The Victorian Christmas
You're Dead to Me
BBC
4.7 • 11.8K Ratings
🗓️ 13 December 2019
⏱️ 48 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Why do we celebrate Christmas with cards, crackers and a tree? Join us as we travel back and explore the weird and wonderful history of the Victorian Christmas.
Just who the Dickens had the idea to bring trees indoors? Can a soft-drinks firm really take credit for Father Christmas’s red suit? And why did the Victorians send each other such bizarre Christmas cards?
Greg Jenner is joined in the studio by historian Dr Fern Riddell and comedian Russell Kane.
Produced by Cornelius Mendez Scripted and researched by Greg Jenner
A Muddy Knees Media production for BBC Radio 4
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts |
| 0:04.1 | Hello and welcome to a very special episode of Your Dead To Me, a history podcast for |
| 0:10.0 | people who don't like history or release people if you've got to learn any at school. |
| 0:13.7 | My name is Greg Jenner, I'm a public historian author and I'm the chief nerd on the BBC |
| 0:17.2 | comedy show Horrible Histories and for the purposes of today I'm also the ghost of Christmas |
| 0:21.2 | past. |
| 0:22.2 | The essence you can probably tell from the extra jingling on our intro jingle, it's the |
| 0:25.9 | contractually obligated festive special. |
| 0:28.1 | Today we are pulling our crackers, dangling shiny things on the tree and basting the |
| 0:31.6 | turkey and time on a tradition as we get to grips with how the Victorians celebrated |
| 0:35.6 | Christmas. |
| 0:36.6 | It's just a season for Bowers of Jolly so I'm joined by two very special guests. |
| 0:41.0 | In History Corner she's an author, broadcaster and expert on Victorian popular culture, plus |
| 0:45.4 | she's my fellow honorary research associate at Royal Holloway University. |
| 0:48.7 | It's the lovely Doctor Fern Riddell, hi Fern. |
| 0:50.5 | Hi Greg. |
| 0:51.5 | You feeling Christmasy? |
| 0:52.5 | I am. |
| 0:53.5 | Oh that's good. |
| 0:54.5 | And in Comedy Corner, boasting one of the most impressive CVs in comedy, he is a multi-award |
| 0:57.9 | winning stand-up, presenter, writer and performer. |
| 1:00.1 | You'll have seen him countless times on the tally and now he's the host of the Fantastic |
... |
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