Christmas Used to Be a Week Long Orgy

Christmas is supposed to be wholesome. Family friendly. Safe.
Historically, that could not be further from the truth.

Long before Christmas trees, carols, and Santa Claus, winter celebrations were loud, chaotic, and openly sexual. Ancient Romans celebrated Saturnalia with role reversals, heavy drinking, and public debauchery. Pagan solstice festivals across Europe centered fertility, sex, and rebirth. Medieval Christmas often looked more like a sanctioned carnival than a holy day. Even traditions we consider innocent today, like mistletoe, have roots in fertility rites and sexual symbolism.

In this episode, we explore the surprisingly sexy history of Christmas. How a once wild, pleasure filled season was gradually sanitized by religious and cultural forces. Why the Puritans tried to ban Christmas altogether. How the Victorians rebranded it into a respectable family holiday while quietly preserving just enough romance to keep things interesting. And why, even today, Christmas remains one of the most sexually active times of the year.

We also talk about modern parallels. Office holiday parties, lowered inhibitions, December baby booms, and why the end of the year has always been a time when people seek connection, intimacy, and release.

This is not a titillating episode and it is not shock for shock’s sake. It’s a thoughtful, evidence based look at how sex, culture, religion, and human nature have always intersected around the darkest days of the year.

If you have ever wondered why Christmas feels a little charged beneath the tinsel and traditions, this episode explains exactly why.