Hey, it's Brian, and the big day is not so far off. I know that the Christmas season this year has been different in a lot of ways, and that Christmas itself will be too. It's just the reality that we're collectively living through at the moment, and that moment will pass.

And not to try to make light of the situation, but I do suspect that Christmas of 2020

will create lots of unique, if not necessarily pleasant, memories that'll last a lifetime,

and be retold in the years to come and handed down the generations.

You know, when I started Christmas Pass back in 2016, I had a pretty simple vision.

To create a show that took our familiar Christmas traditions and made them feel fascinating and surprising.

And to create a uniquely warm and nostalgic feeling by sharing Christmas memories submitted by people from all over the world.

That first year, when I was just starting out, it was an uphill

battle to get people to submit memories. The next year, 2017, I received so many that I had to

release a bonus episode just to play all the extras, and it's been that way ever since. So now,

for the fourth year in a row, I'm presenting to you an episode dedicated just to you and

your Christmas memories. There's a lot of things I love about producing Christmas past. It

keeps me in the spirit year-round. I get to talk to lots of interesting people. I learn a lot.

But sharing your memories is the thing I love most of all. And I want to let you know that there is still time to send me

a memory. I would love nothing more than to publish a second or even third or fourth episode

just like this sometime before the big day. And just in case you need a reminder, all you have to do

is record a voice memo into your phone and send it to Christmas Past Podcast at gmail.com.

Just try to keep it reasonably short, clean and family friendly, and be sure to say your name

and where you're from. Well, let's not waste another moment. You know, many of us encounter our

first sights and sounds of the season in the aisles of our favorite stores. Even before the Halloween

candy is cleared from the shelves, the decorations and Christmas cards and popcorn tins are out on

display. Say what you will about commercialism and Christmas creep, I say Christmas items on the

...