Brian Earl

Now that rail travel was not only possible, but also pretty affordable to most people, Christmas was instantly rebranded. If you moved to the city for a job, you could come home for Christmas. If you lived in the city, you could have goods shipped in from the farms for Christmas. That changed everything.

Now that rail travel was not only possible, but also pretty affordable to most people, Christmas was instantly rebranded. If you moved to the city for a job, you could come home for Christmas. If you lived in the city, you could have goods shipped in from the farms for Christmas. That changed everything.

Now that rail travel was not only possible, but also pretty affordable to most people, Christmas was instantly rebranded. If you moved to the city for a job, you could come home for Christmas. If you lived in the city, you could have goods shipped in from the farms for Christmas. That changed everything.

Well, the short answer is that we used to say Merry Christmas, and then a lot of people wanted to move away from doing that. In England, when the Puritans were in power, they banned Christmas. And then after the Restoration, it came back in. It kind of came limping back into public consciousness. It was kind of getting wiped out, and it worked its way back into the culture slowly.

Well, the short answer is that we used to say Merry Christmas, and then a lot of people wanted to move away from doing that. In England, when the Puritans were in power, they banned Christmas. And then after the Restoration, it came back in. It kind of came limping back into public consciousness. It was kind of getting wiped out, and it worked its way back into the culture slowly.

Well, the short answer is that we used to say Merry Christmas, and then a lot of people wanted to move away from doing that. In England, when the Puritans were in power, they banned Christmas. And then after the Restoration, it came back in. It kind of came limping back into public consciousness. It was kind of getting wiped out, and it worked its way back into the culture slowly.

And up until around the Victorian period, Christmas was something that we celebrated kind of like the way we celebrate, say, Halloween or the Fourth of July or Mardi Gras, meaning an external and outside kind of celebration for communities to celebrate in the streets rather than ones that families celebrate in their homes. And

And up until around the Victorian period, Christmas was something that we celebrated kind of like the way we celebrate, say, Halloween or the Fourth of July or Mardi Gras, meaning an external and outside kind of celebration for communities to celebrate in the streets rather than ones that families celebrate in their homes. And

And up until around the Victorian period, Christmas was something that we celebrated kind of like the way we celebrate, say, Halloween or the Fourth of July or Mardi Gras, meaning an external and outside kind of celebration for communities to celebrate in the streets rather than ones that families celebrate in their homes. And

It had sort of taken on a reputation of being kind of a drunken, carousing kind of holiday. Anyway, the upper class, when they decided they wanted to domesticate Christmas, if you like, they wanted to move away from saying Merry Christmas because it was associated with that merrymaking, that kind of, you know,

It had sort of taken on a reputation of being kind of a drunken, carousing kind of holiday. Anyway, the upper class, when they decided they wanted to domesticate Christmas, if you like, they wanted to move away from saying Merry Christmas because it was associated with that merrymaking, that kind of, you know,

It had sort of taken on a reputation of being kind of a drunken, carousing kind of holiday. Anyway, the upper class, when they decided they wanted to domesticate Christmas, if you like, they wanted to move away from saying Merry Christmas because it was associated with that merrymaking, that kind of, you know,

celebration style of the common people and wanted to add the high class touch of happy christmas and indeed in george iii's radio address he started using happy christmas at the end of that as a way to socialize that idea but it's interesting that the word merry at least in the english language it seems to exist only to continue wishing one another a happy holiday season like when else do you use that word unless you're describing a merry-go-round or saying the more the merrier

celebration style of the common people and wanted to add the high class touch of happy christmas and indeed in george iii's radio address he started using happy christmas at the end of that as a way to socialize that idea but it's interesting that the word merry at least in the english language it seems to exist only to continue wishing one another a happy holiday season like when else do you use that word unless you're describing a merry-go-round or saying the more the merrier

celebration style of the common people and wanted to add the high class touch of happy christmas and indeed in george iii's radio address he started using happy christmas at the end of that as a way to socialize that idea but it's interesting that the word merry at least in the english language it seems to exist only to continue wishing one another a happy holiday season like when else do you use that word unless you're describing a merry-go-round or saying the more the merrier

It's one of these antiquated, fossilized words that we trot out for six weeks out of the year, and that's pretty much all it's good for.

It's one of these antiquated, fossilized words that we trot out for six weeks out of the year, and that's pretty much all it's good for.

It's one of these antiquated, fossilized words that we trot out for six weeks out of the year, and that's pretty much all it's good for.

Yeah, I mean, first of all, I like the way you frame the question, what we think of as Christmas, because Christmas isn't one thing. It's kind of it's gone through so many different versions. And this Christmas we celebrate is just the current version. It won't be the last. And it certainly wasn't the first. It all started to gel around the middle of the 19th century before the Civil War.

Yeah, I mean, first of all, I like the way you frame the question, what we think of as Christmas, because Christmas isn't one thing. It's kind of it's gone through so many different versions. And this Christmas we celebrate is just the current version. It won't be the last. And it certainly wasn't the first. It all started to gel around the middle of the 19th century before the Civil War.