Ep 163: The Lost Christmas Eve Special
Above Image: A colored version of the famous illustration of “Merry Old Santa Claus” by Thomas Nast, which appeared in the January 1, 1881 edition of Harper’s Weekly
“Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.”
– Clarence Oddbody, “Angel, Second Class” from the motion picture, It’s a Wonderful Life
Background:
Some time ago, we attempted a hybrid holiday special that combined a traditional episode with a call-in show. Unfortunately, it didn't really go as planned. Still, Scott seemed to think it had at least a little value of some kind, so he talked Forrest into releasing it here and now in 2019. So tonight, the Astonishing Legends team is pleased to present a commercial-free, family-friendly holiday episode for you to enjoy as you please. While it contains some fascinating background on the evolution of St. Nicholas, be warned, this is not like anything we've ever released before. Still, we figured, "Why not? It's now or never!" We'd like to wish our beloved listeners the happiest of holidays and a joyous New Year, and offer our sincere and heartfelt gratitude for your inspiring and encouraging support.
Location:
The Church of St. Nicholas, an ancient Byzantine Greek church and museum in modern-day Demre or Kale, Turkey, near the Roman town of Myra. It’s known for containing the tomb of St. Nicholas, a Greek Christian monk born around 270~280 A.D. near the town of Patara. Saint Nicholas became the Bishop of Myra and eventually the inspiration for Santa Claus.
Reference Links:
“From St. Nicholas to Santa Claus: the surprising origins of Kris Kringle” on NationalGeographic.com
The Legends of Santa documentary from REAL STORIES on YouTube
The History Channel documentary, Christmas Unwrapped with host Harry Smith
“Santa’s Surprising Origins – A Christmas Classic Feature” on NewsWithViews.com
“How Skinny Saint-Nicolas Became Jolly Santa Claus” on france-amerique.com
“A Pictorial History of Santa Claus” on The Public Domain Review
“Five Things You Never Knew About Santa Claus and Coca-Cola” from The Coca-Cola Company
“The Legend of Coca-Cola and Santa Claus” from The Cola-Cola Company
Suggested Viewing:
The Spirits of the Stanley – watch Connor J. Randall, Karl Pfeiffer and Michelle Tate carry out their ongoing paranormal investigations at the Stanley Hotel from January through March of 2016 on TheDarkZone.tv website.
Watch Hellier Seasons One and Two for FREE – start here at hellier.tv
Suggested Listening:
Introducing Detective Trapp
In a brand new podcast from Wondery and The Los Angeles Times, Detective Trapp takes you into the life of a cop who conducts herself relentlessly. Hosted by Dirty John’s award-winning journalist, Chris Goffard, Detective Trapp is the story of a detective who fights through her own personal struggles and society’s indifference to bring a serial killer to justice. Trapp’s strongest resource for catching dangerous criminals? Personal experience. Listen now at wondery.fm/DTAstonishingLegends
Hear the origin of the Hellier story on Jim Perry’s Euphomet Obscura podcast in an interview with Greg Newkirk, “Hellier was just a symptom” on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider.
CLICK HERE to hear Mrs. Miranda Merrick from The Midnight Library on The Dave Glover Radio Show for their “Paranormal Wednesday” 3rd Hour segment from November 20, 2019!
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CREDITS:
Episode 163: The Lost Christmas Eve Special. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel, Travis Aitken, and Zach Bair; Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2019 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.