The Chrismologist's Advent Calendar 2017 - Day 19

Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas will forever be associated with the festive seasonal, having first been released in 1984...



However, 2017 marks the tenth anniversary of the recording of this version of the song, which was even played on Radio 1!



To find out more about the festive season and its many traditions, order your copy of the Chrismologist's Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts today!

The book is also available in the United States as Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Christmas.

      

Christmas Explained, from A(dvent) to Z(oophagous)

It's 1st December again, the night's have drawn in, there's a distinct chill in the air, and what better way is there to prepare yourself for the coming of Christmas than to dip into Christmas Explained - Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts every day in Advent.

You'll discover all sorts of fascinating Yuletide facts, including the origins of the Advent calendar, the origins of Yule, and the origins of the traditional family pantomime.

Christmas Explained is available now from Snowbooks (appropriately enough) and via Amazon.

Oh, and if you'll able to (and up early enough), why not tune in to BBC Radio Wiltshire this morning between 8.00am and 8.30am, when I will be making an 'appearance' on Ben Prater's show?

BBC Wiltshire's Mr Christmas

In case you missed it, here's my appearance on BBC Radio Wiltshire from this time last week...

Christmas Explained

Ever wondered why robins are so connected to Christmas, what the significance the gifts of the three kings are in the Nativity story, or why you are forced to eat Brussel sprouts with your Christmas dinner? If so, then Christmas Explained: Robins, Kings and Brussel Sprouts is the book for you this Christmas.

Christmas Explained also answers these timeless Christmas questions...

Why do people put up Christmas decorations?
Where does the Christmas wreath come from?
Why are mince pies eaten at Christmas time?
Why are carols sung at Christmas time?
When was there a Frost Fair on the River Thames?
Why are reindeer so associated with Christmas?
Why is fish eaten on Christmas Eve?
What was the first Noël?
What have holly and ivy got to do with Christmas?
What is a Christingle?
Who made the first Christmas cracker?
Why do people go to pantomimes during the Christmas season?
What is wassailing?
Who was Good King Wenceslas?
When, and why, was Christmas cancelled?
When did war stop for Christmas?
Why do people build snowmen?

I was actually on BBC Radio Wiltshire this morning, fulfilling the role of their Mr Christmas, helped presenter Simeon Courtie get to the bottom of such festive practices as Christmas pudding, kissing under the mistletoe, and Boxing Day. You can listen to the segment using BBC Radio Wiltshire's listen again service here. (You want to start at 31 minutes in.)

D is for Dom and Danny Do Christmas

In 2008 I was involved in the recording of Dom and Danny Do Christmas, for Radio 5 Live. When the show's producer contacted my publisher's publicist to see if I would be interested in taking part, the email she sent said that they wanted a Chrismologist.

I was referred as such by Danny Wallace at the start of the show (which you can listen to below) and the name just sort of stuck.



If you would like to listen to the whole hour's worth of Dom and Danny Do Christmas, you can download it for free from here.

Just before we went on air, Dom Joly got out a singing, plastic Christmas tree. When I happened to mention that the first artificial trees were made from goose feathers dyed greed, he turned to me in amazement and said, "You really do know everything about Christmas!" I obviously made an impression, because he later mentioned me in his column in the Independent - sort of...

Then, last week I was recording my Radio Five Live Christmas day special and invited a man on who'd written a book called What is Myrrh Anyway? It turns out to be an "embalming ointment".

Ah... Fame at last!

Ghosts of Christmas Past

I know what some of you are probably thinking, right about now. Why the 'Chrismologist'? Surely someone who studies, or has a wide knowledge of, Christmas traditions should be the Christmologist or Christmasologist.

Well, when I was trying to settle on a name for this website I considered all three options carefully. The trouble with Christmologist is that it could be construed to mean someone who is an expert specifically on Jesus Christ, and Christmasologist felt too unwieldy. So I settled on Chrismologist.

But there was another reason why I went for this option. In 2008 I was involved in the recording of Dom and Danny Do Christmas, for Radio 5 Live. When they contacted my publisher's publicist to see if I would be interested in taking part, the email their producer sent said that they wanted a Chrismologist. And I was referred as such by Danny Wallace at the start of the show, which you can hear here.



If you would like to listen to the whole hour's worth of Dom and Danny Do Christmas, you can download it from here.

Just before we went on air, Dom Joly got out a singing, plastic Christmas tree, and when I was able to tell him what the first artificial trees were made from he turned to me in amazement and said, "You really do know everything about Christmas!" I obviously made an impression, because he mentioned me in his column in the Independent - sort of...

Then, last week I was recording my Radio Five Live Christmas day special and invited a man on who'd written a book called What is Myrrh Anyway? It turns out to be an "embalming ointment".

Ah... Fame at last!