Backstory: Christmas Charity

Christmas and charity are as natural a pairing as you might imagine. But the long history of charity at Christmas time has a few things worth exploring. For example, who has historically done the charitable giving, and why. And how the Victorians generally, and Charles Dickens specifically, laid the foundation for the modern form of Christmas charity that we know today.

Thank you to Martin Johns, professor of history at Swansea University in Wales, and author of  Christmas and the British: A Modern History, for appearing on this episode. 

Music in this episode

• "The Little Match Girl" — Maarten Schellekens, via Free Music Archive
• "Swirling Snowflakes - Part 1" — Maarten Schellekens, via Free Music Archive
• "Lullaby" — Maarten Schellekens, via Free Music Archive
• "The Silent Grove" — Axletree, via Free Music Archive
• "Wish Background" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech
• "Oh Holy Night" — Kevin MacLeod, via Incompetech

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Book

Christmas Past: The Fascinating Stories Behind Our Favorite Holiday's Traditions makes a great gift for all the Christmas lovers in your life. Available in hardcover and audiobook. Find it wherever books are sold, like Amazon and Barnes & Noble.