Folktales around the fire, gooding & mumping and the terrifying Hooden Horse are just some of England's winter folk traditions from history. In this episode, Dan explores the unlikely and often dark origins of some of our Christmas traditions that can be traced back thousands of years. He's joined by folklore historian Vikki Bramshaw, to discover what midwinter legends were brought over with the Anglo-Saxon invasion, the origins of the Yule log and some of the unusual ways people passed the long nights in rural England (fortune-telling chestnuts).

He also explores the New Forest, Hampshire, with local historian Richard Reeves to find out more about how medieval people survived the cold winters in the woods.

You can discover more in Vikki's book 'New Forest Folklore, Traditions and Charms'.

This is episode 4 of our 'Origins of Christmas' series. This December, Dan explores the history behind our Christmas traditions—from extravagant Tudor feasts and carolling to midwinter Solstice celebrations, the bawdy entertainment of the Georgians, and the family-focused customs of the Victorians.

Produced by Mariana Des Forges.

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After the death of Chinggis Khan, the founder and first Emperor of the Mongol Empire, the land became the largest contiguous empire in history.

The Horde, the western portion of the Mongol empire, was the central node in the Eurasian commercial boom of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries and was a conduit for exchanges across thousands of miles. A force in global development as important as Rome, the Horde left behind a profound legacy in Europe, Russia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, palpable to this day.

Marie Favereau, Associate Professor of History at Paris Nanterre University, joins Dan on the podcast. They discuss the Mongols as thinkers who constructed one of the most influential empires in history and how that empire continued to shape, incubate and grow the political cultures it conquered.

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Pantomimes, pleasure gardens, bare-knuckle boxing and political upheaval. Christmas in the 18th and early 19th centuries was a very different affair from the peaceful family celebration of the Victorian Age. Georgian Christmas was raucous and rowdy, and it was time for a bit of fun before heading back to work.

In this seasonal episode, Dan delves into the festivities of London's working classes with Footprints of London tour guide Rob Smith. From an 18th-century showman who would put two joints of beef under his arms and walk into an oven - cooking them and miraculously not himself - to Joey Grimaldi, the world's first clown, Christmas in Regency London was surprising, lewd and quite extraordinary.

You can book one of Rob's tours here: https://footprintsoflondon.com/live/guides/rob-smith/

Produced by Mariana Des Forges and Rob Smith and edited by Max Carrey Dougal Patmore.