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
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The Bayeux Tapestry
Hatshepsut
Frederick the Great of Prussia
Medieval Christmas
Zheng Yi Sao
Mary Wollstonecraft
The History of Ice Cream
Mary Seacole
Disability in the Ancient World
Owain Glyndŵr
Paul Robeson
Çatalhöyük and the Neolithic Revolution
Sake Dean Mahomed
Medieval Science
The History of High Heels
Nell Gwyn
Ramesses the Great
Fairy Tales
Ivan the Terrible
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