Where Did Santa Claus Come From? The Secret History of Christmas

This is a special Christmas episode of The Science of Creativity. The creation of Christmas is an example of social innovation, a kind of collective creativity where everyone plays a role. Five hundred years ago, Christmas was a wild party, where young men got drunk and roamed in packs around town. Children didn't start getting gifts until about 200 years ago. The Santa Claus myth was invented, along with the elves and the workshop at the North Pole, in the late 1800s. This episode gives you the history of the secular, non-religious traditions that we celebrate at Christmas. It started two thousand years ago, in Ancient Rome, it picked up steam in the 1800s, and we're still creating new Christmas traditions today. The creation of Christmas is a story of social innovation and group genius.

This is a special encore of one of my favorite episodes, originally published as season 1, episode 15, on December 1, 2024

Chapters

Intro

Traditions and Change

Wassailing and Twelfth Night

Toys and Gift-Giving

Santa Claus and the Elves

The War on Christmas

The Holiday for Everyone

Outro

Music by license from Soundstripe

Blues for Oliver - Cast of Characters

Christmas Tree Jazz Trio

Silent Night – Cast of Characters

Just Walkin' – Ryan Saranich

Uptown Lovers - What's the Big Deal

References

The Pagan Origins of Christmas: Saturnalia, Yule, and Other Pre-Christian Traditions | History Cooperative

Wikipedia on "The war on Christmas" and "Wassailing" and "Syncretism" - ChatGPT

Copyright (c) 2025 Keith Sawyer