The Endless Knot
We discuss etymology, history, literature, science, and language, and the connections between them.
Grace Tierney is back with another great book about the word origins, this time “Words Christmas Gave Us"! She regales us with festive stories and we talk about some of the fun traditions and treats of the winter holidays.
It’s been a long, unintended break since our last episode, but we’re happy to be back at it, in time to wish everyone very happy holidays!
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This year’s holiday episode is all about festivals and feasts — and in particular, midwinter celebrations, the solstice, and the seasons. And we read a couple of Latin poems about drinking — and explore the odd connection between them and a tire company!
Time for a holiday episode! This time we’re talking about how Santa’s reindeer got their names, including some of their classical ties to Roman religion and Greek myth, the Reindeer Rule in US law, and NORAD’s Santa Tracker. And we have a quiz about the animals that bring the winter gift giver around the world!
Our video “Who are Santa’s reindeer?”
Episode 25: The 12 Days of Christmas
The two versions of Eros: Protogenos & Ouranios
This podcast episode on YouTube
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
This year's holiday podcast looks back at last year's Christmas video, Stocking, and we talk about the Christmas treats our families enjoy, their history, and their etymology. All you could ever want to know about plum pudding and tourtiere, along with the story of St Nick himself. (PS: since the recording, I've seen indications that the 'mincepie ban' by the Puritans may be a myth, but Christmas celebrations in general definitely were banned, and mincepies and plum puddings were strongly associated with observances of the holiday, so were presumably included.)
Gerry Bowler, The World Encyclopedia of Christmas
Bruce David Forbes, Christmas: A Candid History
Desmond Morris, Christmas Watching
Andrea Broomfield, Food and Cooking in Victorian England: A History
Kaufman, Cathy. “The Ideal Christmas Dinner.” Gastronomica, vol. 4, no. 4, 2004, pp. 17–24.
Leach, Helen. “Translating the 18th Century Pudding.” Islands of Inquiry: Colonisation, Seafaring and the Archaeology of Maritime Landscapes, edited by Geoffrey Clark et al., vol. 29, ANU Press, 2008, pp. 381–396.
Canadian Encyclopedia "Tourtière"
Lemasson, Jean-Pierre. "The Long History of the Tourtière of Quebec's Lac-St-Jean", in What's to Eat? Entrees in Canadian Food History, edited by Nathalie Cooke, McGill-Queens UP, 2009.
We delve into the origins of the gifts in "The 12 Days of Christmas" carol, talk about Christmas as the season for games, read a little Latin poetry, and discuss the parallels between feisty women and old farts. And there's a bonus song!
This podcast episode on YouTube
James Burke Connections app kickstarter
You Are Not So Smart podcast, ep. 89
"Partridge in a Pear Tree" Cocktails:
http://www.fabhousewife.com/a-classy-christmas-cocktail/
https://blog.bedbathandbeyond.com/bbb-recipe/partridge-in-a-pear-tree-cocktail-recipe/
PNC Wealth Management Christmas Price Index
Mark Forsyth, A Christmas Cornucopia
Paul Anthony Jones, The Accidental Dictionary
We discuss the etymology of Yule & the Germanic roots of Christmas traditions, along with Dr. Seuss & the Grinch, beer, & the unsavoury meaning of 'mistletoe'.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas in Latin
The Twelve Days of Christmas video
The Twelve Etymologies of Christmas song
The Twelve Days of Christmas (traditional lyrics)