1 00:00:01,160 --> 00:00:04,120 Speaker 1: Welcome to Steph you missed in history class from how 2 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:13,480 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:13,560 --> 00:00:17,919 Speaker 1: I'm Holly Fry and I'm Tracy B. Wilson. H and Tracy. 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:20,880 Speaker 1: We've had a lot of heavy episodes as of late. 5 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:25,840 Speaker 1: We sure have, which is great, but we are heading 6 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: into the holiday season and sometimes you want to have 7 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 1: a little frivolity. Ye. Last year we did two episodes 8 00:00:33,200 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: about holiday figures from around the world, where we talked 9 00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:39,800 Speaker 1: about the many non Santa Claus figures that are celebrated 10 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 1: during the winter season. So we talked about Crampus, Laba, 11 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: Fauna Center, Claus Varta, Pete Gorilla. When Tracy went on 12 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:50,640 Speaker 1: her honeymoon, she brought me back a lovely grilla ornament. 13 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: We talked about Bell Nickel and Pare Futard and TiO 14 00:00:54,440 --> 00:00:57,720 Speaker 1: di Natal. But there are more than that. Uh So 15 00:00:57,800 --> 00:00:59,800 Speaker 1: today we're going to add a third installment. This will 16 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:03,560 Speaker 1: be the edition of the Crampus and Friends Holiday Power Hour, 17 00:01:03,960 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: although right out of the gate, there's no Crampus in 18 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:08,840 Speaker 1: this one. We're just using that that naming convention to 19 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: continue the series for continuity, but you can always go 20 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:15,360 Speaker 1: back to that previous episode and it's not really an hour, 21 00:01:15,600 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: so we're fibbers as well in that regard. But but 22 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,160 Speaker 1: it is intended to mostly just be a fun way 23 00:01:22,360 --> 00:01:26,039 Speaker 1: to think about the holidays. From some other perspectives, some 24 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:28,600 Speaker 1: of it is very kookie, and you'll be like, what 25 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: that's a Christmas or New Year's tradition? Yeah. Uh. One day, 26 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:35,800 Speaker 1: I think you were out of the office for for 27 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:37,560 Speaker 1: some reason, and I put a little thing on our 28 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: Facebook that that was like, Okay, what sorts of winter 29 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:47,000 Speaker 1: slash Christmas slash yule tide topics do folks want to 30 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:49,880 Speaker 1: talk about? Because sometimes it feels like we are nearing 31 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: the end of seasonal topics. Um and two of the 32 00:01:56,880 --> 00:02:02,280 Speaker 1: stranger from my point of you, uh figures we will 33 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:09,040 Speaker 1: be talking about came directly from the folks suggestions. Yeah, 34 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: and I'm you know, we we love more. So if 35 00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:14,560 Speaker 1: you want this to happen again a year from now, 36 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: feel free to keep sending those. We'll keep a list. 37 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:22,720 Speaker 1: Even though Holly just beautifully pronounced so many names, we 38 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:24,240 Speaker 1: do want to say, well, there are a lot of 39 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:29,520 Speaker 1: different languages represented here. We don't speak any of them. 40 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: We are gonna make our our best heavily researched effort 41 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,720 Speaker 1: to try to say all of these right, but please 42 00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:40,359 Speaker 1: forgive us when we don't. And I would say, I 43 00:02:40,440 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: think Tracy is probably being very kind when she says 44 00:02:42,880 --> 00:02:45,840 Speaker 1: how beautifully pronounced those, because I'm confident there was some 45 00:02:45,919 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 1: butchering taking place as we were reading them, though I 46 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: was like, oh, those sounds so lovely. We're going to 47 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,320 Speaker 1: begin with Frau Perta, who was a holiday figure associated 48 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: most with the Alps. She's common in Austrian and Southern 49 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: German folklore, although she's certainly not confined exclusively to that area, 50 00:03:08,240 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: and she's been part of the lore in other places 51 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: as well. And there are also some slight variations to 52 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,400 Speaker 1: her name, which generally correlate to how she is represented 53 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: in different geographical areas, and there's a bit of debate 54 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: around parts origins. Scholars who link her to Paganism suggests 55 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,680 Speaker 1: that she was originally a goddess figure that then became 56 00:03:29,720 --> 00:03:34,240 Speaker 1: twisted into a more sinister hag character as Christianity enveloped 57 00:03:34,280 --> 00:03:36,440 Speaker 1: cultures that had pagan roots and kind of tried to 58 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,040 Speaker 1: adopt and adapt those those ideas. So her name, according 59 00:03:40,040 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: to Jacob Graham's Deutsche mythology meant shining one. But it's 60 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: also suggested that her name was potentially originally a completely 61 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: different word, which is stamp Uh associated with stamping, sort 62 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:56,840 Speaker 1: of a more violent, angrier kind of idea and the 63 00:03:56,920 --> 00:04:00,960 Speaker 1: darker parts of her mythology. And she's also sometimes associated 64 00:04:00,960 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 1: with a figure called frau Holda or fraud Hola Uh. 65 00:04:04,960 --> 00:04:07,840 Speaker 1: Sometimes they're kind of represented as sisters or cousins, or 66 00:04:07,920 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: one is the northern version, one is the Southern version, 67 00:04:11,080 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 1: and that's a figure of possibly Scandinavian origin who's also 68 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 1: associated with agriculture and the arts and has parallel festival timing, 69 00:04:19,320 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: which is why they're often linked together. But much of 70 00:04:22,680 --> 00:04:26,720 Speaker 1: PETA's origin story is a mess of speculation and piecing 71 00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: together puzzles which are missing really big pieces. This is 72 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,000 Speaker 1: one of those cases we often find where one writing 73 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:35,680 Speaker 1: in this case Grim's asserts some things and it gets 74 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:39,279 Speaker 1: picked up and repeated as fact without any actual substantiation 75 00:04:39,360 --> 00:04:42,640 Speaker 1: for those claims. Yeah, that happens a lot, particularly in folklore. 76 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: I'm sure anybody should we have any folklore scholars listening, 77 00:04:46,440 --> 00:04:48,200 Speaker 1: they know that this is a big part of picking 78 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,960 Speaker 1: apart and teasing out the truth of any given origin story, 79 00:04:52,800 --> 00:04:56,400 Speaker 1: so away from the paganism interpretation. There is a folklore 80 00:04:56,400 --> 00:04:59,200 Speaker 1: scholar named J. B. Smith, and he spoke at a 81 00:04:59,200 --> 00:05:02,039 Speaker 1: conference in tooth Holes in where he described her more 82 00:05:02,080 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 1: as the folk gloric personification of Epiphany. And this was 83 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:08,480 Speaker 1: as he put it in a paper that he published 84 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,800 Speaker 1: later quote in harmony with a general medieval tendency to 85 00:05:11,960 --> 00:05:16,440 Speaker 1: personify feast and fast days. I'm just gonna take a 86 00:05:16,440 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: moment to say, I really miss La Bafana, the Epiphany Witch. 87 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:22,840 Speaker 1: You don't have to miss her. You can have her 88 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:26,800 Speaker 1: in her home. This holiday season where so fraud Practa's 89 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: role as part of a holiday celebration has evolved, just 90 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: the same as many many other holiday figures. She shows 91 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:35,360 Speaker 1: up during the twelve days of Christmas, and in modern 92 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:37,640 Speaker 1: traditions she has come to be known as sort of 93 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: a behavior barometer for keeping children in line. Good children 94 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: are rewarded and bad children are punished, and lying makes 95 00:05:45,080 --> 00:05:49,599 Speaker 1: her especially angry. She's kind of a grumpy protector, taking 96 00:05:49,640 --> 00:05:52,039 Speaker 1: care of people and wording off evil, but really ready 97 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 1: to dole out penalties if she thinks you've misbehaved. But 98 00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:00,479 Speaker 1: earlier incarnations of practa were much dark her in the 99 00:06:00,600 --> 00:06:03,839 Speaker 1: judgment of good versus bad behavior, So she would punish 100 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:08,040 Speaker 1: people who worked, specifically those who worked at spinning, which 101 00:06:08,080 --> 00:06:11,960 Speaker 1: is a task she's very closely associated with, who did 102 00:06:11,960 --> 00:06:16,040 Speaker 1: that on holidays or did not participate in community feasts 103 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:20,280 Speaker 1: and celebrations. So she's often referenced as like the keeper 104 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:23,560 Speaker 1: of an enforcer of taboos. So like you do not 105 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: work on holiday, you take that time to be part 106 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:29,720 Speaker 1: of the community and feast at times and her mythologies, 107 00:06:29,800 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: she's taken on some truly gruesome characteristics. She would seek 108 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: out the lazy members of a community and then punish 109 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: them for their lack of motivation by cutting open their bellies, 110 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 1: removing their viscera, and then filling them up with garbage. 111 00:06:45,760 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: There are some lines that can be drawn from all 112 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,920 Speaker 1: of this belly splitting and her connection to feasting and 113 00:06:52,960 --> 00:06:57,839 Speaker 1: making sure that people observe the holiday calendar. Yeah, there 114 00:06:57,839 --> 00:07:01,920 Speaker 1: are some kind of theoreticals where people say, oh yes, 115 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,719 Speaker 1: because they're they're not taking part in the feast. She 116 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:06,600 Speaker 1: will fill them with things that they don't like if 117 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:08,560 Speaker 1: they're not willing to be part of that meal in 118 00:07:08,600 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 1: celebration and community moment, but her sinister holiday dealings were 119 00:07:12,400 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: not just about dolling out consequences for the lazy. Greed 120 00:07:16,600 --> 00:07:19,840 Speaker 1: was also a target and even being too inquisitive. So 121 00:07:19,880 --> 00:07:23,360 Speaker 1: you can see how this kind of uh gets really 122 00:07:23,400 --> 00:07:25,440 Speaker 1: to the heart of that whole community thing, like, basically, 123 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 1: don't be a troublemaker, do your work when you're supposed to, 124 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 1: take breaks, and be part of the community when you're 125 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,520 Speaker 1: supposed to h And there are even some less common 126 00:07:32,600 --> 00:07:35,320 Speaker 1: variations in her lore in which she finds children who 127 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:37,520 Speaker 1: have lied. We mentioned a moment ago that she really 128 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:42,280 Speaker 1: hated it, and she scrapes their tongues with glass. In 129 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:46,000 Speaker 1: some places, her legend extends beyond winter and the winter 130 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: holidays and crosses over with other mythical figures. She said 131 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,960 Speaker 1: to live in lush wooded areas and in lakes in 132 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:56,600 Speaker 1: the summertime, and to bless flocks of sheep for shepherds 133 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,880 Speaker 1: who brought her flax when it was warm. She was, 134 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 1: in some places so associated with this more agrarian spinning 135 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:05,840 Speaker 1: culture that it was said that she could sometimes be 136 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:09,760 Speaker 1: seen wandering the green slopes of mountains and twilight carrying 137 00:08:09,800 --> 00:08:13,000 Speaker 1: a golden spindle. And then she moved into the more 138 00:08:13,160 --> 00:08:15,720 Speaker 1: mountainous caves in the winter, which is where she would 139 00:08:15,720 --> 00:08:19,720 Speaker 1: make snow just sort of lovely and nicer than her 140 00:08:20,120 --> 00:08:24,000 Speaker 1: cutting people open and stuffing garbage in their abdomens. There 141 00:08:24,040 --> 00:08:27,840 Speaker 1: are some really specific folklore stories about Perkra, and there 142 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:30,360 Speaker 1: are three that we're going to mention. These were referenced 143 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: again in that longer paper by J. B. Smith, and 144 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:35,679 Speaker 1: they feature traveling with sort of a band of ghosts, 145 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,520 Speaker 1: and those are those of unbaptized children who could not 146 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:43,240 Speaker 1: travel to their afterlife. So she and this group of spirits, 147 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:46,320 Speaker 1: and sometimes these spirits are characterized in this benign way 148 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: as sort of these orphans and unbaptized children, but at 149 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:53,120 Speaker 1: other times they're depicted more as a collection of demons 150 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,400 Speaker 1: that travel with her, and those are referred to collectively 151 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 1: as Perkton. And in these tales, which are more modern, 152 00:08:58,720 --> 00:09:01,040 Speaker 1: she serves in a role which rewards good for the 153 00:09:01,080 --> 00:09:05,240 Speaker 1: most part, rather than her more terrifying belly slitting, tongue 154 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: scraping incarnation. And one, while she's traveling with her party 155 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:13,480 Speaker 1: of unbaptized children in a carriage over reugh terrain, a 156 00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:16,960 Speaker 1: wheel falls off of their ride and a kind passerby 157 00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:19,320 Speaker 1: makes a new lynch pin by carving it from wood, 158 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:21,920 Speaker 1: and she tells him to keep the wood shavings, which 159 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,160 Speaker 1: then turned into gold in his pocket. Sort of a 160 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:29,720 Speaker 1: much nicer version. In another story, an impoverished man goes 161 00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:32,720 Speaker 1: looking in the night for a godparent for his newborn child, 162 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:36,120 Speaker 1: and this baby in the story is a fresh addition 163 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:39,000 Speaker 1: to an already large family that he is struggling to 164 00:09:39,080 --> 00:09:42,200 Speaker 1: provide for, and when he happens upon Pecta and her 165 00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 1: destitute children in the woods, he shows them compassion, remarking 166 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:49,120 Speaker 1: to one who looks especially poorly clothed. In some stories, 167 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 1: this child is wearing only their undergarments. I'm gonna butcher 168 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: this word, so I apologize you, poor little Zoda Vasher. 169 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: And in addressing the child with a name which apparently 170 00:09:59,240 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: translates rough lee to ragged little might and showing kindness, 171 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,960 Speaker 1: he earns Peracta's blessing, and good fortune soon comes to 172 00:10:07,040 --> 00:10:10,400 Speaker 1: him in the form of a wealthy benefactor. The last 173 00:10:10,480 --> 00:10:13,160 Speaker 1: of the park to stories that Smith recounts features a 174 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: farm hand who hides in a stove to spy on 175 00:10:15,880 --> 00:10:19,440 Speaker 1: Peracta and her children after his employer prepares a room 176 00:10:19,520 --> 00:10:22,160 Speaker 1: for them in their farmhouse for twelfth night. When the 177 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 1: travelers arrive, she tells one of the children to plug 178 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:27,760 Speaker 1: up a hole she sees in the stove, and that 179 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,079 Speaker 1: was the one that the farm hand was looking through. 180 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:33,160 Speaker 1: He waits out their stay and when he's when he 181 00:10:33,200 --> 00:10:37,319 Speaker 1: emerges after they've left, he realizes that he is blind. 182 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:40,839 Speaker 1: He returns to the stove the following year, and this 183 00:10:40,920 --> 00:10:43,880 Speaker 1: time Pta tells her child to unplug the hole. In 184 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:48,040 Speaker 1: his state, his his sight is restored. I made a 185 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:52,840 Speaker 1: note that it's like mythical lazing um. So while parks 186 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:56,520 Speaker 1: modern incarnation follows the frequent theme of holiday figures designed 187 00:10:56,520 --> 00:10:59,839 Speaker 1: to encourage good behavior in children during the holidays, she 188 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:02,600 Speaker 1: has throughout her years been many things too many people, 189 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,280 Speaker 1: but always with a touch of magic, and of course 190 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 1: including some of those dark things like being a belly slidter. 191 00:11:08,400 --> 00:11:13,000 Speaker 1: There are also areas where a modern pecton celebration takes place, 192 00:11:13,040 --> 00:11:15,760 Speaker 1: and it's kind of like Crampus knocked where her demons, 193 00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:19,720 Speaker 1: which are young men in scary wooden masks called shia Parton, 194 00:11:20,160 --> 00:11:22,199 Speaker 1: run through the streets of the town, and in some 195 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: places this happens twice. The scary version comes first, and 196 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,199 Speaker 1: then later when they run through the streets again, they 197 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:33,199 Speaker 1: are in handsome, non demonic forms, uh, which sounds kind 198 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:36,200 Speaker 1: of fun to me, but also exhausting if you have 199 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,960 Speaker 1: to do it twice. So we're gonna pause in the 200 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 1: festivities here for a little break from one of our sponsors. 201 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:52,760 Speaker 1: So next up is the Welsh holiday figure Mari Luid, 202 00:11:53,360 --> 00:11:56,480 Speaker 1: and this name translates to gray mayor. You'll sometimes also 203 00:11:56,520 --> 00:12:01,320 Speaker 1: see it as Holy Mary or ray Mary, and it 204 00:12:01,400 --> 00:12:04,720 Speaker 1: can be to foreigners sort of equal parts festive and frightening. 205 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,640 Speaker 1: It almost seems, if you are not familiar with this custom, 206 00:12:07,880 --> 00:12:11,560 Speaker 1: more like a Halloween celebration, because while the Mighty Luid 207 00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:15,040 Speaker 1: is a character of sorts, it's really an act of Mary, 208 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:19,840 Speaker 1: though maccabre puppetry. The Marie Luid tradition is believed to 209 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:23,400 Speaker 1: bring good fortune, and it all starts with a horse 210 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:26,840 Speaker 1: skull on New Year's Eve. That skull is then adorned 211 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:30,120 Speaker 1: with decorative ears and eyes and dressed up with accessories 212 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 1: like bright ribbons and bells, and that's carried around on 213 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,560 Speaker 1: a pole, usually with a sheet wrapped around it to 214 00:12:35,640 --> 00:12:39,880 Speaker 1: conceal the person who's carrying the pole, and traditionally the 215 00:12:39,960 --> 00:12:43,000 Speaker 1: Mighty Lud was carried door to door by merrymakers who 216 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:46,240 Speaker 1: would sing. They would challenge the occupants to verse battles 217 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 1: and ultimately, if the Mighty loud Bearers were the winners 218 00:12:49,280 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: of those battles, would ask to be invited into the 219 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,040 Speaker 1: home they were visiting. And there's actually a really fun 220 00:12:55,720 --> 00:12:58,520 Speaker 1: BBC film from nineteen sixty six of this call and 221 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:02,160 Speaker 1: responsive song that goes is on that's available on YouTube, 222 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:03,600 Speaker 1: and we will have a link to that in our 223 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:07,360 Speaker 1: show notes. Once inside the home, the visitors would be 224 00:13:07,400 --> 00:13:11,280 Speaker 1: treated to refreshments and sometimes would receive small gifts of cash, 225 00:13:11,640 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 1: and in exchange they would entertain for a bit before 226 00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 1: moving on to the next hound. To have Marie Luid 227 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,640 Speaker 1: in your home was believed to bring with it good 228 00:13:20,679 --> 00:13:22,880 Speaker 1: fortune and to clear the home of bad spirits. So 229 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:27,080 Speaker 1: really this whole horse bearing visitors are always invited in 230 00:13:27,280 --> 00:13:31,320 Speaker 1: for some hospitality. Yeah, they always win in the battle, 231 00:13:31,400 --> 00:13:33,600 Speaker 1: whether no matter how it plays out, they're always kind 232 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:35,079 Speaker 1: of the winners, and so they get to come in. 233 00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,760 Speaker 1: And this is actually, if you really want to trace 234 00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 1: it back to its most basic roots, a very very 235 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: old tradition and it's certainly not exclusive to Welsh culture. Certainly, 236 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:47,680 Speaker 1: performing with animal masks and singing and call and response 237 00:13:47,720 --> 00:13:51,600 Speaker 1: style as part of a cultural tradition, and sharing food 238 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:54,640 Speaker 1: and drink have been parts of very ancient customs that 239 00:13:54,679 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 1: built community and marked the changing of the Season's way 240 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:00,959 Speaker 1: way back into mankind's history is for the origins of 241 00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:03,960 Speaker 1: this particular tradition. Because of how old it is, things 242 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:08,160 Speaker 1: a kind of nebulous really quickly, but piecing together the ingredients. 243 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:13,320 Speaker 1: The horse and Celtic Britain represented fertility and strength. And additionally, 244 00:14:13,360 --> 00:14:16,000 Speaker 1: the idea of passing back and forth from the living 245 00:14:16,040 --> 00:14:18,439 Speaker 1: world to the underworld is one that held a lot 246 00:14:18,480 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 1: of power and this is the horse's skull. So the 247 00:14:22,400 --> 00:14:25,760 Speaker 1: horses deceased. Yeah, so the horse is doing that passing 248 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:28,160 Speaker 1: back and forth as part of this New Year's celebration. 249 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:32,320 Speaker 1: But this old form of caroling turn friendly competition has 250 00:14:32,360 --> 00:14:35,840 Speaker 1: also had a really pretty active revival in recent decades. 251 00:14:36,240 --> 00:14:39,120 Speaker 1: There are a number of small groups that like to 252 00:14:39,160 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: perform the Mighty Luid in various Welsh towns as well 253 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,200 Speaker 1: as bigger regional gatherings where the horse skull puppet comes 254 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,480 Speaker 1: out and this old ritual is enacted really with great glee. 255 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:51,720 Speaker 1: This is another thing you can find videos of online 256 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:54,480 Speaker 1: and they're really quite fun. In addition to all the 257 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: New Year's appearances, it's also sometimes there are appearances in 258 00:14:57,920 --> 00:15:01,800 Speaker 1: the spring. You Yeah, and there's also for people who 259 00:15:01,880 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: are curious what this actually looks like, there is a 260 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 1: really interesting flicker group that we will link to in 261 00:15:06,960 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 1: the show notes so you can see photos of some 262 00:15:08,960 --> 00:15:12,280 Speaker 1: of these decorated horse skull puppets. They're really quite fun. 263 00:15:12,360 --> 00:15:14,400 Speaker 1: It sounds a little weird and creepy if you're not 264 00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,960 Speaker 1: familiar with it, but it seems so joyous and delightful 265 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 1: when you actually get to watch it. Our next holiday 266 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:24,440 Speaker 1: figure is from Basque Country and it's sort of a 267 00:15:24,480 --> 00:15:29,000 Speaker 1: Santa Claus variation, or Lanzero is an old man, grubby 268 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:31,680 Speaker 1: with smears of coal dust and has a pot belly, 269 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: and that may initially sound similar to Santa but lanzero 270 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:39,000 Speaker 1: is not dressed in red for trim suits. He wears 271 00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:42,440 Speaker 1: more standard clothing, usually that of a peasant, a peasant farmer, 272 00:15:42,480 --> 00:15:44,920 Speaker 1: and he has a big red nose. Yeah. I was 273 00:15:44,960 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: reading a translated page about him where that there was 274 00:15:49,480 --> 00:15:53,040 Speaker 1: a significant hint that his nose suggested that he had 275 00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:58,600 Speaker 1: some pretty chronic drinking habits. But I don't know if 276 00:15:58,640 --> 00:16:01,120 Speaker 1: you if we should include that because it was just 277 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:03,760 Speaker 1: in the one spot. Uh. And following the theme of 278 00:16:03,800 --> 00:16:08,320 Speaker 1: many of these holiday characters, Olentzero's origins are not entirely clear. 279 00:16:08,840 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: His name may suggest the idea of calling or asking, 280 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 1: related to an older Basque tradition where children would go 281 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 1: from house to house sort of singing for their supper. 282 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,840 Speaker 1: They would entertain in the hopes of getting food or money, 283 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: but this was not like trick or treating. They would 284 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: actually collect these things, and then they would go back 285 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: to their own home and and that food and money 286 00:16:29,760 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 1: that they had gathered would be used to assemble a 287 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:36,640 Speaker 1: feast meal. In writings dating back several hundred years, olentzero 288 00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:39,680 Speaker 1: appears as a member of a race of giants who 289 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:43,080 Speaker 1: lived in the Pyrenees. According to this legend, these people 290 00:16:43,080 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: saw a glowing cloud in the sky, so bright that 291 00:16:45,480 --> 00:16:48,800 Speaker 1: it was painful to look at, and a man who 292 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,120 Speaker 1: was partially blind could look at it. So the giants 293 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:54,280 Speaker 1: held him aloft so he could get a closer look. 294 00:16:54,840 --> 00:16:57,800 Speaker 1: When they put him back, he said the sign was 295 00:16:58,120 --> 00:17:00,520 Speaker 1: He said this, that the cloud was a sign of 296 00:17:00,600 --> 00:17:04,200 Speaker 1: the birth of Jesus. Okay, so this may sound sort 297 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: of nice and kind of an interesting and variation on 298 00:17:07,320 --> 00:17:09,880 Speaker 1: this story up to this point, but brace because things 299 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:12,679 Speaker 1: are about to get really really weird. Uh So, fearing 300 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 1: the changes of the world that the arrival of the 301 00:17:15,240 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 1: Son of God might hearken, this old, partially blind man 302 00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: wanted to die, and he asked the giants to throw 303 00:17:21,600 --> 00:17:24,240 Speaker 1: him off a cliff. And they walked up a mountain 304 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,080 Speaker 1: and fulfilled this wish. But then as they descended, they 305 00:17:27,119 --> 00:17:30,399 Speaker 1: all fell to their deaths save one survivor, and that 306 00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: was Oleno. Now, according to this about to get grizzly legend, 307 00:17:37,359 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: Alonzo continued down the mountain into the villages below, and 308 00:17:41,400 --> 00:17:44,680 Speaker 1: they got there and punished people who were eating too 309 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:48,680 Speaker 1: much on the day before Christ's birth by slitting their throats. 310 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: There's some irony here, and that Alonso was something of 311 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:57,200 Speaker 1: a glutton and a little too fond of drinks. So 312 00:17:57,280 --> 00:18:01,920 Speaker 1: that's a little dark. Yeah, that's maybe not the most 313 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:04,760 Speaker 1: merry Christmas story ever, And that is not the story 314 00:18:04,800 --> 00:18:09,240 Speaker 1: as it's told today. So now uh Ano is not 315 00:18:09,320 --> 00:18:12,040 Speaker 1: a giant but a regular human man who spreads love, 316 00:18:12,200 --> 00:18:14,400 Speaker 1: and in this version of the story. He was adopted 317 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:17,160 Speaker 1: by a fairy after having been found in the woods 318 00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:20,479 Speaker 1: as a baby, presumably abandoned, and as he grew up 319 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:23,119 Speaker 1: he became a charcoal maker, and then he would carve 320 00:18:23,160 --> 00:18:26,240 Speaker 1: figures out of the charcoal to create toys for children, 321 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: and he would visit villages and distribute these toys every 322 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,399 Speaker 1: time he had filled his sack up with them. And 323 00:18:32,440 --> 00:18:35,600 Speaker 1: on one such toy distribution visit, he was trapped while 324 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:38,560 Speaker 1: saving Sometimes it's one child, sometimes it seems like it's 325 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:41,639 Speaker 1: several children from a burning house, and he became trapped 326 00:18:41,640 --> 00:18:43,480 Speaker 1: in the house and it looked like that was his end. 327 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 1: But his fairy mother came to him in that moment, 328 00:18:46,600 --> 00:18:49,040 Speaker 1: and to reward him for his bravery, she not only 329 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:52,120 Speaker 1: saved him, but made him immortal so he can make 330 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:56,639 Speaker 1: and share toys with children forever. Now, life size figures 331 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:59,119 Speaker 1: of Aalencio are made with wood or paper mache, and 332 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:03,200 Speaker 1: then they're carried to the streets on Christmas Eve. Yeah, 333 00:19:03,240 --> 00:19:05,480 Speaker 1: I read in one spot, but I couldn't verify again 334 00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: because most of this is foreign language and I'm reading 335 00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:13,920 Speaker 1: interesting translations. Um. Sometimes he is set on fire as 336 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:16,399 Speaker 1: part of the festivities to kind of represent that story. 337 00:19:17,160 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: Uh so, again an interesting twist on the Christmas story. 338 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,280 Speaker 1: And I need some eggnogs. So let's pause for a 339 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,800 Speaker 1: sponsor break. Does that sound yah me to you, Tracy? Okay, 340 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 1: let's have a sponsor break. We'll get some magnaga and 341 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:40,080 Speaker 1: then we'll get to our next holiday story. Dead Motives 342 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: or Father Frost is a Slavic variation on Santa Claus 343 00:19:43,600 --> 00:19:46,159 Speaker 1: and Dead Motives is an icon of Winter, and he 344 00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: and his granddaughter or daughter or possibly fairy god daughter 345 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:54,480 Speaker 1: depending on your source, bring New Year's gifts as they 346 00:19:54,560 --> 00:19:56,800 Speaker 1: ride in their sleigh, which is drawn by a trio 347 00:19:56,840 --> 00:20:00,560 Speaker 1: of horses and also includes a beautiful evergreen tree as 348 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:05,320 Speaker 1: its cargo. Snegoka is often mentioned is the thing that 349 00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:09,200 Speaker 1: sets dead morals. Apart from other Santa like figures, which 350 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,159 Speaker 1: there are many, none of the others travels with a 351 00:20:12,280 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 1: female counterpart. Snegor Rochka is also called the Snow Maiden 352 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,120 Speaker 1: or just Snowy, and as we just mentioned, she has 353 00:20:18,119 --> 00:20:21,080 Speaker 1: a number of different roles because her origin story really 354 00:20:21,200 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 1: varies quite greatly. She maybe Father Frost's daughter with the 355 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 1: Snow Queen, or she might, as one legend tells it, 356 00:20:28,400 --> 00:20:31,480 Speaker 1: be a girl made of snow by a couple desperate 357 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:33,840 Speaker 1: for a child, and then brought to life by their 358 00:20:33,880 --> 00:20:37,840 Speaker 1: love in a legend. Because she cannot withstand the transition 359 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,879 Speaker 1: from winter to spring without changing form, she sometimes becomes 360 00:20:41,880 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 1: a cloud after the warmth melts her, and so she 361 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:48,320 Speaker 1: represents the changing of the seasons and when she appears 362 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:52,639 Speaker 1: with dead mottos. However, Snegroa is a gorgeous, glamorous creature. 363 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:56,160 Speaker 1: Her long winter robes are always bejeweled, and she helps 364 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:59,520 Speaker 1: deliver gifts to good children. She also serves as sort 365 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,200 Speaker 1: of this breed edge between Father Frost and the children, 366 00:21:02,840 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 1: because she'll play with the kids and she'll get Father 367 00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:08,600 Speaker 1: Frost to join in from time to time. Dead Moros 368 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:11,400 Speaker 1: has roots in the St. Nicholas story, of course, as 369 00:21:11,400 --> 00:21:14,399 Speaker 1: well as the Russian hero figure of Morotsko, who is 370 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:17,560 Speaker 1: similar to Jack Frost, sometimes described as a demon of 371 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:21,040 Speaker 1: snow who can freeze water with his cold iron fists. 372 00:21:21,560 --> 00:21:25,560 Speaker 1: Morotsco and in turn Dead Moros as a duality of nature, 373 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: a protector of the good and the hard working and 374 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:33,800 Speaker 1: the punisher of the lazy and deceitful. Yeah, pretty common 375 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:36,359 Speaker 1: theme through all of the holiday figures that we've talked 376 00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:38,480 Speaker 1: about on the three episodes we've done on these for 377 00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,800 Speaker 1: they you know, reward the good and punish the bad. 378 00:21:43,920 --> 00:21:47,399 Speaker 1: And while Dead Motives is similar to Santa in many ways, 379 00:21:47,480 --> 00:21:50,480 Speaker 1: his style sets him apart a little bit. His great 380 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,680 Speaker 1: fur coat is ankle length and it and his cap 381 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:57,399 Speaker 1: are normally heavily embellished with white and metallic sort of 382 00:21:57,480 --> 00:22:01,000 Speaker 1: graphical scroll work designs that can range from like I 383 00:22:01,040 --> 00:22:03,400 Speaker 1: said that scroll work to uh, you know, a smattering 384 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,520 Speaker 1: of stars. They often include pearl and crystal beating that 385 00:22:06,600 --> 00:22:10,720 Speaker 1: mimic sparkling snow. He also carries a magical staff that 386 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:13,639 Speaker 1: helps keep sweet old father Frost as nimble as a 387 00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:17,240 Speaker 1: youngster as he travels through the cold winter night. In 388 00:22:17,280 --> 00:22:20,919 Speaker 1: the late ninety nineties, it was decided that Dead Moritz 389 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:24,240 Speaker 1: Is home is a small town in northern Russia called 390 00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 1: veliky Ustig, which is in the Vologodski region, and if 391 00:22:29,440 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: you like, you can get on a train and go 392 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:33,359 Speaker 1: visit him there where he lives in a log cabin 393 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:38,040 Speaker 1: that sits at the point where three rivers meet and uh. 394 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,560 Speaker 1: Dead Bonots is fortunately a voracious reader because he spends 395 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,399 Speaker 1: his non winter time pouring over all of the letting 396 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:46,920 Speaker 1: letters that he gets from the children of Russia, carefully 397 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:53,320 Speaker 1: noting what their New Year's gift wishes might be his. Uh, 398 00:22:53,359 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 1: but dead Moritz has his own dark past in his mythology. 399 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,040 Speaker 1: While now he has known as his kindly sweet and 400 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:02,760 Speaker 1: who spreads love and toys, he has been written about 401 00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:06,879 Speaker 1: as a much more terrifying figure. Nineteenth century poet Nicolae 402 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:10,119 Speaker 1: necrosoft pen a poem called more It's Red Nose in 403 00:23:10,160 --> 00:23:14,520 Speaker 1: which father Frost was a cruel. It was cruel, freezing 404 00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,880 Speaker 1: people to death for his own amusement, and one particularly 405 00:23:17,960 --> 00:23:21,879 Speaker 1: horrifying even the story he freezes an impoverished widow and 406 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:27,119 Speaker 1: then laughs at her orphaned children. That's not cool, not 407 00:23:27,320 --> 00:23:31,080 Speaker 1: nice at all. No, but eventually his image did soften. 408 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:36,159 Speaker 1: But uh. What really ended up sort of changing things 409 00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:40,640 Speaker 1: for Dead Monos is the Bolshevik Revolution. It halted appearances 410 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,879 Speaker 1: of this particular holiday figure for a time, So from 411 00:23:44,000 --> 00:23:46,879 Speaker 1: nineteen seventeen into the nineteen thirties, the sort of anti 412 00:23:46,960 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 1: religious movement made Dead Months who is seen as a 413 00:23:49,600 --> 00:23:53,919 Speaker 1: children's god and unwelcome cultural icon. But he did re 414 00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:56,920 Speaker 1: emerge in the mid nineteen thirties. His views shifted slightly, 415 00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,240 Speaker 1: and his benefit to the children of the country was 416 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:02,720 Speaker 1: seen as more portant than the rejection of the bourgeoisie figure. 417 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 1: Although this is really when he kind of became solidified 418 00:24:05,600 --> 00:24:08,320 Speaker 1: as a New Year's visitor rather than a Christmas figure. 419 00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:13,280 Speaker 1: After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, in variations on 420 00:24:13,359 --> 00:24:16,960 Speaker 1: Dead Morals developed in the various countries that had previously 421 00:24:17,040 --> 00:24:21,560 Speaker 1: been part of the USSR. Yeah, there are certainly similarities, 422 00:24:21,560 --> 00:24:24,960 Speaker 1: but some have even changed up the name to really 423 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,719 Speaker 1: sort of set there's apart and kind of create their 424 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 1: own cultural traditions. But since two thousand two there's been 425 00:24:32,040 --> 00:24:35,600 Speaker 1: this other interesting tradition that Dead Moduts has been part of, 426 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:39,440 Speaker 1: UH sort of an act of political goodwill. So every 427 00:24:39,520 --> 00:24:42,840 Speaker 1: year Father Frost has a holiday meeting with Finland's Santa 428 00:24:42,880 --> 00:24:45,360 Speaker 1: Claus at a spot on the border that the two 429 00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:50,080 Speaker 1: nations share and literally while border guards look on, children 430 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:53,640 Speaker 1: perform songs and dances, and the two holiday figures exchange 431 00:24:53,720 --> 00:24:57,000 Speaker 1: gifts with one another. According to reports that I found 432 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:02,520 Speaker 1: in Santa Claus gave dead Monot universal charger for mobile devices, 433 00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: possibly to keep the elves charged up and ready. UH, 434 00:25:05,840 --> 00:25:08,240 Speaker 1: and dead Modots gave Santa Claus a picture book with 435 00:25:08,359 --> 00:25:12,000 Speaker 1: Vladimir Putin on the cover, and then in things became 436 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:15,359 Speaker 1: a bit more traditional. Dead Monots gave Santa an ice 437 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,720 Speaker 1: snowflake and Santa Claus in turn gave him a basket 438 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:22,400 Speaker 1: of sweets. So no telling what this year's exchange might include. 439 00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:26,359 Speaker 1: Uh it maybe it will once again be traditional or 440 00:25:26,359 --> 00:25:30,080 Speaker 1: maybe ultra modern. We don't know. I'm not completely sure 441 00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:34,560 Speaker 1: why because it doesn't exactly add up, but Snega Rochka 442 00:25:35,280 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 1: really reminds me of Susan from the Discworld books, and 443 00:25:38,600 --> 00:25:42,680 Speaker 1: so now I want to go watch hog Father. Oh well, yeah, 444 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:45,600 Speaker 1: there's also if you look at her, you can see 445 00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:50,040 Speaker 1: that there's uh to be very modern culture e. You know, 446 00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:53,160 Speaker 1: she is a snow princess, so she bears some resemblance 447 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,840 Speaker 1: to things like Elsa from Frozen, you know. Any even 448 00:25:56,880 --> 00:26:00,479 Speaker 1: though Elsa is sort of a more Norway based idea, 449 00:26:01,080 --> 00:26:04,800 Speaker 1: they're still like the long blue, silvery robes that have 450 00:26:04,880 --> 00:26:07,359 Speaker 1: all of this sparkle and ice on them, So I 451 00:26:07,400 --> 00:26:11,239 Speaker 1: thought of that as well. Yeah. It it doesn't make 452 00:26:11,280 --> 00:26:13,040 Speaker 1: a lot of sense that she reminds me of Susan, 453 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:17,280 Speaker 1: except that Susan is a daughter and is in Hogfather like, 454 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,639 Speaker 1: which is also a holiday tradition in its own for 455 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: many people. Do you have a listener mail? I do, 456 00:26:24,960 --> 00:26:28,840 Speaker 1: and I decided to keep it in line with sort 457 00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:31,480 Speaker 1: of our lighter tone that we're having this time around. 458 00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 1: Uh and this also will come with kind of a 459 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:41,080 Speaker 1: hilarious lost items confession. So uh, hey, it's no secret 460 00:26:41,160 --> 00:26:44,200 Speaker 1: that I'm really shrimpy. I'm a short person. And we 461 00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:48,679 Speaker 1: have a group printer in our office, and you know, 462 00:26:48,760 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 1: sometimes you'll print something and you'll forget it's on the 463 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:54,080 Speaker 1: printer and are I don't know if it's our wonderful 464 00:26:54,119 --> 00:26:56,879 Speaker 1: office manager Tamika or our wonderful I T person is 465 00:26:56,920 --> 00:26:59,560 Speaker 1: he put up this kind of like, uh, you know 466 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,520 Speaker 1: a little slot on the wall where you can put 467 00:27:02,560 --> 00:27:05,720 Speaker 1: people stuff that you find off the printer. But it's 468 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,119 Speaker 1: up way high and I've never looked in it until today. Whoop, 469 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:12,760 Speaker 1: when I found these two emails that I meant to 470 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:16,760 Speaker 1: read forever ago. Uh and there they were, and I thought, oh, 471 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:19,560 Speaker 1: these are light and their fun and uh, it will, 472 00:27:19,920 --> 00:27:22,000 Speaker 1: you know, be a nice way to talk about something 473 00:27:22,040 --> 00:27:26,120 Speaker 1: that's not quite so heavy. And the disparity in our 474 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:30,400 Speaker 1: heights has indeed gotten comments from people when we put 475 00:27:30,480 --> 00:27:33,520 Speaker 1: up pictures of ourselves. Sometimes yeah, like the people are like, 476 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:38,560 Speaker 1: it's Tracy standing on a box. No, Holly is short 477 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:42,280 Speaker 1: and tallish. Yeah, you're on the tall sign. So these 478 00:27:42,280 --> 00:27:45,840 Speaker 1: actually referenced in older episode, which is The mong Golfier Brothers, 479 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:49,280 Speaker 1: which was also not too crazy heavy, So that's delightful. 480 00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:52,159 Speaker 1: The first UH is from a listener who I'm going 481 00:27:52,200 --> 00:27:55,280 Speaker 1: to guess on her name's pronunciation as Tonia, but I'm 482 00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:57,760 Speaker 1: not confident, so I'm sorry if I did that wrong. 483 00:27:58,800 --> 00:28:01,399 Speaker 1: She says, Hi, thank you your excellent podcast. I always 484 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:03,760 Speaker 1: enjoy the episodes and they helped me get through my housework. 485 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,200 Speaker 1: On the subject of the Mongolfier episode, I've been moving 486 00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,919 Speaker 1: some stuff from storage to my home and I found 487 00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:12,800 Speaker 1: this watercolor pad. She sent us a photo. No, I 488 00:28:12,840 --> 00:28:15,640 Speaker 1: did not buy it. It belonged to my grandfather. Here 489 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:18,320 Speaker 1: you can see the Canson logo as the mongolf ye 490 00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:21,439 Speaker 1: a balloon. If you check out more recent Cants on paper, 491 00:28:21,520 --> 00:28:23,600 Speaker 1: you won't see this. So as a reminder to our 492 00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:26,760 Speaker 1: listeners in case they do not recall, the Mongolfie has 493 00:28:26,760 --> 00:28:29,520 Speaker 1: owned a paper company which eventually changed hands a few 494 00:28:29,560 --> 00:28:31,959 Speaker 1: times and then became known as the Canson Company, so 495 00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,359 Speaker 1: that is why she's referencing this paper company. I just 496 00:28:35,359 --> 00:28:37,000 Speaker 1: thought it was funny that this should turn up just 497 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:39,760 Speaker 1: after I listened to this relevant episode and one of 498 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:42,440 Speaker 1: you mentioned buying art supplies without using them. I am 499 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:44,960 Speaker 1: also guilty as charged, but I think my granddad is 500 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,960 Speaker 1: a record holder here. For example, I have no idea 501 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,880 Speaker 1: how old this paper is, but he died sometime in 502 00:28:50,920 --> 00:28:54,200 Speaker 1: the eighties, so it is quite old. Uh. This cancel 503 00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 1: paper is quite good. But I like paper that's either 504 00:28:56,720 --> 00:28:59,120 Speaker 1: very smooth or very thick, and this is neither. So 505 00:28:59,200 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 1: I will see if I can find a way to 506 00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:03,400 Speaker 1: use it. As we also mentioned that cancel on paper 507 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:05,760 Speaker 1: is not like an office paper supply, they'd like self 508 00:29:05,760 --> 00:29:09,320 Speaker 1: fine art paper. So uh. Fun one. And this was 509 00:29:09,360 --> 00:29:12,080 Speaker 1: the other one related to the montolf Ye episodes from 510 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 1: our listener Melissa, and she says, if you recall in 511 00:29:15,640 --> 00:29:17,600 Speaker 1: that episode, I was like, they put the duck in 512 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:20,400 Speaker 1: the balloon to test it in the balloon basket. Why 513 00:29:20,400 --> 00:29:22,480 Speaker 1: didn't it just fly away? Oh? Yeah, we had we 514 00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,080 Speaker 1: had some questions about the logistics of that, and I 515 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:27,480 Speaker 1: think I know what you're about to read. Yeah, yeah, 516 00:29:28,120 --> 00:29:34,880 Speaker 1: I have a fair dose of chagrin. So Melissa's subject 517 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:37,400 Speaker 1: line is the mont golf y a duck didn't fly away, 518 00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:40,960 Speaker 1: And then the actual body copy of the email says 519 00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:43,440 Speaker 1: because they were in a cage at least that's how 520 00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:45,920 Speaker 1: it was illustrated. And who invented it and what makes 521 00:29:45,920 --> 00:29:49,040 Speaker 1: it work? By Sarah Leslie, A favorite book from my childhood, 522 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: published in nineteen seventy six. I dug get out of 523 00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,280 Speaker 1: my son's bookcase and snapped a picture of that page 524 00:29:54,280 --> 00:29:57,760 Speaker 1: for your enjoyment. Thank you for making my commute so enjoyable. 525 00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:00,239 Speaker 1: Long time listener, Melissa, Yeah, that makes total and they 526 00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:02,560 Speaker 1: would put it in a cave things. I feel foolish 527 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,280 Speaker 1: for having not even thought of putting the duck in 528 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:10,920 Speaker 1: a cage. Yeah, duck in a cage. That makes all 529 00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:13,880 Speaker 1: the sense in the world. It did not occur to 530 00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:17,479 Speaker 1: me for one second, which is very funny because I 531 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:19,960 Speaker 1: think I've mentioned on the show before that when I 532 00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 1: was fairly young my parents had a farm and we 533 00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 1: had ducks. I would have seen birds in cages. I 534 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: don't know why my brain could not walk down that 535 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,640 Speaker 1: short little walkway to get there, but there it is. 536 00:30:33,200 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 1: If you would like to write to us. You can 537 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:38,560 Speaker 1: do so at History podcast at house to works dot com. 538 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:41,120 Speaker 1: You can also find us across the spectrum of social media. 539 00:30:41,520 --> 00:30:44,120 Speaker 1: Is at missed in History. 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You 549 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: can find show notes for every episode that she and 550 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,600 Speaker 1: I have worked on together, as well as an archive 551 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:20,080 Speaker 1: of every episode of the show. Ever so, please come 552 00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:22,040 Speaker 1: and visit us at how stuff works dot com and 553 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:31,080 Speaker 1: missed in history dot com for more on this and 554 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,640 Speaker 1: thousands of other topics. Is it how stuff works dot 555 00:31:33,720 --> 00:31:46,240 Speaker 1: com