184: The Weird and Wonderful Roots of Christmas Traditions (w/ Dr. Michael Foley)

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Michael Foley, renown author, professor of theology, and one of the best storytellers out there to explain some of the incredibly weird and terribly wonderful Christian roots of our favourite Christmas traditions.

Dr. Foley unpacks the dating of Christmas, the roots of Santa Claus, the incredibly weird world of "Mutant Christmas Saints," and much, much more as we sit down for a glass of egg nog and stir up some Christmas cheer.

Listen, enjoy, and impress your family around the Christmas table with the most incredibly strange facts about the origin of the Christmas traditions we know and love. I guarantee you you'll learn something new – and have a ton of fun listening!

To find more from Dr. Foley check out his website. And find his latest book "Why We Kiss Under the Mistletoe" from Regency Press and everywhere books are found.

Send your feedback to [email protected].

Sign up for our newsletter for my reflections on  episodes, behind-the-scenes content, and exclusive contests.

To watch this and other episodes please visit (and subscribe to!) our YouTube channel.

Please consider financially supporting this show!

For more information visit the Patreon page.  All patrons receive access to exclusive content and if you can give $5/mo or more you'll also be entered into monthly draws for fantastic books hand-picked by me.

If you'd like to give a one-time donation to The Cordial Catholic, you can visit the PayPal page.

Thank you to those already supporting the show!

This show is brought to you in a special way by our Patreon Co-Producers. Thank you to Elli and Tom, Fr. Larry, Gina, Heather, James, Michelle, Noah, Robert, Shelby, Susanne and Victor, and William. 

Beyond The Beacon
Join Bishop Kevin Sweeney for inspired interviews with Christians living out their faith!

Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify

Support the show

Find and follow The Cordial Catholic on social media:

Instagram: @cordialcatholic
Twitter: @cordialcatholic
YouTube: /thecordialcatholic
Facebook: The Cordial Catholic
TikTok: @cordialcatholic