218 How the Dutch Brough Us Santa, Presents, & Treats
Ben Franklin's World
Liz Covart
4.6 • 1.5K Ratings
🗓️ 25 December 2018
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Have you ever wondered where the Christmas traditions of stockings, presents, and cookies come from?
What about jolly, old Saint Nicholas? Who was he and why do we often call him Santa Claus?
Peter G. Rose, culinary historian of Dutch foodways in North America and author of Delicious December: How the Dutch Brought Us Santa, Presents, and Treats joins us to discuss the origins of Santa Claus and edible goodies such as cookies in the United States.
This episode originally posted as Episode 009.
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/218
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Complementary Episodes
- Episode 035: Michael Lord, Historic Hudson Valley & Washington Irving
- Episode 121: Wim Klooster, The Dutch Moment in the 17th-Century Atlantic World
- Episode 161: Smuggling and the American Revolution
- Episode 185: Joyce Goodfriend, Who Should Rule at Home?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ben Franklin's World is a production of the |
| 0:02.7 | O'Mahandro Institute. |
| 0:04.2 | Welcome to Ben Franklin's World, |
| 0:07.7 | podcast about early American history with Liz |
| 0:10.7 | Covart. |
| 0:11.7 | The study of history is key to understanding who we are and how we can |
| 0:15.7 | affect the better future. Ben Franklin's world will introduce you to historical people |
| 0:20.8 | and events that have impacted and shaped our present day world. |
| 0:24.8 | And now here's your host, Liz Koval. |
| 0:27.6 | Hello and welcome to episode 218 of Ben Franklin's world, |
| 0:32.4 | the podcast dedicated to helping you, learn more about how the people |
| 0:36.2 | and events of our early American past have shaped the present day world we live in. And here we are, the last episode in our four episode series exploring family in early America. |
| 0:47.0 | Okay, so truth be told, I chose to spend December exploring the different types and dynamics of early American families because not only do you |
| 0:54.6 | often ask me about everyday life and how much more everyday life can you get than family. |
| 0:59.9 | But I also really wanted to recast this very early Ben Franklin's world episode about Dutch influences on American Christmas traditions. |
| 1:07.0 | Just like today, there were many different types of families and family dynamics to negotiate in Early America. |
| 1:13.2 | And just like today, regardless of your family or family dynamics, |
| 1:17.1 | we all try to come together with friends and family |
| 1:19.2 | on certain holidays, like Christmas. |
| 1:21.6 | And it turns out that Christmas in the United States has very distinctive roots. |
| 1:26.0 | Roots that begin with the Dutch colonists who settled in New Netherlands during the 17th century |
| 1:30.0 | and celebrated St. Nicholas Day or St. Nicholas Day in early December and Christmas or |
... |
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