The True Meaning of Christmas (It’s Not What You Think) | Karel Cast - The Karel Cast

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Time is here. No time to fear.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
Corilla is so near because show time is here.

Speaker 1 (00:06):
So on with the show. Let's give it a go.

Speaker 3 (00:10):
Carilla is the one that you need to know.

Speaker 4 (00:15):
Now.

Speaker 5 (00:15):
It's show side.

Speaker 6 (00:29):
It's here, It's here, Santa's Big night. It is Christmas Eve.
We're gonna talk about why we celebrate and what's in
the history of some of our favorite songs on this
fabulous Christmas Eve, twenty twenty five.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
Uncensored, unfiltered, fun hinged.

Speaker 7 (00:49):
It's the Corall Cast. Listen daily on your favorite streaming service.

Speaker 6 (00:59):
It is the crowd. I am Carrel so very glad
you are joining me on this Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December
twenty fourth, twenty twenty five. We made it, ladies and gentlemen.
The holiday season. This is it. This is the peak
of the holiday season. The next thing is New Year's Eve,
and then nothing until Valentine's Day after that. I'm so

(01:21):
glad you're joining me. My little festive background for today
and tomorrow. Although with my computer here you can't see
the little presents that are back there, but oh well,
you still see the tree. I hope you're having a
lovely holiday season. I hope you're having a lovely day today.
Maybe some of you are craze getting everything ready for
tonight or tomorrow. Maybe some of you aren't doing a thing.

(01:43):
Maybe you don't even have a tree up and you're
just chilling whatever you might be doing. I'm so honored
and glad to be here with you on this Christmas Eve,
my sixty third Christmas Eve of my lifetime. But I
can probably remember what like fifty nine of them. Fifty Yeah,
about when you're about four or five is when you

(02:04):
start remembering, and you know, before we begin with the
history of Christmas and all of that, I just really
wanted to let today's show be as nostalgic as you
want to be. Look, I grew up poor, but I
still loved Christmas Eve. Oh how I loved it because
I knew, no matter what, no matter what, the next morning,

(02:27):
my parents would still have something special for me. If
Mom sold Avon, I might just get avon. You know,
I didn't always get the fancy presents, the bicycles, the telescopes.
I did get wonderful things though throughout the year's chemistry
sets that they won't even sell today because we could
blow people up. Oh, wood burning kids where we could

(02:49):
literally burn people's eyes out with them. Our toys when
we were kids were murderous, weren't they. We could. You know,
there's so many different toys that we had that could
blow up or blow things up or kill us. Jarts,
those outdoor lawn darts charts, I got some of those.
You hurled those through the air. If you missed, you're
getting pail somebody. But oh well, you know, we all managed,

(03:10):
We all lived, and so it was a really nostalgic time.
My parents would let me stay up late because at
the eleven o'clock news they would lead the news with
the Santa Tracker. How many of you remember the Santa Tracker.
They would lead the news with the Santa Tracker and
it was from Noorad the Air Force. The Air Force

(03:34):
kept track of where Santa was. Now, you can't explain
to a kid that in order for Santa to get
all over the world in one night to deliver toys,
he would need a wormhole, or he would need a
corn hole, no, no different, Santa, or he would need
you know, he would need to travel at the speed

(03:54):
of light and noor Ad wouldn't be able to track him.
But you couldn't tell a kid that, Oh, no, he
was over the North Pole, you know. Oh he's he's
heading to to you know, North America. Oh it was.
It was magic, is what it was. We were innocent,
you know, nineteen sixty five, sixty six, sixty four, sixty three.

(04:17):
You know, I was a kid at sixty two and six,
born in sixty two, So it was magical times. Christmas
was less. When I say less, we didn't have it
for months. We had it after Black Friday, and it
wasn't as commercial as it is today. It really was

(04:41):
more about family and gatherings and yes, presence. Who am
I kidding? God? You know how many of you tortured
your parents on Christmas morning? I mean, that's what they're
there for, right and now I wake up at four
thirty in the morning to pee on Christmas morning. As
a kid, I woke up at four thirty in the
morning to get up and get my presence. Oh, and

(05:03):
my parents would always be like, oh, let us make coffee. No,
you're not supposed to do anything. You're supposed to mark
to the tree, march out to that tree and watch
me open my gifts.

Speaker 8 (05:15):
And that.

Speaker 6 (05:15):
It was always a big deal. At our house opening
the presence. Whether it was one present or five, didn't matter.
We got you open one tonight on Christmas Eve. Now,
Christmas Eve is more Christmas to me then you know,
Christmas Day. Christmas Day is kind of anticlimactic for me.

(05:38):
I don't know about you, but remember on Christmas Day
tomorrow morning when you would go out and everybody was
out playing with their new Christmas gifts. That doesn't happen
any but it wasn't that cool when it did. People
would have their new bikes, their new skates, their new telescopes,
their new this or knew that.

Speaker 4 (05:58):
If you're not visiting really carell dot com daily, you're
missing out. Get the podcast videos and the blug including
recipes at really correll dot com. That's really k A
R e l dot com.

Speaker 1 (06:13):
Show Time is here.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
No time to fear Corill is so near because.

Speaker 1 (06:18):
Show time is here. So on with the show. Let's
give it a go.

Speaker 3 (06:24):
Corell is the one that you need to.

Speaker 6 (06:27):
Know, So please share with me down below some of
your Christmas Eve memories. I'm sure some of us have
had some pretty crappy Christmas ees. I have things have
gone wrong, people have died, people are in the hospital.
But you know, there is still a magic to it.
I don't believe that it was the birth of Christ,

(06:48):
and I don't believe in Santa. Well, I believe in
Santa's magic, but I don't, you know, believe in a
guy breaking into our house, eating our cookies and then
leaving us a present, better known as a trespas home invader.
But you know, there are some great memories of Christmas
Eve and Christmas Morning because they all sort of blend, right.

(07:09):
I mean, once it gets dark, that's it. That's it
for me. On Christmas Eve, once it gets dark, it's Christmas.
That's it. It is Christmas from the time it gets
dark on Christmas Eve until nighttime on Christmas Night. And
growing up, you know, you don't really think about why
are we doing this? What is you know, what is

(07:31):
the genesis of this? You don't really think about that.
But as I got older, and I know a lot
of you know this already or you know some of
it or whatever. But since it's Christmas Eve and Christmas
Day tomorrow, we're not going to talk politics topics. Donald Trump,
you know, I mean, he's getting a lump of coal, really,

(07:52):
and he'll be happy with it because he's all about
fossil fuels, so so no love of coal for him.
Either give him, I don't know, Nockzema to take off
his orange makeup. I don't even know what would you give?
What would I give Donald Trump for Christmas? A grenade
without the pin?

Speaker 1 (08:12):
Kidding?

Speaker 6 (08:13):
I just it's a holiday cheer. So I wanted today
to tell you a little bit about why we are
celebrating today. I mean, a lot of you aren't Christian,
a lot of you don't believe in Santa Claus, but
you're still celebrating. And believe me, long before the Romans
decided that this was to be a Christian holiday, we

(08:33):
still celebrated this time of year. We certainly did now.
It was called midwinter. It was the midwinter festival season,
and it was about the summer soul or the winter solstice.
Make no mistake, Our solstice was the twenty first, a
few days ago. So the midwinter was a natural festival.

(08:54):
It was a season, a festival season. And you know,
all cultures did it. It wasn't just like the Dutch
or the Germans or the no no, no, all cultures
back then, except probably African cultures. Because I doubt that
it was winter. Same with Australia, you know, they opposite seasons.
But in the northern hemispheres there was a natural festival season.

(09:18):
Long before Christianity, harvest was stored. Nights were the longest
communities gathered for warmth, for light, and for hope. Across
Europe and the Mediterranean, winter festivals often shared recurring motifs evergreens, candles, fires, feasting,

(09:38):
social release, getting drunk, getting crazy, dancing, and gift getting.
Gift giving. Now remember the evergreens, we'll talk about them.
So Saturnalia, which you all probably know about, was Roman
and it was in mid to late December. It was

(10:00):
a feast, the Feast of Saturnalia, and it was honoring Saturn,
the god of Saturn. There was a lot of revelry.
It was the Romans reay, debaucherist. There was gift giving.
There were a lot of things that we do today
that they did during Saturnalia. There was also Invictus or

(10:20):
soul Invictus, which would mean Sun in Victus. That was
in later Roman religious life. Some later sources connected December
twenty fifth, Birth of the Unconquered Sun celebration to the
same date that Christians picked for Christmas for the birth
of their savior, even though he would not have been

(10:40):
born in December. Yet historians debate the direction of influence
and the evidence basis for that. The earliest clear Roman evidence,
and this was invented by the Romans. The actual Christmas
was invented by the Romans for a December twenty fifth
celebration of Christ's birth. The first one appears to be

(11:03):
in the calendar associated with AD three hundred and thirty six,
about four years after Share was born. Kidding, so AD
three thirty six often discussed via the Fallocian material compiled
later on. So why December twenty fifth, you ask, Well,

(11:23):
there's two main explanations. The first is the internal Christian
calculation theory. March twenty fifth was treated as the date
of the Annunciation and sometimes to crucifixion. Adding nine months
yields December twenty fifth. Festival competition and cultural overlay theory

(11:45):
that was that Christians may have emphasized the date in
a culture already rich with midwinter festivals. Later Roman solar
observances may have overlapped or competed, so they picked to
date that was had things going on, But wasn't the

(12:06):
date of the thing going on. They tried to put
it around those festivals so they could get people involved
Roman empire and appropriation what God absorbed. Christian leaders generally
rejected pagan worship, but they did repurpose familial seasonal symbols
such as lights, greenery, and feasting into new Christian meanings.

(12:32):
In other words, Christians made stuff up what tends to
carry towards in later Christmas cultures, public feasting that was
a big deal, special meals, celebratory meals with charity, family, greenery, evergreens,
and reefs as symbols of life, symbols of hope, and

(12:53):
symbols of endurance. During winter, they brought evergreens into their
house to give them endurance to get through the winter
where it was very bleak and there was nothing green
outside and all the crops and plants were dead, and
so the evergreen was still green, so they brought into
their house as a way of easing the winter and

(13:14):
knowing that the spring would be coming. Candles and lights
have symbols of guidance, hope, and in the Christian setting,
the light of Christ. But basically candles and Christmas lights
happened because it got dark so frick and early four
in the afternoon, so to make it seem less dreary

(13:36):
and horrible, candles and Christmas lights. The modern Christmas tree
tradition is strongly associated with Germans speaking Europeans from the
sixteenth century. It spread through Britain and the US in
the nineteenth century. Early tree decorations commonly referenced in historical
include apples, that's why we have red Christmas ornaments, nuts, wafers,

(14:01):
paper ornaments, ribbons, and candles. Candles could burn the tree
that you know, it was a problem. In the US,
the tree became mainstream in the eighteen hundreds. Mass produced
ornaments and retail culture accelerated the look we have today.
Those started in the eighteen hundreds as well, So that's

(14:23):
pretty new here in America. The eighteen hundreds, When you
consider Christmas started back in three thirty six, it's pretty new.
Before electricity, candles on trees were useful. They were beautiful
and extremely hazardous. Electric holiday lighting spread gradually. The US
visibility increased with high profile displays, including the White House

(14:46):
tree lighting ceremony in the eighteen hundreds, which was so
important because many houses still didn't have electricity, so to
see the white house light up a Christmas tree with
electric lights, that was a miracle. It was like a
Chris Stmas miracle. Reeths were again the evergreens. They have
older classical meanings victory and honor, and they were later

(15:10):
a Christian symbol via the Eternity's circle. So Christmas wreath
made out of evergreens symbolizes eternity and rebirth because of
the green. The advent wreath is commonly traced to nineteenth
century German Protestants. Popular accounts credit Johann Heinrich Wickern would

(15:35):
the candle reach wreath as a teaching tool? Mistletoe Why
do we kiss under the missletoe? Mistletoe had long standing
folklore associations in Europe. The kissing custom appears much later
and has debated origins. No one's quite sure, except that
people were cold and horny, with evidence pointing to Britain

(15:58):
in the eighteenth century, and it was popularized in literature,
so people did it. They read about it, so people
in books stood under missletone and kissed. So people decided
they wanted to do it too. Caroling Christmas carols, which
we'll talk about in a minute. It historically meant a

(16:19):
song linked to a dance that later became strongly identified
with religious and seasonal music the word carol, But the
word carol just typically meant a song. Wastling and caroling
going house to house with songs while drinking tie into
older communal seasonal practices and became a Christmas staple over time,

(16:42):
again not starting until the seventeen hundreds. So some of
the traditions are very new. Seventeen hundreds, eighteen hundreds, fifteen
hundreds for the Christmas tree, the sixteenth century Germany. Now
when it comes to Santa there's some origins there, right, Uh.
Saint Nicholas was a fourth century bishop, so the three hundreds.

(17:05):
Again he became a legendary gift giver. I bet he did,
and so he was the basis for Santa Claus. He
was a bishop in the fourth century, in the three hundreds.
The Dutch Center Claus contributes directly to the English Santa

(17:27):
Claus Center si n tr Klaas Center Claus. Modern Santa
with the red suit and the hat and the north
pole and the reindeer, is a composite built over centuries,
shaped by poems, illustrations, advertising and in pop culture in

(17:49):
the nineteenth and twentieth century. So the whole red you know,
Santa thing that took hundreds of years to really evolve.
It didn't just happen all at once. There was Santa Claus,
but he didn't wear all the regalia and all of that.
He was Center Claus, and he was an emulation of
a bishop that lived in the third century that was

(18:12):
a tremendous gift giver. Now in the Alpine regions Austria
and Bavaria, Crompus appeared. He was a horned figure associated
with the Saint Nicholas season, often a punisher. So Center
Claus or Saint Nicholas brought you the gifts if you

(18:34):
were good. Crompus came for you if you were bad.
So Santa didn't punish bad kids or not give them gifts.
Saint Nick had nothing to do with that. He had
a counterpart, Crompus. And so you wanted Saint Nick to come,
you didn't want Crompus to come. Crompus will be going

(18:57):
to the White House this year, not St. Nay. So
I hope they're not planning on seeing anybody addressed this
way because all they don't see is a horned figure,
because that's who deserves Crompus this year. Medieval and early
modern Christmas church observances, local feast and seasonal misrule. Seasonal
misrule that means partying and community customs vary by region

(19:22):
they do. In the nineteenth century, industrialization and print culture
helped standardize it all all right, the family, Christmas, the charity, themes,
and then of course retail became a part of Christmas
in the eighteen hundreds. In the twentieth century, we just
ran with it, movies, radio, TV, advertising, we just ran

(19:47):
with it. So we really commercialized it, really, really really,
so Christmas didn't just drop out of the sky fully formed.
It's sort of a collage of winter Solstice culture, Roman
Empire politics, and of course European folklore. The earliest clear
December twenty fifth evidence is in a D three thirty six.

(20:10):
And you know they emulated Saint Nick because he was
a good gift giver. Crompus he helped, he did to
And I know y'all have a few people that Crompus
could go visit this year. I certainly do. Every member
of the cabinet should get a visit from Crompus everyone.
As for Saint Nick, I think each and every one

(20:32):
of you deserves a visit from him. I really do.
As we celebrate a sort of religious feast for some people,
a seasonal human need for light and togetherness. That's really
what this was about. It was like this need we
had for light, for togetherness, for debauchery, and so these

(20:58):
cultures and cultural phine coming on submerged. We're also going
to talk about the history of Christmas carols, who wrote them,
who sings, some of your favorites, and some of the
really odd history behind from coming up. So don't go anywhere.
It is Christmas Eve. I am carel spending it here
with you, and I'm still.

Speaker 3 (21:17):
Poo poo poo happy about that.

Speaker 6 (21:19):
Oh I really have that, So I'm over joining. I
really am really.

Speaker 5 (21:32):
Smat no issues. Side.

Speaker 6 (21:59):
By the way, Christmas is basically European. I open my
presence Christmas Eve because that's Christmas Morning in Europe, and
if I were in Europe, I'd have to come up
with a different reason to open them on Christmas Eve
because that's when I like to open presents. You know,
I'll save one or two for Christmas morning. But Christmas Eve,
I like to watch Scrooge, watch the nineteen thirty nine

(22:20):
version of a Christmas Carol, open some presents, have some
vegan eggnog which they just make with almond and coconut
milk and some spices, and then have a lovely dinner
and then just be with my dog. You know, that's
a lovely Christmas. I don't know what you're doing to know?
What are you doing tonight? What are you doing tonight? Really?

(22:42):
What are you doing? You're staying home, You're going to
see friends, you have family over. Go ahead and tell
me in the comments what are you doing tonight? I'd
love to hear what are your traditions for Christmas Eve?
What do you do to bring in Christmas tonight? If
you're Jewish, hey, It'snica. You know, it's interesting how almost

(23:03):
all religions have some sort of festival around Christmas. It's Hanukah, Kwanza.
You know. I don't know the history of Kwansa. That'd
be kind of interesting for me to look up what
is the history of Kwansa, because I really don't know
what the history of Kwansa is. Do you Let's see
if we can figure it out here? What is the

(23:24):
Kwansa history? According Let's see, oh I can't even pronounce it.
Kwanza is an annual cultural celebration created in nineteen sixty six,
so I was four years old by activists and scholar
doctor Molana Karenga Kringa, as a way to unite and
empower the African American community by honoring their African heritage.

(23:50):
The name is derived from the Swahili phrase matunda equanza,
meaning first fruits. Well, here I am who knew it
meant first fruits. Mister Kerenga developed Kwanza in the aftermath
of the sixty five Watts Rebellion in La, a period
of significant civil unrest. His goal was to create a

(24:13):
non religious cultural holiday that would reaffirm African values, foster
a sense of community, and restore pride among people of
African descent who had lost much of their heritage through enslavement.
The holiday is modeled on traditional African harvest festivals from
various cultures, including those of the Ashanti and the Zulu.

(24:36):
It's observed from December twenty sixth to January first. It
centers around seven core principles, known as the Naguzo saba
Swahili for seven principles, with one principle emphasized each day. Oh,
isn't that interesting? So each day they ruminate on a principle,

(25:00):
and those core principles are let's see umoja, unity, kumba, creativity.
That's very interesting. That's a cool thing to celebrate. I
think I like Kwansa. I do. I think I like
Kwansa and I like the idea of the seven principles.

(25:23):
That's that's really cool, you know, celebrating unity. The seven
principles of Kwansa. They are let's see unity, self determination,
collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Well,

(25:47):
those are very Christmas y and they're very fabulous. So
they each day from December twenty sixth to January first,
they celebrate one of those principles. That's really Instead of
the twelve days of Christmas, they have the six days
of Kwanza, and that's that's really quite cool. And as

(26:08):
for Hankah, well, you know, do any of you know
what Hanukkah really stands for, why they do it? What
it is, It's the Festival of Lights, an eight day
Jewish holiday celebrating the re dedication of the Second Temple
in Jerusalem after the Macabean revolt against Greek Syrian oppression

(26:32):
in the second century. So the two hundreds so are
another one hundreds. So Hanikkah predates Christmas. It's marked by
the miracle of oil burning for eight days, celebrated with
nightly menora lighting, special prayers, fried foods like lacas and soukaniel, dradle,

(26:53):
games and gives. It begins on the twenty fifth oh
so on Christmas it begins. Oh no wait of the
Hebrew calendar that usually falls in November or December somewhere,
so it doesn't fall on the same I believe it
doesn't fall on the same day.

Speaker 7 (27:09):
Every year.

Speaker 6 (27:11):
They light manoras, they eat fried foods, they play with
the dredo, they sing. It lasts for eight days and nights,
beginning the twenty fifth of keys Lev kis l Ev
In twenty twenty five, that would have been Sunday, December
fourteenth through sundown December twenty second, So the keys Lev

(27:34):
the twenty fifth day of keys Lev, and that was Sunday,
December fourteenth this year. So it does change every year.
It's eight days. It's a festival of Light, celebrates burning
of oils, celebrates rededication. The word Hanukkah means dedication, commemorating
the cleansing and redirection of the temple. That's really cool too,

(27:59):
that's a cool thing celebrate, as is kwanza, as is Christmas.
So lots of cultures celebrating this time of year, pagan celebrating, Festivus,
celebrating the winter solstice, but all of us celebrating in December,
to break the monotony, to break up the winter. All right,

(28:20):
when we come back, we're gonna talk about the history
of some really popular music. One of them is the
biggest selling single of all time, and another has very
racist roots, and yet we sing it like it's a happy,
joyful song. You're not gonna believe that. I didn't believe it.
I just found that out. Just found it out this

(28:41):
week that one of our Christmas carols is basically racist.
So well, I imagine a lava white Christmas. Hello, don't
say brown Christmas or a black Christmas. Dream it's now Correll,
it's yeah, yeah, yeah, maga's hoping for a white Christmas.
I'll tell you that right now. All right, so we'll

(29:01):
be back to talk about the history of songs on
this Christmas Eve. I hope you've already started your Christmas
Eve tradition, whatever that might be. I hope you're all
cozy snugs and bugs and rugs. Or if it's hot
where you are, like here in Vegas it'll be seventy.
Maybe you'll spend it by a pool. Who knows. I've
spent many of Christmas outside and something in Long Beach.

(29:23):
We had barbecues on Christmas before. Oh yes, girls, So
come right back for part two of the Carell Cast,
where we're gonna talk Christmas music Christmas six which is
over today by the way, tomorrow no more Christmas, except
it's done over. You don't get to hear it on
the twenty sixth.

Speaker 4 (29:43):
Nope, no, no, it's broadcasting from a completely different point
of view yours.

Speaker 7 (29:50):
Listen daily to the.

Speaker 4 (29:51):
Corell Cast on your favorite streaming service.

Speaker 1 (29:59):
Show Time is here. No time to fear Corilla is.

Speaker 2 (30:04):
So near because show Time is here.

Speaker 1 (30:06):
So on with the show. Let's give it a go.

Speaker 3 (30:10):
Carell is the one that you need to know.

Speaker 4 (30:15):
Now.

Speaker 5 (30:15):
It's show side.

Speaker 6 (30:29):
Alrighty, you know you love all the Christmas carols, but
do you really know what you're thinking or why we're
gonna tell you. It's Christmas Eve here on the Corral Cast. Uh,
and I hope you're having a good time. I'm having
a ball Ambers and er Santa.

Speaker 4 (30:43):
Suit, uncensored, unfiltered, fun hinged.

Speaker 7 (30:49):
It's a Corrall cast. Listen daily on your favorite streaming service.

Speaker 6 (30:59):
All right, what does the Crowdcast? Part two? On this
Christmas Eve? So glad you are joining me and sharing
some time with me, those of you die hard fans
that are doing it. Listenership as we know is down
over the holidays, but I'm glad you're here, all right.
So music, there's no two ways about it. Even before
it was named Christmas, there was music. It was a festival.

(31:20):
People danced. And there's been some Christmas carols that have
been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. Others are
just brand brand new. Some have interesting stories and summer
just songs. What's your favorite Christmas carol? By the way,
and if it's all I want for Christmas? Is You?
By Mariah Carey? Do not put that down below? I
just don't. But what is your what is your favorite

(31:43):
Christmas carol? I'd love for you to comment down below
and let me know what is your favorite Christmas carol?
And do you have any that are just so sentimental?
They always get to you because you think of your
mom and your dad, or your brother's sister, your wife,
your husband, your children, whatever it might be. You know,
there's one that's such a happy song, really, and I

(32:06):
sing a rather untraditional one Alexa play jingle Bells by
Barbara streisand sure I love those sounds.

Speaker 9 (32:15):
By Barbara streisand from Apple Music.

Speaker 6 (32:17):
Uh huh, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way?

Speaker 4 (32:24):
Yo?

Speaker 6 (32:24):
What fun it is? Do you ride it a one
horse open slay? Hey, jingle best, jingle bells, jingle all
the way?

Speaker 4 (32:28):
Oh?

Speaker 10 (32:29):
What fun it is to ride in a one horse
open slay? A dashing through the snow in a one
horse open sleigh? Or the fields we go leffing all
the way? Hey, bells on Bob Tell's ring making spirits bright?

Speaker 6 (32:39):
Oh what fun it is to sing a slayings? Aren't younight?

Speaker 9 (32:42):
Oh?

Speaker 6 (32:42):
Jingle bes jingle bells, jingle a the way?

Speaker 11 (32:44):
Yo?

Speaker 6 (32:44):
What fun it is? Do you ride in a one
horse open slay?

Speaker 3 (32:46):
Hey?

Speaker 10 (32:47):
Jingle jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun
it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh?

Speaker 6 (32:51):
Of day or two ago, I thought i'd take a ride,
And soon Miss Fanny Bright was seated by my side.
The horse was lean and lanking. Miss Ford sho seemed
his lot. He got into a drifting bank, and then

(33:15):
we got upsot upsot.

Speaker 12 (33:19):
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what
fun it is to ride in one horse open? Say hey,
jingle bells, jingle bell jingle all the way. So you
get the point a lexa pause music dashing through the
fields of night on this happy Christmas night. Off we
go through the snow bells are ringing.

Speaker 6 (33:36):
We'll be singing jingle. Oh get up there, Misscember. I
can't move right now. I'm on air. I can't lift
up in the chair. Girl, check as you can. You're
singing jingle bells like a fool. You can help me.
Oh it's Christmas Eve. I'll help you up. You want
to get up? You want all right? Hold on, everybody
Amber heaves up in the chair. Here we go, Come
on up, we go, there we go. Yes only oh see,

(33:59):
I'm sid turn enough lights, I'm all because I gotta
help my dog up in the chair. Honey, it's Christmas Eve.
You gotta do it, you gotta do it. Oh. And
then she got down, that bitch, I get up. I
pause the show to get my dog up in the
chair and she gets down afterwards. All right. So that's

(34:23):
a happy song, right, jingle Bells and Barbara's version very happy.
It was written by James Lord Pierpont in eighteen fifty seven.
It was originally entitled one Horse, Open Sleigh. Here's the problem.
James Pierpont was a minstrel show composer, a staunch racist,

(34:43):
and the song was originally written for adult entertainment, not
for children. Peer Pont supported the Confederacy, and minstrel shows
of the era were rooted in racism, caricatures, and blackface performances.
Although the lyrics themselves do not contain any racial language,
they do have some inferences in there. The cultural context

(35:08):
of its creation places the song within a racist entertainment tradition. Now.
Jingle Bells was the first song broadcast from space in
nineteen sixty five during the Gemini six mission. It's ironic
that you know the horse being lean and lank, Black
people couldn't afford. You know, big Steeds fields of white it.

(35:33):
Believe me, I've heard it broken down before. It's a
racist song and the guy that wrote it big racist,
big huge racys. However, most people don't know that, and
they just enjoy it as a celebration of winter and
riding around in a sleigh, which most of us have
never done.

Speaker 8 (35:52):
I have. I've lived in Maine.

Speaker 6 (35:54):
At Massachusetts, and I've written in a one horse open sleigh. Actually,
and I think.

Speaker 7 (35:59):
People you're missing out.

Speaker 4 (36:03):
Get the podcast, videos and the blog including recipes at
really correll dot com. That's really k A R e
l dot com.

Speaker 1 (36:13):
Show Time is here. No time to.

Speaker 2 (36:16):
Fear Correll is so near because.

Speaker 1 (36:18):
Show time is here. So on with the show. Let's
give it a go.

Speaker 3 (36:24):
Carell is the one that you need to know.

Speaker 6 (36:28):
Alrighty, we are looking at some of our favorite Christmas tunes.
We just found out that jingle Bells written in eighteen
eighteen by I'm Sorry, jingle Bells written in eighteen fifty
seven by James Lord Pierpont basically is rooted in racism
and he was a big racist himself. Predating that another
song you all know, Alexa play Linda Edar Silent Night, Sure.

Speaker 9 (36:55):
Silent Night by Linda Edar from Apple Music.

Speaker 11 (37:00):
Very Beautiful, Sidhilan Night, Holy Night.

Speaker 13 (37:17):
Ohas calm as bride round Yon, Vegan, molerent Child, holdly.

Speaker 6 (37:34):
Fens Tender and mild.

Speaker 13 (37:38):
Sleep beenven leaf pea.

Speaker 14 (37:46):
Sleep beIN hevenly be.

Speaker 6 (37:53):
Isn't it beautiful? Isn't it a marvelous song?

Speaker 5 (37:58):
Oh?

Speaker 6 (38:08):
And this version is very true to the original acquoir
and the string instrument. Oh yes, crist the same.

Speaker 13 (38:34):
You re.

Speaker 6 (38:36):
Hear that cello alexa pause music. I could hear. I
could just listen to that all the time. Now. That
song has a very very cool history. It was written
out of necessity, okay the mother of invention Joseph Moore
and composer Franz Zavr Gruber. It was written in austral Austria,

(39:02):
and the reason it was written was because the church
and their choir were getting ready for a Christmas Mass
and the organ broke huh, and the organ repair man
couldn't get there in time to fix it for Christmas Mass.
It wasn't like they had the Yellow Pages of the Internet.
They couldn't just look up an organ repair person and

(39:25):
what were they to do? So Joseph Moore and Franz
Gruber wrote Silent Night for the guitar. Okay, it was
the first Christmas hymn written solely for the guitar. Most
were written for the organ. This was written for the guitar.

(39:45):
It was first sung in a very small church, of course,
after the organ broke. It emphasizes peace and calm during
the Napoleonic War era. Now Silent Night was sung in
nineteen fourty. In The Christmas Truth of World War One,
it is said that the Americans on Christmas Eve and

(40:10):
the trenches were literally you're not even one hundred feet apart.
So they pop up, shoot you shoot, pop back down,
pop up on the other side, shoot you, Papa down,
and so on Christmas Eve, the Americans started singing Silent Night,
and the French started singing Silent Night as well as

(40:33):
did the Germans, and all of a sudden, the war stopped.
It stopped. They came out of the trenches. They exchanged gifts.
They had cigarettes, matches, bullets, but they exchanged what they had.

(40:54):
They made coffee, which was a big deal. They shared
what they had with ea to other and the next
day went back to killing each other, not making that up.
It's a song that stopped a war, and it was
written all because they needed something to play on the guitar.

(41:16):
All right, let's see what's next, Alexa play White Christmas.

Speaker 9 (41:22):
Sure, White Christmas by Being Crosby from Apple Music.

Speaker 5 (41:43):
Christmas just like you where the trees?

Speaker 6 (41:56):
Oh bang, Alexa stop. So this was written in nineteen
forty two for the movie and Berlin Irving Berlin was
a Jewish immigrant from Russia. He went on to write
with the best selling single of all time, It is
the best. Nothing has sold more copies than White Christmas.

(42:17):
The song reflects nostalgia for an idealized peaceful America during
World War Two, and it truly was about the war
and having peace for an evening, and soldiers who were
over in foreign lands were dreaming of being back in
their own land with the white Christmas and all the

(42:38):
Christmas things that they knew, because they of course didn't
have those. Now, in something very interesting, the version that
you just heard is from a nineteen forty seven re
recorded master, and that's because the nineteen forty two master
by Bing Crosby was used for reproduction so much wore

(43:00):
out and Bing had to go back in in nineteen
forty seven and re record it so they could make
more records, and more records and more records. The song
was that popular they wore out the master and five
years after it was originally written in eighteen forty two,
I'm sorry in nineteen forty two. In nineteen forty seven

(43:23):
they had to re record it so they could continue
selling it. Isn't that something? Isn't that something? Alexa play
Deck the Halls?

Speaker 1 (43:33):
All right?

Speaker 9 (43:33):
Deck the Halls by Nat king Cole from Apple.

Speaker 15 (43:36):
Music, Jack Thou Falla la la la la la la
la tis the Season two be jolly da la la
la la la la la la down me now are
gay apparel.

Speaker 6 (43:51):
Falla la fa la la la la.

Speaker 15 (43:52):
La the engine U Taca Falla la la la la
la la la us die.

Speaker 6 (44:01):
That's a very happy song, particularly by Nat king Cole.
That is a traditional Welsh melody dating back to the
sixteenth century, so the melody existed in the fifteen hundreds.
Lyrics were added in eighteen sixty two by Thomas Oliphant,
and he just took an old melody and put these

(44:24):
lyrics to it in eighteen sixty two. Now Deck the
Halls was originally a New Year's song. It wasn't a
Christmas song, it was a New Year's song. And the
fallow Law refrains those were very, very popular in madrigals
of all kinds. Now, the plural halls is not meant

(44:46):
meaning hallways. Okay, it was what they referred to the
big manor houses, as you know each in hall boulet hall.
So deck the halls means deck all the houses. I
know you probably thought deck the halls meant deck the
hallways of your home. Nope, houses used to be called

(45:08):
halls or manners, and so deck the halls means deck
all the houses. As for gay apparel, honey, you know
what that means. Alexa played Judy Garland to have yourself
a merry little Christmas.

Speaker 9 (45:27):
Okay, have yourself a merry little Christmas by Frank Sinatra
from Apple Music.

Speaker 16 (45:32):
I said, Judy Garland, did I know, Merry Christmas, Let
your farm, let your heart be light.

Speaker 14 (45:45):
From now, troubles will be out of side, meaning right now.

Speaker 6 (45:56):
We're in trouble.

Speaker 1 (45:58):
You're so.

Speaker 6 (46:01):
May Chris More gainus McNeil tide. Okay, I'm all for it.

Speaker 14 (46:12):
From now, troubles we'll be miles away.

Speaker 6 (46:21):
Alexa stuff. So as you can tell, this is not
a happy song. The person singing it is troubled our
you know, our troubles will be miles away. Let your
heart be light meaning right now your heart is heavy.
It was written in nineteen forty four by Hugh Martin
and Ralph Blaine for the movie Meet Me in Saint

(46:42):
Louis with Judy Garland, and she sang it and again
it was just too damn depressing, you know, of a song.
So in nineteen forty five, when Frank Sinatra did a
cover of it, he actually requested the lyric changes to
make the song more optimistic, and Judy in the movie

(47:04):
had done so as well, so it was changed twice.
Judy changed some of the lyrics in the movie. Frank
Sinatra had even more lyrics changed. And you know it's depressing. Now.
Can you imagine what it would have been if they
had left the lyrics. You know, we'll have to muddle through,
and we may not have a home and you know

(47:25):
all of that. Can you imagine suicidal? You would have
slit your wrist. Now. There have been some controversial Christmas songs,
songs that created a stir at the time, and were
banned from the radio, and this is one such song.
Alexa play I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus.

Speaker 9 (47:50):
Sure, I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus by Jackson five
from Apple Music.

Speaker 5 (48:02):
Mom is kissing.

Speaker 6 (48:04):
Mommy's kissing Seta Clau the whore. At least they were

(48:24):
under missiletoe.

Speaker 5 (48:27):
She didn't see me creep.

Speaker 6 (48:30):
He's a stalker. Uh huh, she tickled Santa Clau Alexa
buzz music. So when it originally came out in nineteen

(48:51):
thirty nine, I'm Sorry in nineteen fifty two, I was
written by Tommy Connor. In nineteen fifty two, when its
originally come out, the song caused great controversy because of
its sexual implications. Now it's told from the innocence of
a child, you know, misunderstanding adult behavior. It's not Santa
Claus she's kissing. It's dad. He's dressed as Santa Claus.

(49:15):
That many radio stations of the day refused to play
the song, and it wasn't until later in the nineteen sixties.
But it was free love and everything was groovy that
the song really found its core in American Christmas culture,
because many deemed it was just too sexual, just too

(49:37):
sexual and it kind of is, you know, kissing him
under his beard? What else she kissing? She look at
his candy cane? What's going on there? All right? Alexa
play Jingle Bell Rock see Sham. Listen to me, she
listen to me. Alexa play Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer, all.

Speaker 9 (49:59):
Right, Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer by the Countdown Kids
from Apple Music.

Speaker 6 (50:04):
Who the hell are the Countdown Kids? The artist that
they pick for you sometimes? Right?

Speaker 5 (50:13):
You know Dan and Ford?

Speaker 6 (50:18):
Yeah, they're all bullies.

Speaker 5 (50:20):
Thank you.

Speaker 6 (50:22):
Every Rudolph, every reindeer that just was named was a bully.

Speaker 13 (50:28):
Those namees Rainier.

Speaker 6 (50:41):
Am I on the Teletubbies? I feel like I'm on
the Teledubbies. Alexis stop, She won't, she loves it, Alexis stop.

Speaker 9 (50:50):
So.

Speaker 6 (50:50):
Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer was written by Robert el
May in nineteen thirty nine, with music added by Johnny
Marks in nineteen forty nine. In nineteen thirty nine, Robert
el May wrote rudel Off the Red Nose Reindeer, The
Story of Rudolph as an insert from Montgomery Wards catalog.
It was to sell fas the catalog Insert became hugely popular,

(51:11):
drove tons of people to Montgomery Wards, and Montgomery Wards
decided to capitalize upon that and make little Rudolph dolls
and all of this stuff and capitalize on Rudolph. Now,
the company very easily could have kept the copyright because
mister Mays worked in an outside advertising company and they
were clients for ten years.

Speaker 5 (51:43):
No Is shuw.

Speaker 8 (51:45):
Side, all right, sorry about that.

Speaker 6 (52:00):
I ran Lilover, but you know he was an outside
advertising agency firm, and he did this Rudolph Insert and
Montgomery Wards could have kept the copyright, but they did not.
In one of the most magnanimous things the corporation has
ever done, they gave the copyright back to the family
so they could profit off of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

(52:20):
It became very, very popular. It became a Christmas special,
as you know, it launched so many Christmas items. But
it was originally a promotional giveaway for Montgomery Wards, and
of course has themes of bullying, exclusion, and redemption, and
those resonated with a you know America that was in
war and post war. Johnny Marx was Jewish and wrote

(52:42):
many iconic Christmas songs. He wrote the nineteen forty nine
music to it, but the lyrics were written in nineteen
thirty nine by Robert el May for Montgomery Wards. Now
one of my favorite, you know, just favorite play Linda Edar.
Do you hear what I hear?

Speaker 9 (53:05):
Okay, do you hear what I hear? By Linda Edar
from Apple Music.

Speaker 6 (53:10):
I love this version. Oh, I love it so much.
It's very tribal.

Speaker 11 (53:19):
Do do Do Do?

Speaker 3 (53:21):
Do?

Speaker 7 (53:22):
Do Do Do?

Speaker 6 (53:23):
And what I love more is the meaning of this song.
Do you all know why we sing this song? Said
the night when to the little Lamb?

Speaker 15 (53:35):
Do you see what I see?

Speaker 6 (53:41):
Way up in the sky, little land?

Speaker 12 (53:46):
Do you see what I see?

Speaker 9 (53:52):
Stop?

Speaker 6 (53:53):
Stop? I love this song, Alexa stuff. I will let
this entire song play and just sit here and listen
to it. Linda Edar, do you Hear what I hear?

(54:15):
My favorite version. It's one of my favorite Christmas songs
for a very important reason. First of all, it was
written the month before I came out. And I don't
mean as gay, although you know that was in the seventies.
In November of nineteen sixty two. By the way, I'm
told I'm a premium gay. They have classes of gays. Now,
I'm a premium gay because I never came out of vagina.
I was a C section. But I have had sex

(54:38):
with women, so I guess that negates that. But anyway,
do you hear what I hear? Was written in October
of nineteen sixty two by Noel Regne and Gloria Shane.
It was a desperate prayer for peace during the Cuban
Missile crisis. Because I was born in the wake of
the Cuban missile crisis in Miami, Florida. It was a

(54:59):
terrifying stand off between the US and Soviet Union on
the brink of nuclear war. Composer Noel Regney, scarred by
his experience in World War Two he had served in
World War Two, was inspired by the sight of innocent
life in New York City amidst the global tensions, leading
him to write lyrics that became a powerful Christmas Carold

(55:19):
calling for hope and an end to conflict. The crisis
occurred in October of nineteen sixty two. The world feared
nuclear annihilation as Soviet missiles were discovered in Cuba. Regney's
background he was a French World War Two veteran, a
Nazi deserter resistance fighter. He understood war's horrors and felt
deeply about the fear of humanity losing it again. His

(55:44):
inspiration was walking in New York. He saw very peaceful scenes,
mothers and babies and felt a profound need for peace,
prompting the lyrics. Regney wrote the words and his wife
Gloria Shane composed the music, creating a unique collaboration. Released
shortly thereafter, the song resonated deeply with a fearful Cold
War audience, with drivers reportedly pulling over to listen, making

(56:10):
it an instant hit. The Star, the Little said, the
Night Wind, to the Little Uh, to the little Lamb?
Do you see what I see? A star? A star
dancing in the night with a tale as big as
a kite. That is a nuclear missile streaking across the sky,
contrasting with the songs plea for Peace Now. It was

(56:31):
written as a B side for a single, but became
a massive success, sending selling millions of copies and becoming
a Christmas classic with a strong anti war message. So
the star streaking that that's a nuclear weapon? You know?
Pray for peace? People everywhere? Do you hear what I hear?

Speaker 4 (56:54):
You?

Speaker 6 (56:54):
Know, and what you're hearing. By the way, are the
prayers for peace? Do you hear? What I hear? And
what you hear is prayers for peace for people everywhere.
That song is an unabashed anti war song, a cry
for peace on this Christmas Eve. I don't know what

(57:15):
music you love. I hope I touched on some of
the history of the songs you love. Rocking around the
Christmas Tree written in nineteen fifty eight, again by Johnny Marx,
Recorded by Brenda Lee when she was thirteen years old.
The song became a major hit years later as radio
formats evolved. Blue Christmas Elvis Presley nineteen forty eight again

(57:39):
Billy Hayes and J. W. Johnson. Popularized by Elvis in
nineteen fifty seven, It has been recorded by more than
seventy five different artist nineteen sixty two, again Johnny Marx.
He wrote so many Christmas songs, this Johnny marks. It
was written for Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer tea special.

(58:01):
It was performed by Burl Lives, which single handedly propelled
it to number one on the charts. And of course
the one that makes me cry every year? Do they
know it's Christmas. I was there. It was a fabulous
recording event. Boy George everybody, every British pop star in
the world, George Michael, everybody, Bob Geldoff from the boomtown

(58:23):
Rats got them all together for thirty six hours, Paul McCartney,
just the biggest stars and it became one of the first,
one of the first big songs for charity for Christmas.
Written by Bob Geldof and Midgery, it was created to
raise money for Ethiopian femine relief. Very impactful. Now it's

(58:46):
criticized for simplifying African life and the African realities, but
it did launch Live Aid. Live Aid started because of
do they know it's Christmas? So Alexa play? Do they
know it's Christmas?

Speaker 8 (59:05):
Sure?

Speaker 9 (59:05):
Do they know it's Christmas? Original nineteen eighty four version.

Speaker 6 (59:11):
I was twenty two. I am correl, be who you
want to be, so long it doesn't hurt anybody. Merry
fucking Christmas, everybody. Oh I'm gonna cry. This song makes
me cry every time. I hope you have a great Christmas.

Speaker 2 (59:25):
Eve.

Speaker 6 (59:26):
I'll be with you tomorrow with more music. My history
of my music tomorrow, songs I've recorded and walked.

Speaker 8 (59:37):
We must share a smile, Joe.

Speaker 3 (59:41):
Throw your arms around.

Speaker 4 (59:46):
KAST on your favorite streaming service

Speaker 3 (59:53):
Save at Christmas time.

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