omicron.
Wishing you, Jaime and Gabriel A Very Merry Christmas🎅 and A Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year Dr. Kat. Thank-you for another year of fun and fact filled videos. I'm now going to watch the Lady Rochford documentary ♥️
🎄🎄🎄Merry Christmas to you and family!🎄🎄🎄 I have truly adore your channel and your content is always informative, entertaining, and a delight to watch.😁
One Danish tradition, that not many know of now a days, is that the last of the christmas candy must be finished on the day of the 3 holy kings (6th of January). Certainly a day to look forward to as a child, I did. ❤️
I like that! I know here in the UK, its often thought to be bad luck to keep your tree and any decorations out after 6th January (12th night) I wonder if that's connected? FWIW, we used to have the Danegelt here in the UK, (half of the British mainland was ruled by Danes) so there might be connections via that?
In Mexico and some that have carried on the tradition in the U.S. celebrate the Day of the Magi. The Christmas tree comes down on or after the 6th of January.
Thank you for all your videos Kat. My grandad has dementia and it's hard to keep him engaged in TV content, even stuff he specifically asked us to record, but he always seems to stay awake and alert when I put on one of your videos for us to watch together
How interesting. I wonder if it’s the presence of advertisements on tv that removes his attention from the program he’s watching? And here the commentary is uninterrupted. It’s definitely something to wonder about.
I remember my nephews at that age - when they were more interested in the wrapping paper than the presents 😂
My mom does altar guild for the Episcopal church (which is what the Church of England became in the US after the revolution) and technically you’re still not supposed to get married or have funerals during purple seasons (Advent and Lent) and it pissed her off when it gets ignored. Not for liturgical reasons, but because she has to take down the purple hangings and put them back up again.
Here in the Caribbean, there are no weddings during Advent or Lent in the EC(English Catholic/Anglican/CoE) churches, when we were getting married our parish priest said to us Advent is out of the question but Boxing day is fine (we have a lot of Boxing Day weddings here).
Wishing Gabriel a first Christmas filled with wonder and joy. Cherish these firsts and have a wonderful Christmas.
My partner has shared the tradition they created for themselves after moving far from everyone they would normally have spent time with, and only the 25th/26th off work.
Get food at the Asian market which is open on the 25th. Get drunk and cook a magnificent dinner for one.
Now two of us.
Since becoming an adult family celebrations had turned into an opportunity for others to coerce me into an interrogation and subtle criticism session under the name of “tradition”.
The pandemic excusing me from any possible need to say “no thank you” to demands on my presence has been excellent. I haven’t enjoyed the holidays this much since I was a kid!
Happy Christmas to you and your family!
It seems that many original (& original to hundreds of years ago, in time) characteristics of the first immigrants to settle the Eastern USA survived in isolated, rural America. From language nuances, ways of doing things, traditions, music, etc. - the remnants can still be found, today. Sometimes, they have actually been lost in the mother country, only remaining in the descendants of people that left that land so long ago.
Mumming is still going strong in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It was outlawed for a while, but the tradition is back and every year in St. John's there is a Mummers Parade. Basically, in the Newfoundland tradition, a group of people will dress outrageously and have their heads covered with a small sack or cloth with eye holes cut out and will go door to door in their neighbourhood and sing songs, play music (portable instruments such as fiddles and accordions and an instrument called an "ugly stick" are often part of the performances) and caper about. The host of the house tries to guess who is under the costume by asking them questions. The Mummers eventually take off their "masks" and enjoy food and drink and then move on to another house.
And let’s not forget the Mummers Parade on New Years Day in Philadelphia
@@lorimcosh2331 I'm 2 years late to this, but as soon as Kat mentioned it, I was like "Oh hey, the Mummers Day Parade!"
Merry Christmas! I remember when almost all the stores would have their windows painted in all kinds of Christmas scenes, from Frosty to Rudolph or even Jingle Bells. Wish that would come back.
my family does wassailing (in fact were doing it on Tuesday).
my nan has an orchard wich we bless each year. essentially we make lots of noise with drums and flutes, give the chosen tree cake and cider then eat loads of food!
it's really good fun
My family celebrates the "each person with their own tree" tradition. We also go wassailing and caroling. Nice to know the history! Great video.
I love the Wassailing tradition. We tried that one year for the plum tree on our allotment garden. It's nice as a "thank You" to the tree, and a hope for next year :-)
You deserve a million subscribers.
Happy Christmas/Merry Christmas, which ever is more appropriate. I re-introduced the Yule log, last year. Before that I had a candle the was shaped like a log, standing on end, that I would light each year until it was used up. So I tried an actual Yule log, but my goal was for it to burn for one night. With the help of a fire starter, it worked and was lovely. I will do the same this year, and hopefully each year to come.
1642-60 must have felt like forever! Thank you for another fab History lesson, Dr. Kat!
I will miss your "dulcet tones'" but I can always re-watch your earlier videos as you said.
Thanks so much for explaining the "mumming." I always wondered what Loreena McKennitt's "The Mummers' Dance" was about.
I think your son is very lucky to have a mother who understands and cares about keeping Christmas. Hope your family has a fantastic Christmas this year. And a great New Years too!
……and the Mummer’s Parade on New Years Day in Philadelphia Pa…….lol
Here in the Caribbean, our traditions have been influenced by the various parts of Europe. In my island of Trinidad there is a huge Spanish influence in many of our traditions, and there are some French elements and of course Victorian era traditions as well. We have parranderos a group singing Christmas songs in Spanish that used to visit house to house, in my childhood my paternal grandmother's relatives would come in the early morning hours, all the songs were about the nativity and the annunciation, that tradition now has been restricted to villages where there are mostly Spanish descendants. We have the parang bands at shows that we pay to see or at malls etc. We make a cake called a black cake which is a variation of a Christmas pudding. Enjoy the the festive season with your little boy and your loved ones! Happy Christmas and a bright and wonderful 2022.
Giggles! "If something is fun, there should just be more of it!" Ha! Love it. Thanks for this fantastic video.
Brava! 👏
Thank you Dr Kat for explaining the Christmas Cracker. We Americans encounter this in literature, among British friends and in all those productions by the BBC, but this is the first time I've actually learned what it is. A wonderful video! Happy holidays to you.
That was a lovely post; thank you very much. Question: when did the British tradition of telling scary stories on/around Christmas begin? With Dickens? Here in the States, it's not a wide-spread tradition.
Maybe. Pretty sure it's Victorian and their obsession with communicating with the afterlife.
I don't remember where I heard it, but I heard that it was because ghosts could not find you during Christmas - so you wouldn't accidentally summon or invite in the ghosts you were telling stories about. Dunno if that's the truth though
The scarey story tradition started before the Victorian Era. I believe this tradition may have started during pagan times and stemmed from the worry about "the dying of the sun".
@@artdiaries2260 if only that were true. My father’s ghost showed up at my brother’s house on Xmas. My nephew and I both saw him, and a pic I took of the tree has a huge orb in it. My dad loved Xmas so it doesn’t surprise me that he popped in.
I could sit and listen to you talk all day. You have a soothing delivery. Thank you.
The Christmas cake reminds me of the King cake that is used to celebrate Mardi Gras in Louisiana and here in Texas. The King case has a plastic baby baked into it and whoever gets the slice with the baby hosts next year's Mardi Gras party.
Do people feel like they’ve won if they get the baby? Or do people hope it will be someone else so they don’t have to do all the planning / clean up after? Have I just shown myself to be both lazy and antisocial 😂🙈?
@@ReadingthePast Neither lazy nor antisocial. People generally avoid the baby. I have seen people put the baby back into a different slice of the cake just to avoid getting the baby.
Going door to door Christmas carolling was something that I loved as a kid (both doing and watching) but it’s gone out of style. I’d love for that tradition to come back
Oh I remember having little ones. Christmas was so much fun and you can relive the magic you used to have as a child yourself. Have a Merry Holiday every one! Wishing Peace on earth good will towards men.
Okay, we're barely through the intro, and I am misty-eyed. I remember when my little ones each reached an age where they could 'understand' Christmas - it's such a joy! The first year when they're old enough to ask Santa for a gift, oh my heart. 🥹 I hope your family has been having Merry Christmasses! 🎄
I'm surprised to have realized by the end that this video was over 40 minutes long! I enjoyed it so much that it practically flew by. Thank you, Dr. Kat. I wish you and your family a merry Christmas and wonderful new year. ^_^
I had the same thought !
Gosh, if Fox and Friends think there is a “war on Christmas” now they should re-visit the past when the day was banned as a feast day!
Same 💜
I 100% agree about Christmas being enjoyed through the eyes of a child. Enjoy these years with your son, they will be your best Christmas memories! 🎄
my mother never liked the whole "encourage your kids believe in Santa and then tell them the truth and expect them to be fine" concept, so she told us that the "character" of Santa was "based" on an ancient greek bishop "who was very nice and love children". as a result, I never really believed in Santa (though my sisters took a little longer to put two and two together)
Well, that wasn’t exactly true either. No bishop was fat and jolly and wore red like that. And no bishop ran around giving out toys. All lies.
Really enjoyed watching this Kat! Thanks so much for the lovely mention, a joy to collaborate, as always ☺️ Happy Christmas! xx
Not that I think you'll see this, but I just popped on over to your channel because this is the first time I've heard of it, and so far I absolutely love it! I can't tell you that on your channel because your comments are turned off so I thought I would pop back over here and tell you that. Thank you so much for your hard work!
Hi @@elenaderoet4926 this just pinged through on my emails ☺️ Thank you ever so much for taking the time to write this, this means a lot, so happy to hear you are enjoying the channel! Happy new year! Lx
I grew up in the 1960s in a house in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan built by Clement Clarke Moore. He is best known today as the author of "A Visit From St Nicholas" ("T'was the Night Before Christmas"). That poem basically invented the modern American "Santa Claus", drawing on both Dutch and English traditions. The house was the rectory of the local Episcopal parish, and we always had big celebrations centered around that blasted poem.
I was sick of Santa Claus by the age of four.
Sick of Santa by age of 4, hummm. So was I. The irony of it all is that now, we both look like him.
😆 So true!
Sad.
I loved that poem when my children were small. What a lovely story!
Bah! Humbug! 😉
Literally as soon as this video ended I watched Lady Rochford - that was a good documentary and I was excited to see you featured! I do hope you are given the chance to appear in more!! I love this video too - have a very merry Christmas!
Plz record it and upload on a fake account to TH-cam :)
@@AshleyLebedev Right? I'm in the US and trying to find a work-around to watch the documentary.
Thank you very much for this. Hereford Cathedral (UK) still has a boy Bishop. I wish you and your family a very Happy Christmas, especially as it's the first your little boy will take notice of! At this age, he'll probably love the wrapping paper and boxes more than what's inside! Have a wonderful time!
Merry Christmas to you and your family (our babies were born at the same time so I hope you're enjoying the toddler spirit this Christmas 😅). I'm from Australia and we now have big seafood lunches and pinocoladas for breakfast (by the pool!). So I especially love listening to the European version :-) here's hoping you reach 100k, I've got all my fingers crossed for you xox
Christmas in Australia is definitely not the white Christmas. Our traditions include prawns and pavlova and a water fight after lunch 😃
I have always enjoyed your videos and the history uou bring alive fir us, BUT... since your candid and insightful sharing of your long history with dyslexia my admiration and respect have soared sky high. Thank you for sharing your story and achievements which will surely inspire many who struggle on their own journeys. Thank you!
I just subscribed!!
All the best for this festive season! Enjoy your family!
I'm from New Zealand, so my Christmas traditions are a bit different! My family would always get together and have a barbecue, and often go to the beach.
My maternal family always opened presents on Christmas Eve. That can be traced directly to one of my Great Grandparents who immigrated to the US from England in 1845. We also have some traditions from French ancestors as well as some less clear ancestry. I love Christmas time. I love gift giving, family, the tree, the traditions of when, what and how things are "supposed" to be celebrated. It's the best time of the year. I loved this sharing! I enjoy your offerings and look forward to them. Merry Christmas to you and your family!
The “left”, or sinistra woke, are the Parliamentary and “Puritan” social leaders during that period after The Civil War following Charles the First. No fun or joy allowed. It’s very comforting to know that this happened once before, and will falter alike sooner than later. Your essay on Christmas is brilliant, and you are reverential to IHS, and meant it. In fact, that’s all part and parcel of your video’s. You are reverential and endearing as a superb story teller of history……without entirely of any slight. Between you Dr. Kat and Jools Guides of London, I am made to smile and live care freely. A blessed Advent and Christmas to you and your family Dr. Kat from Princess Anne, Maryland.
Mr. Bell, thank you for my first smile and laugh of the day. So true! I, now, better understand my reflexive scorn of Puritans.
Merry Christmas to you, sir!
@@lavillablanca
……and a blessed Christmas to you too dear lady.
We all wish you lovely family holidays. Sweet firsts! What a year we have had. Thankyou.
I didn’t get to see this one “live”, but it was still wonderful hearing it at Christmas 2023. I am fascinated how many of my family traditions are still quite British/German. Are there any uniquely Welsh traditions besides the Mari Llywyd? My mother’s family was Welsh farmers in northern Ohio.
I am ill in bed ... not covid ...and have listened to this on my mobile. An absolute delight.
So excited to watch this! Wishing you a lovely holiday season with your family!
In Newfoundland Canada, Mumming is still done!!!!!
I'm so impressed at your relating the whole history of Christmas in 43 minutes. I thought it would be a tall order but you did it Dr Kat. No fun those Puritans,it must be their descendants who are now behavioural scientists. I was taught by my Mum and Dad that we give presents in emulation of The Three Kings. St Nicholas or his avatars had no place in my childhood Xmas - I'm glad to say,defo a dodgy geezer. My Dad absolutely would NOT have us thinking Santa Claus was real,his reason being kindness,that is he did not want us thinking we would get piles of the latest must have toys when they had no money to buy them. So I think that's GOOD. Actually us kids were not the sort that wanted all the latest etc....and my parents would never have got themselves in debt. We still had fabulous,fun Christmasses.
Another wonderful history lesson! Thanks so much!
I would like to wish you a very merry Christmas, and I hope you spend all the time you can with your family over the holidays. In my community, here in Nova Scotia, Canada, we have mincemeat with plenty of meat in it. Barrington Township was first settled in 1763 by British Loyalists and Planters. We were rather isolated until recent times and retained many of the traditions of that period, including mummers. Some of your Victorian traditions, like crackers, are rather new to some of us older folks.
My grandmother was born in poverty, started work at 12. She was very poor all her life and widowed in 1926 with 4 children from 12 to 2 to bring up. In the 1950s when she made her mincemeat she put into it finely minced ‘lights’ which is lung meat. I bet a lot of women of her generation and in poverty probably did the same.
I absolutely LOVED this bit of Christmas history. So festive! Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Your makeup is gorgeous, Dr. Kat!!!😍
Christmas is still my favorite holiday of the year as an American adult who now lives in a country that largely doesn’t observe it (China).
A staple of the festive period
Happiness is a new Dr. Kat video…especially when it is about Christmas!
Thank you for all of your videos, Dr Kat! I look forward to them all year round.
The magic is through the eyes of a child indeed. my memories and experiences from childhood were the best time of my life. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Dearest Dr. Kat, as much as I eagerly await each new video you upload, I would rather you spend this time with Jamie (sp?) and Gabriel, especially since the little one may be just old enough to enjoy rhe sights and sounds this season. Hoping you and your family have a lovely Christmas and a healthy, happy 2022!
When I lived in Kent, the local children used to sing a delightful traditional carol, that went: "Weeshooamericrim, weeshooamericrim, weeshooamericrim, annapannayir, can we have some money, please?"
Merry Christmas to you!
Here in the USA, crackers are not a usual part of our Christmas traditions. Our daughter first learned of them from the Harry Potter books. Crackers are also mentioned in Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. We became curious. Several years ago, we found some at "The Brit Store" in the Kansas City area and started a "new" tradition at Christmas dinner.
Have a wonderful Christmas
Brava ! You had me tearing up at the end , I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Thank you
Merry Christmas To You & Your Family!!
❤️🎄🎄❤️
Enjoy your time with family & friends! See you in the New Year!
(Thank you so much for all you do with this channel, many Blessings...❤️)
Making mincemeat pies is still done in Northern New England using venison. However, it is a tradition that is disappearing quickly as we older folks pass on. Deer hunting season ends at the end of November just in time to make the pies.
Evening Dr Kat,its 10pm on Christmas Eve&I'm so late catching up with this vid,sorry hun.im a fairly new subscriber,only a few months,thank u TH-cam algorithm😻💖my degree is in Ancient History&Egyptology but that woz 30yrs ago(yep I'm getting on a bit😋)I just love ur channel.the way u explain history is absolutely brilliant,thank you 4 all ur hard work.Merry Christmas,Happy New Year&hve a fantastic time with ur family🤗🤗I'm really looking 4ward 2 watching&learning with everything u hve planned 4 next year🎅🎅🎅🎅xxxxx
I listen to you in the morning as I get ready for work - I will miss you while you are off! Love your channel!!
Merry Christmas and thank you for bringing the love of history back to me.
Merry Christmas ,Dr Kat .I'm a Gabriel also - born on December 26th .I wish your little Gabriel a very happy 1st holiday .💚
Even with today's restricted mobility I have found that taking the trouble to call a friend or loved ones is in the spirit of the season. May we all remember the view of Christmas as children do.
Most of the world has a "green" Christmas. I was 25 before I saw my first White Christmas for myself. Lots of movies and music makes that seem like the norm, but it really is more the outlier. Thanks again for your information I always learn something new watching you.
I wish we'd bring back caroling around the neighborhood.
@@markanderson0022 Doing great, thanks.
Yay....a Christmas gift from Dr. Kat. Merry Christmas from a snowy Montana USA
Merry Christmas, Dr. Kat, from Pennsylvania USA! I really enjoy your videos!
Those childhood Christmasses of Dickens must have been held as very special as only a few years later his father was in debtors' prison and Charles was working in a factory. Loved the video. Happy Hogswatch to all.
That was Wonderful, Thank You So Much!! Merry Christmas to You, your Husband and Sweet Little Boy!!😊👼🤶🎅🎄🎇🎁
Hello Dr. Kat. I’ve been meeting to send you a comment for some time. I watch your videos regularly, and enjoy each one. You have such an excellent way of presenting material that is informative, but not pedantic.
You mentioned the preparation of mincemeat. I live in Canada, on the East Coast. Here homemade mincemeat is still often made with actual meat. The meat of choice is either ground venison or ground moose meat. My. Mother made it some years when the ingredients were available. I can still remember exactly how it tasted. It was a regular mincemeat, but the addition of the meat gave it a deeper, richer taste. You couldn’t taste the meat itself because of all the spices, apples, and raisins.
Thanks again for your videos. I can only guess how much work goes into preparing for each one.
Have a wonderful holiday with your family.
As a Pennsylvanian, I've always wanted to bring back the German-American tradition of Belsnickeling! As my grandma tells it, it was very like mumming: people dressed up in what we'd probably today call Halloween costumes (especially masks) and went around to friends' houses, where those visited had to guess who the Belsnickelers were (and probably give them something to drink, though Grandma didn't mention that lol). I'd also like to revive blessing the fruit trees while wassailing! I know it was about ensuring a good harvest, but "blessing the trees" sounds like a great Neo-pagan tradition to start up again. :)
I really enjoyed this discussion. It brought back childhood memories of family and friends long gone, especially my son's first Christmas. Wishing you and your family the best and a very Happy and safe Christmas.
“Going out on a limb” … Bahahahahaa!!!!
Merry Christmas! We will miss your videos. Enjoy Christmas with your son. There is always magic in seeing things through a child's eyes.
Happy Christmas 🎄 it’s great to see your success, 🤞for 100K!
Merry Christmas and a very blessed New Year to you and your family. I do agree with you about children and Christmas. I miss not having little children. Even my grandchildren are no longer little. Please enjoy your little one and make as many memories as possible! Take my word for it you won't believe how fast the time flies! I enjoy your videos very much and hope you will continue making them in your informative and professional manner!!
A tradition in my family, that was handed down through my mother's Swedish heritage family, was when you ate a rice porridge there was an almond hidden in the porridge. Whoever got the almond was said to be getting married in the next year.
In Philadelphia, PA every year on New Years Day there is a mummer parade. It's an all day event. People spend the entire year making their mummer costumes. And they are usually drunk when they mummer. I always wondered where that came from, now I know.
How is that celebrating Christ?
@@reflectionsinthebible3579 it's not. But these are traditions that came from various old traditions in Europe before Christmas was even celebrated. So they just got incorporated into Christmas.
Thank you, always, for your videos. Your cheery personality always makes me smile! All the best for the new year!
I miss caroling in New England. 🎄
Lovely -merry Christmas 🎄
This was very interesting!:) Especially hearing about the wassailing and mumming traditions. Our Christmas in Finland has the same basics: eating well, etc. (Though the foods are different.) But our Santa comes from the door and he rides his sleigh on the ground. I believe this fundamental difference in our Santa is due to the earlier tradition of nuuttipukki, a character with a goat mask and an upside down turned coat who comes to demand a drink of booze on Canut's day (in Swedish Knut, hence Nuutti in Finnish).
Edit: that was the traditional Santa, in the modern times we've fully embraced what we call the "Coca Cola Santa", the one with red clothing, white beard, etc.
Terrible thing to mix with Christ’s birth. Surely you all don’t think of him as a drunk anymore though.
I am from New Orleans and we do king cakes with plastic babies in Mardi Gras season with begins on 12th Night. And during Mardi Gras parades they throw beads and doubloons (traditional colors were silver and gold though there are other colors now).
Merry Christmas to you, Dr Kat, and to all of your loved ones. May the season bring you joy. Thank you for being one of my go-to TH-cam historians for the last couple of years, and may there be many more. All the best!
I loved this! Thank you. Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
🌟 Your expressive eyes, smile and expressions are simply Beautiful. Indeed, our dreaming of Christmas Present is firmly rooted in our Christmas Past - as a child. AND SWEET GABRIEL WILL BE PROVIDING YOU, JAMIE and your families SUCH great holiday memories. 🤍 JOY OVERLOAD AHEAD!
What a great video! Thank you! I was very interested in the "mumming". Having lived in Philadelphia for many years, the New Year's Mummer's parade was always a huge city tradition. Fun to link that to the past. Have a wonderful holiday with your family.
Dear Dr. Cat, you're vlog ALWAYS are interesting!!! And a happy, healthy and more careless 2022 for you and your family!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year Dr Kat! I hope you get even more airplay in 2022.
Well done. Beautifully presented
Almost lost. The uproarious "office party". Mr. Fezziwig style. We had so much fun. Sometimes a little wild, but... such was a tradition.
May you all have a wonderful, safe and Very Merry Holiday season! Love your vids! Look forward to your insights!
Thank you once again for a really interesting video. Wishing you and your family a very happy Christmas stay safe and well xx
For several years before the pandemic my friend would hold a carolling party in early December. Now having gone two years without it the Christmas season feels oddly empty or incomplete.
Communism at work.
I enjoy your Readings very much, soothing and informative at the end of my day, Thank You, Happy New Year
Delightful! Thoroughly enjoyed it. So interesting to see where the traditions come from and how yours in the UK differ from some of our American customs. I’d love to have a time machine to travel back a few decades to enjoy the holidays with loved ones who are now in heaven.
What a wonderful time for you all, your son’s first participatory Christmas. Even a one-year old will be able to share in the excitement and joy of Christmas, while multiplying yours a thousand times. Merry Christmas to you all in the UK, and try to stay at home when you can, because of Omicron.
Wishing you and yours, especially your sweet boy, a truly magical Christmas season from snowy Canada.
Wishing you, Jaime and Gabriel A Very Merry Christmas🎅 and A Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year Dr. Kat. Thank-you for another year of fun and fact filled videos.
I'm now going to watch the Lady Rochford documentary ♥️
Thank you, merry Christmas to you too and I hope you like the doc 🌟
🎄🎄🎄Merry Christmas to you and family!🎄🎄🎄 I have truly adore your channel and your content is always informative, entertaining, and a delight to watch.😁