SYSK's 2025 Holiday Extravaganza Christmas Special | STUFF YOU SHOULD KNOW

Welcome to Stuff You Should Know, a. production of iHeart Radio. and welcome to the podcast. I'm Josh and. there's Chuck and Jerry's here too. somewhere in spirit. She may be haunting. somebody right now as a ghost of.

Christmas past. I'm not sure. >> Yeah. >> And this is our annual stuff you should. know holiday special. Huh, Chuck? >> That's right. Uh I tell you what, it's. one of, if not our favorite episodes of. the year. >> Mhm. >> Uh I will say it's getting harder and. harder to come up with stuff. Uh we're. delving further out uh into the world. and further back in time. >> Yeah. Yeah. This is our AngloAmerican. edition, I guess. >> Yeah, that's right. European listeners. are going to be pretty stoked. And also, we like to point out, uh, this is one of.

two episodes of the year where we draw a. line in the sand and say, "Sales, take. the day off. No ads for this one.". >> Yeah. Because Christmas is commercial. enough. Am I right? >> Yeah, man. We're not going to sell. these. >> No, these belong to you guys, the. people. There are gifts. >> That's right. All right. And by the way, if you hear the tinkle tinkle of ice, uh. it's because Josh talked me into making. uh the drink that we're going to, you. know, sometimes we have a little. Christmas drink that we put out as a. part of this episode. And we're doing. that again this year. And so I'm having. uh what we call here in the south a.

nouner. >> I didn't have to try very hard. >> What do you want to start with, Chuck? And also, hats off to Jerry for doing. all of the wonderful sound design that. makes this Christmas episode so special. every year. >> That's right. Uh, as usual, we're flying. by the seat of our pants. What do you. say we start with uh one of your picks. on the Morabians, who we've talked about. before on a Christmas episode, I. believe. >> I don't remember that. >> We definitely did. >> It It makes sense because they are. definitely associated with Christmas in.

the United States and I would guess the. Czech Republic, too. At the time the. Moravians made the move over to North. America in the 18th century, the Czech. Republic was still called Bohemia. And. the Moravians first settled in the Lehi. Valley of Pennsylvania. And they were a. very devout group. Still are. That's why. Pennsylvania has towns named Nazareth in. Bethlehem, for example. >> Yeah. Never knew that until yesterday. >> So they brought a lot of Christmas. traditions with them. The Moravian.

cookies, zingy, gingery, molasses heavy, flat, crispy, delicious. >> Oh yeah. >> Yeah. Those cookies came from these. people. They also brought the seeds of. miniature Christmas villages that people. put up around the holidays, too. >> That's right. Uh, if you look back in. the Middle Ages in Europe, well, there's. a bunch of awful things going on. But. one of the fun things was a trend of. creating nativity scenes. Uh, they were. called, I guess, crutches. >> And you know what a nativity scene is? There were little diuramas of the of the.

scene of the birth of Jesus in a manger. And the Moravians saw those and they. were like, "Hold my molasses cookie cuz. we're going to kick this up a notch.". And they kicked it up such a notch that. the Germans created a term basically for. that notch. Uh of these crutches, these. Morabian crutches called a putts. Uh it. means to put out or decorate. And. putsing was the act of doing this. Nothing to do with the Yiddish term. you're a putt or putting about.

>> No. Oh, really? I thought putting. probably came from that cuz you're going. from house to house as we'll find out. >> No, cuz a putts is sort of a a fool and. putting about is kind of doing foolish. things. >> I see. I heard a putts was something. else entirely that we would not be able. to mention on the episode. Is that not. true? >> That's the original uh that's the OG. meaning. Yes, you are correct. >> Okay. So, um Moravians like you said, they. kind of took this this medieval. tradition to like a whole new level. um.

the putts that they created um just. started getting bigger and bigger. They. started out with those nativity scenes, the crush, but they started adding new. figures like the shepherd's dog. Well, the shepherd's dog, from what I. understand, doesn't appear in any um. biblical description of the nativity. scene, which was the birth of Jesus, right? >> Yeah. >> But you still want to include the. shepherd's dog because you're starting. to make a better and better diarama. Eventually, there were too many. characters to fit in the manger. So they.

started hanging out outside the manger. >> Yeah. They're like, "Where am I going to. put the manger repair guy?". >> They had no spot. So they created they. just expanded the the natural scene. around the uh I guess the barn. They. created fields. Of course, um all of a. sudden you had lakes, you had cliffs, you had rivers, you had buildings, you. had more buildings. And before you know. it, a putts or a puts rather, it's. probably puts. Um it could take up an. entire room. like they would clear out a.

room and dedicate it to their puts, >> right? Um and so there's a tradition. that kind of grew up around this where. that room would usually be closed off to. the kids of the family. >> Got to do that. >> And the adults would go in there and. puts around their poots. Um then on. Christmas Eve, they uh would unveil the. poots, the family poots to the kids. And. uh I'm sure it was just a great a great. time for everybody. >> That's right. And now I digress very. briefly uh to tell you of a little uh. natural diarama I made at my camp uh on.

a stump on a big old tree stump that I. brought up there from uh a neighbor's. front yard. >> You brought your own stump? >> I brought my own stump which was a whole. story in itself which I won't get into. But uh the stump is now located near the. fire and I created a whole scene there. where we display the rocks that we paint. when we go up there. And then I brought. it a step forward and I made a whole. nature scene featuring little plastic. animals of all the animals that I've. caught in the camp cam. >> Nice. >> And I mentioned this only because while.

I was doing it, it was a weekend with uh. a lot of the kids there, a bunch of. neighbors and friends went up and and. families. >> Were they invited? >> They were not. Every time they came over. there to try and arrange things, I kind. of very gently said, "Uh, this is uh Mr. Chuck's project.". >> Right. >> Yeah. So, that wasn't so much fun, but. it reminded me of the Moravian saying, "Kids, get out of here.". >> Right. Um, did you unveil it to the. children's delight though on Christmas. Eve? >> Uh, no. I unveiled it later that evening.

and they said, "Buzz off turkey." I. wasn't a part of it. >> So, there were uh people who got so good. at it that they became known for their. putts or puts. One probably the most. famous Moravian poots artist, I guess. >> Yeah. >> Uh would be name was named Jenny Train. She was working in I guess about the mid. 20th century and her putts were so great. that some of the museums in the Lehigh. Valley hold them in their collections. and display them at certain times of the. year. >> That's right. Uh and the non- Moravians.

got into it at a certain point. Uh so. much so that they were like, "We don't. even need this nativity scene any. longer. Let's just create a Christmas. village.". >> Sure. >> Uh you can buy these things if you want, but it's it's a lot more fun if you sort. of collect things piece by piece and set. up your own. Right. >> Um, obviously electricity came along and. you could have u, you know, Christmas. lights. You could have little little ski. lifts that take people up tiny. mountains. They do that. >> So cute. Yeah, for sure. Apparently Li. Max is probably, from what I could tell, the leader in miniature Christmas.

village manufacturing. >> Yeah. >> Oh, you want me to tell you some more. about them, >> please? >> So, they have different themes. Like you. said, you can buy these whole kits like. wholesale, but they also, I think, sell. each piece individually because if you. know, here's a little Christmas tip. If. you know somebody who sets up Christmas. villages around Christmas, Yeah. >> that is a guaranteed home run gift to. get them another piece for their. collection. They will not be mad about. it. >> Yeah, for sure. Uh but if you choose to. buy a whole kit, you can get, you know,

themes. You can get like a Norman. Rockwell thing or like a a Victorian age. thing. That'd be kind of a fun one, I. think. That seems to be that and like. Swiss Village seems to be like a pretty. common theme. But there's also I've seen. one for the 50s. >> Somebody's really heavy into dooop. I. guess that would be their kind. There's. also Santa's Wonderland, you know, like. where it's at Santa's actual village. That seems pretty good thematically. speaking. >> Yeah, that's right. And we want to thank. uh listener Robert Pollson who's been.

listening forever. >> Yeah. uh because he always sends in. Christmas ideas and I believe he sent. what this one in under the guise of. trains around the tree and that led to. this because it seems that the origin of. the trains around the tree came from. this tradition of creating these. villages. They eventually added trains. and once Lionel came along with their. electric train sets sometimes the. village went away and it just became a. train around a tree. >> Yeah. And then people who had those. trains around their trees grew up. They. got nostalgic for them. They started. setting them up for their kids and it.

became a Christmas tradition thanks to. our Moravian friends. >> That's right. And that is the story of. the Morabian tiny villages. >> and scene. >> Uh what do you want to do next? Um, do. you want to tell everybody about your. drink so they can possibly press pause. and make one and then come back for the. rest of it? >> Yeah, why not? Uh, this year the drink.

that we're going to talk about is uh. Chuck's special pumpkin spice. old-fashioned. >> Mhm. >> Uh, I've been drinking these lately. because when fall rolls around here in. Georgia, uh, that's when the the whiskey. and the bourbon kind of becomes a little. more to my taste. >> Definitely. And this year I heard about. a pumpkin spice oldfashioned and I. thought, you know what, I've never made. my own syrups and stuff. So, I'm going. to make my own pumpkin spice syrup from. scratch. And I did and it's great. >> I have some questions about your recipe. I may have some some suggestions.

>> I'm not surprised. >> And you tell me you tell me if you think. that they would be incorporatable. >> Uh, okay. I mean, you can you can do it. however you want to. So, >> all right. Well, listen. So, you start. with five cups of water, right? >> Uh, yeah. I mean, I'm not an exact guy. when it comes to recipes, so I had a. really hard time coming up with. measurements because I'm just I I fly by. the seat of my pants when it comes to. cooking and things. >> Okay. Well, so you got that. You've got. one and 1/2 cups light brown sugar,

another half a cup turbanado, which is. like the granular minimally processed. sugar. >> Yeah. But it's sort of like the pre-. brown sugars. It's got that same. molasses flavor. >> Okay. And then do you like your syrup. very sweet? Uh yeah, I mean in this case, you know, you know, I I actually don't think I. measured the water. What I think I did. was um I got an old bourbon bottle and. cleaned that out really good and filled. that up. >> because I wanted it to fill that bottle. So I guess it's What is that bottle? Like a like a Is that a liter?

>> 750? >> Yeah, I I got a 750. So what whatever. that equates to cup-wise, >> although I guess it could be a liter. >> No, no, no. The liter is the big guy, right? >> Yeah. >> No, this is the 750. So, however much. water that is. >> So, you can depending on how sweet you. want your syrup to be, you can make it a. 2:1 ratio. Um, two cups of water to one. cup of sugar or a 1:1 ratio if you. really like it sweet. One cup of sugar. to one cup of water. And then you expand. it from there depending on how much. you've got in your whiskey bottle, right?

>> Yeah, that sounds about right. >> And then you got to make your spice mix. though yourself. Chuck here is showing. off everybody in his recipe. He says. it's best if you grind and powder your. own. >> Sure. >> What do you have? Well, uh, classic. pumpkin spice. It can vary depending on. who you are, but I did about a. tablespoon of cinnamon, uh, about a half. a tablespoon of nutmeg, and then you got. go a little bit lighter. Um, maybe a. teaspoon or two of ginger, about a. teaspoon of allspice, and about a half a. teaspoon of clove, cuz clove is, you. know, pretty it can overpower.

>> Yeah. >> Uh, but again, it depends on how you. like your pumpkin spice. But, you know, you mix those all up. Uh you throw it. all uh you know you boil that water and. then throw in the sugar and that pumpkin. spice mix and you just stir it until you. get to the consistency that you like. which you know the longer you boil the. kind of thicker it's going to get. >> Yeah. And the clearer it'll get the more. you boil I think. Right. It'll. eventually just go and turn clear. >> No no no. This is a very dark brown. syrup. >> Right. So sorry not clear. I mean. translucent but still dark brown.

>> I don't even know what translucent means. then. It means like uh it goes from. cloudy to where you could see through it. even though you're seeing through like. brown. >> I don't know if you could see through. this stuff. >> Okay. Well, then this is some thick. syrup. >> Yeah. I mean, it looks sort of like a. Coke in a bottle. >> Okay. Great. So, I do have one one thing. um to add. >> Okay. >> If you So, if you take cinnamon, it does. not like water. It's um hydrohadi. I. can't remember which which what it's. called, but it does not like to mix. Do.

you ever have trouble mixing it in with. the with the boiling water? >> Nope. Mixed up just fine. >> Okay. Well, I've found that if you mix. something like cinnamon, and I would. guess all of the spices with sugar ahead. of time, it binds to the sugar and it. allows it to dissolve more easily. >> Oh, okay. Good tip. >> That was my only other tip. >> I love it. That sounds pretty good. The. other thing I did was uh Emily. dehydrates fruits as bar garnishes. >> Mhm. So I she had a big mess of um. orange peel that she had dehydrated. So.

I kind of chopped those up and threw. that in the bottle as well because you. know an oldfashioned has those orange. notes. >> Yeah. >> And if you want to make the oldfashioned. and I have to say you can put this in. your coffee, you can drizzle it on a. cheesecake. It's just a pumpkin spice. sweet syrup. So you can really It. doesn't have to be an alcoholic drink, but if you're going to make the. oldfashioned, uh I do two ounces of. bourbon. Uh you can use rye if you want. Uh, a little shake of that an Angora. bitters. I do a little shake of orange. bitters on top.

>> Then I love this El Guapapo chory pecan. or pecan bters. >> They're local, right? >> I don't know if they are or not, but you. know, if you can find a chory pecan or. any kind of like walnut or pecan. bitters, I think it really adds a nice. touch. >> It does sound very nice. And then of. course the cudigra, the death blow, which is the pumpkin spice syrup. >> Yeah, I mean it depends on how sweet you. like these things. You can just put just. a little bit if you don't like it too. sweet and you're still going to get that. flavor. Uh, and you know, all of this.

stuff, you can make it less boozy if you. want. The one I made for today since. it's a nooner, I just made a little. happy. So, I just did 1 oz of bourbon. >> Very smart. So, um, you take that, you. make sure everything is at room. temperature, you put it in a glass, and. you drink it and say, >> "No, no, no, no, no." Uh what I do, I. mean you can just put it straight over. ice and mix it with a spoon or. something, but if you really want to do. it right, put that stuff in a cocktail. shaker with ice. Uh shake it really. really good and then get a a nice. heavyweight cocktail glass. Add a.

cocktail cherry to the bottom of that. thing. >> Pour it over a giant square ice cube or. a giant round ice cube if you want to. really be fancy. And then here's the. key. As you know, Josh, you got to get. that that orange peel, right? >> Oh yeah. You want a nice wide swath of. or orange peel. No pith, no white on the. bottom or as minimal as possible. >> Yeah. >> And you twist it. >> You twist it over the top of the drink. And if you look closely, you can see a. spray come out and then all of a sudden. there's a little oil slick on on top of.

the drink. And you, friend, have just. expressed the essential oils from that. orange into your old fashion. >> That's right. Uh and just a quick PSA. for all the bartenders out there. Uh. when you make a martini or anything with. like a lemon or orange, make it a big. wide, you know, they have those uh the. little peelers that you know, like a. cocktail peeler. >> You can get the kind that does the. little tiny pigtail curly queue. >> Mhm. >> Those are annoying. They they curl them. up. They hang it on the outside of the.

glass, but the whole point of that peel. is to get that that essential oil, and. you can't do that with those little. little skinny things. So, bartenders, for the love of Pete, give the customer. a big wide peel uh so they can express. that thing themselves. >> Yeah. Our listeners named Pete just. said, "Yeah, >> that's right.". >> What's the last little bit if you really. want to show off though, Chuck? >> Uh oh. Oh. Oh. If you want to, if you. have a zestester, like the little the. little grater, >> get a cinnamon stick and just just grate.

a little fresh cinnamon on top. >> Just a little bit. Just a touch. >> That's right. And people will be like, "This is the best Christmas I've ever. had.". >> Yeah. Or you can stick that cinnamon. stick right in the drink if you really. want to get uh crazy. >> Uh, one other thing that we should. probably say though off the bat is when. you make the syrup, you want to make it. ahead because it needs to cool and then. go in the fridge, right? >> Yeah. Yeah. Keep that thing in the. fridge. And like I said, I use an old. liquor bottle because it has a cork on. top or if you have those fancy bottles. with the little. >> uh clasp on top with the cork,

>> like that's great. Uh when I went to my. brother's Thanksgiving this year, >> um I got one of Emily's little tiny. like, you know, four or five ounce. bottles and poured some in there and. brought it along. It's a nice nice thing. to give as a gift. >> That is classy, buddy. >> Thank you. >> Uh okay. Well, uh I guess we should. probably let everybody pause, go make. the pumpkin spice syrup, wait a couple. of days, and then come back and we'll. start the next segment. How about that? That's right.

What do you want to do next, Chuck? Uh, well, I mean, let's go back to one of. yours. Um, should we do the the Frozen. Fair? >> Yeah, we're going to go back in time way. back. >> Frozen fair. The Friars fair. >> The Frost Fairs. >> I didn't get it once, did I? >> Featuring the Friars. >> That's right. So, we're talking about a. series of basically impromptu.

winter festivals that happened to London. over the course of a few hundred years. uh and had tipped to the BBC, London. Museum, History Jar, Honest History, and. the podcast Tales of History and. Imagination. >> And what we're talking about is they're. called the Frost Fairs. And we should. give you a little background first. because the bridge that's now London. Bridge was uh built in the 60s. The. bridge before that was built in 1831.

And that 1831 bridge was disassembled. and reassembled in Lake Havsu, Arizona, which is where it stands today. And that. little gift from London to Lake Havsu, gave rise to a really great 1985 TV. movie starring David Hasselhoff called. Terror at London Bridge. >> Oh man, >> definitely worth watching. But the. problem is the 1831 bridge and the 1960s. bridge put an end to this like impromptu.

winter tradition in London forever. >> That's right. That new London Bridge has. five arches. >> Mhm. >> Uh the one previous to that from 1831. had 19 arches, but they were closer. together. They were pretty narrow and. water didn't flow through those things. very well. Uh and it was also a time. when uh the temps was shallower and uh. was it narrower or wider? >> Wider. Wider and shallower. >> Yeah, wider and shallower. So all of. this sort of added up to uh because of a. a strange weather phenomenon that Josh.

is going to describe. Uh a time when the. Tims would actually freeze over. >> Yeah. The little ice age was going on. too. Um, from the mid300s to the mid. 1800s, this period of about 500 years, there was some really weird extra cold. weather, global temperatures dropped. And that means ultimately, for our. purposes with this story, that winters. in London were way colder during that. 500year period than they are today. So. you put that together, the design of the.

bridge with way more narrow arches, the. little ice age and the wider, shallower. temps, that meant that the temps could. freeze over sometimes like it can't. today. >> That's right. Uh and that happened in. 1564. when uh it froze over and people in. London were like, "Hey, that's pretty. cool. Uh let's go out and get drunk and. walk around and play on that thing.". >> Yeah. Apparently, even Queen Elizabeth I. was like, "That looks fun. let go.

>> She packed up her corgis and slipped. around on the ice for a little while. >> Uh, it froze again in600708. >> and this time they were like, "Hey, blime me, this thing's frozen again. Let's get drunk and sell some things.". >> That was Australian. >> Yeah. >> Oh, man. >> The thing is is like a lot of people. made their money by shipping and moving. stuff up and down the temps. They. suddenly couldn't. So, some of those. people just set up stalls to try to make. up whatever they could. That was the. first time anyone used the term frost. fair for these things.

>> or frozen fryer or whatever the heck I. said. >> Frozen fryer, frost fair. The It wasn't. until I think 168384. that it really became like a full-blown. thing though. >> Yeah. I mean that was a couple of months. of Frozen Tims. Uh and this time it was. like a real like a Christmas market. basically. Everybody is selling their. wares. Uh like you said, people that. normally so sold stuff on on the side of. the river were all set up down there. They had so many rows of booths that.

they formed a literal avenue down the. middle of the Tims. >> Uh and you could do everything. You. could have a sitdown restaurant meal. under a huge tent made of boat sails. that are propped up by rowing ores. >> Yeah. And it it was apparently quite a. party because there was a writer of the. time, John Evelyn. He wrote that that. frost fair was a Bakanalian triumph, a. carnival on the water. >> Yeah, >> that that's saying quite a bit. This is. again, this is like people aren't like, "Okay, the 1683 frostfire is coming up.

We better start planning." These were. all generally impromptu. Um, that was. pretty cool. That 1683 one lasted two. months. Um, and Tales of History and. Imagination, the podcast I thanked. earlier, they turned up a fact that some. guy bet some other guy that he could. build a three-story house, spend a night. in it, and take it down before the temps. thawed. And um, it's a great story, even. despite the fact that neither we nor.

Tales of History and Imagination could. find out the outcome of the bet. >> That sounds like a good show. >> Yeah, it is. There's a lot of great. episodes that I saw when I was looking. for that. I'm not sure how I stumbled. across it. I I guess I just came across. some of their Christmas content. >> I love it. I'm going to check it out. Uh. so big thanks to them. Uh there were a. couple of more Frost Fairs, not Friars, in 1716 and again in 1739. So there I. mean I don't know if anyone's doing the. math. They're large large gaps between. all this stuff, >> right? >> And it's not like you know they went on.

the internet and were like, "Hey, the. last time they did all this." So people. are, you know, I guess um word gets. passed down, you know, like, hey, here's. this is a thing to do when the when the. Tims freezes. Uh but sadly, the last uh. Frost Fair was in 1814. >> Yeah. And you know that somebody at the. 1716 Frost Fair was like, "This Frost. Fair sucks compared to 84. >> Sold out.". >> 84 rocked, man. >> Yeah. So yeah, the last one was 1814 and.

the BBC uh talked about it in one of. their articles and they interviewed a. food historian named Ivan Day and he. said that the 1814 Frostfare was. basically food and drink and people. getting wasted. He said that there was. this one drink. >> called Pearl. >> It was it was wormwood wine. It's kind. of like vermouth. >> gin together. So uh it was hot. It was. like a hot, super potent martini that he. said, quote, "You'd get absolutely. wrecked on it.

>> There was a spiky beer that has a lot of. spices in it called mum, which is what. you'd probably call like a winter ale. today.". >> Yeah, I love that. >> And then, of course, just regular gin. There was also other stuff, too. There's. tea, coffee, hot chocolate. Um, and. there was plenty of food to eat, particularly the roast ox, right? >> Oh, man. Uh, yeah. I don't even like. saying those words together. Uh but this. uh Ivan Day, this food historian, he. replicates um cooking techniques from. back then. >> And for this roast ox, he said it would. take basically a day over 24 hours to.

roast this thing in front of a fire. >> Mhm. >> And buddy, I don't know if these numbers. are right, but he said that that ox. could feed 800 people. >> Yeah. Yeah. And he's a food historian, so he. would probably know. >> I mean, I guess you're just getting a. like an amuse ox amuse bouch. Yeah, maybe. >> it's not a plate full of ox for 800. There's no way. >> I don't know. I mean, maybe their oxes. were way bigger during the little ice. age. >> I think it's oxen, my friend. >> Oh, yeah. Thank you for correcting me on.

that one. >> Uh, what else would they serve? Mutton. >> Yeah, sure. Which is kind of like um. it's almost like a sheep like meat. >> I think it is sheep, isn't it? Like a a. grown sheep. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. >> And you don't want that. Nobody wants. mutton. Really? >> I don't want mutton. Jerry Seinfeld. certainly doesn't want mutton. >> So, uh, what does that one mean? >> That was from Seinfeld. Remember he had. a a girlfriend that, uh, he he was. spitting out food and putting it in his. jacket and she was serving mutton.

>> vaguely. >> He would wrap it in his napkin and stuff. it in his pocket and eventually Elaine. borrowed his coat and got attacked by a. dog. >> Man, that was a great show. >> Sure was. So the reason why the 1814 one was the. last one is because like you said the. newer better I guess versions of the. London Bridge have wider spans so the. water can't back up behind the little. narrow arches and freeze. It just isn't. going to happen everybody. So the last.

frost fair was 1814 but parts of the. temps can freeze from time to time. And. the BBC turned up one uh from 1962. The. winter in that uh year was called the. big freeze in London and someone spotted. a man riding a bicycle on the temps. probably thinking to himself, you know. what, the frozen frier fair would be. great right now. >> Yeah, I hope it was a penny farthing. >> Yeah, for sure. >> That'd be fantastic. >> Very nice. >> All right. Uh so that's the frozen. frostfire fair. Uh where are we going.

next, my friend? As we as we load up the. sleigh and prepare to take off. >> Uh I don't know. Um, I feel like I don't. know. What do you want to do? You pick. one. >> Uh, let's do our tribute to Vince Galdi. >> Okay. Uh, I came up with this one. And I know. in one episode we certainly talked about.

the Charlie Brown Christmas special uh. and kind of dabbled in this, but I. wanted to just sort of do a little. tribute to the man himself because. >> boy oh boy, for my money, there's no. better Christmas music than the Charlie. Brown Christmas special, uh, Vince Galdi. Jazz Trio. >> I'm protective of that. I keep it at bay. because I don't ever want to get sick of. it. >> Okay. I don't get sick of it, but I I I. do appreciate that because we both. certainly cherish it.

>> Like I can't even listen to Journey. anymore because I've heard their songs. too many times. I don't want. >> the Charlie Brown Christmas to become. the new Journey. >> Yeah. Who wants that, >> right? So, um, let's talk about Vince. Galdi, though, because if you know of. him from the Charlie Brown Christmas. soundtrack, you essentially are familiar. with the vast majority of Vince Galdi's. work. >> Yeah. And big thanks to uh The New. Yorker, specifically an article from uh. Ethan Iverson, I think from 2017ish,

>> uh piano with johnny.com, that's jny. >> Mhm. >> And unconsservatory.org, who all had little bits and pieces about. the great Vince Galdi, who was born. Vincent Anthony uh Dagloio in 1928 in. San Francisco. >> Yeah. Uh his mom Carmela divorced his. biological father Vincenzo Dagio and. married a guy named Tony Galdi. Tony. Galdi adopted him. And as a head tip and. a thank you to Tony Vince said, "Let's. change my last name, shall we, guys?".

>> Yeah. I mean, is there ever a more. Italian name than Venzo Deagio? >> No, there really isn't. Yeah, >> maybe Tony Soprano. >> So, he uh he ended up he actually wasn't. very musically inclined. And I think he. took some piano lessons, but it never. really got under his skin when he was a. kid. His uncles introduced him to jazz, and he was like, "Meh." And he didn't. really start playing until he um went to. San Francisco State University for a. little while. And then there was an. interlude between that and him really.

getting going playing the Korean War. where he served as a cook in the army. >> That's right. Uh he went to the war. Uh. he came back and like you said, sort of. started playing around a little jazz. clearly a talented guy. >> and he started going to these jazz clubs. in San Francisco. >> Started playing wherever he could, little uh sort of I guess not open mic. but open key nights or whatever you. would call those. >> Mhm. >> And eventually got his first um real gig. playing the intermissions during Art. Tatum shows at a club called the.

Blackhawk. >> Yeah. Art Tatum, he was actually from. Toledo. He was a self-taught piano. virtuoso who was nearly blind. >> He's great. And he was so his his talent. was so intimidating that Vince Galdi. later said uh working with him was more. than scary. I came close to giving up. the instrument and I wouldn't have been. the first after working around Tatum. >> Yeah. Pretty uh intimidating. >> Yeah. So he did not give up the. instrument fortunately. He went on to. play with the likes of Cal Jader um who.

did he was a vibrophone player who was. into Latin inflected jazz. >> Yeah. He's awesome. by the way, if. you're into that sort of Latin jazz. thing. >> Mhm. >> Uh he's probably the most famous. non-Latin Latin jazz guy. And the. vibrophone is just is it's it's well, it's a vibe. It really is. >> I love a good vibrophone jazz trio. >> Yeah, same. >> Uh he formed his own trio, I think, in. 1955 with a couple of friends, Eddie. Duran and Dean Riley. Now, was that the. alltime Vince Galdi trio?

>> I don't know because they're not the. guys who played on the Charlie Brown. So, >> oh then, no. >> I think there were iterations of the. Vince Garaldi trio over the years. >> Gotcha. So, as he's starting to kind of. pick up steam in the 50s, he played the. Hungry Eye in San Francisco. He played. with the big band leader Woody Herman, got back together with Carl Jada for a. little while, and he was basically the. leader of several different jazz groups. The thing is, he would probably be a.

name among jazz cats and hecats in San. Francisco still today. But it would. probably be about the extent of his. career had he not created this one. particular song called Cast Your Fate to. the Wind. It's the other song that he's. known for. Just a little three-ish. minute jazz song from 1962 that he. buried at the end of a very odd album. that he came up with. >> Yeah. It was uh it was a movie in 1959, a French film called Black Orpheus. And. what he did was offer some sort of jazz.

arrangements of Brazilian music from. that movie and it was called Jazz. Impressions of Black Orpheus. And like. he said, he stuck Castro Fate to the. Wind here at the end. It is I'm sure you. know the song, right? >> Mhm. >> It is an amazing jazz tune. And the the. bones of everything you know about the. Charlie Brown Christmas special music is. in Cast Your Fate to the Wind. It's just. this uh I mean I think uh who was it. that called it? a breath of fresh air. I. think that was uh the ultimate producer.

of the Charlie Brown Christmas special, Lee Mendlesson. >> Yeah. So, this is where fate really. steps in because there was a San. Francisco jazz show hosted by Al Jazbo. Collins. Um man, what a great nickname. And on this show on KSFO, uh he would. play Vince Garaldi's stuff because by. this time, the early 60s, Vince Garaldi. was pretty well known around San. Francisco. and Lee Mendlesson who was. starting a documentary project on. Charles Schultz that would ultimately be. called A Boy Named Charlie Brown and he.

was looking for somebody to compose the. music for it and he heard uh Cast Your. Fate to the Wind and was like, I think. this might be it. >> Yeah, that was it. Uh he he said, "Hey. man, you want to compose some music for. this documentary?" He said, because they. were, you know, both Bay Area guys, and. he said, "Sure, I'll do it." and he. created uh an entire original piece. called Lionus and Lucy. That was the. theme. And that is the, you know, the. very famous sort of Charlie Brown theme. song that we all know and love. >> Can you do a little measure or two of.

it? >> Oh, wait. I got to do my hand. >> I'm dancing like lifting my arms in the. air and then down and then up while I'm. >> Now you're supposed to come in. >> That's how the live version. Very nice. >> I can't keep doing that. People are. about to tune out. >> I think that was a great one. I I'm sure. everyone who's ever heard that song is. like, "Oh, yeah, that one." A lot of. people probably don't know it as Lionus. and Lucy. I don't think of it. I just.

think of it as like the Peanuts theme. >> Yeah. So, he made Lionus and Lucy. Uh. the documentary went over and then. Coca-Cola came around and they said, "We. want to do this Christmas special, Charlie Brown Christmas in spring 65.". And so, Galdi was an obvious choice to. come back and record music. So he. recycled Lionus and Lucy and also wrote. uh Skating and Christmas Time is Here. Iconic. >> Skating is one of the most beautiful. songs of all time. >> Agreed. >> Yeah. And like you said, when you when. you hear Cast Your Fate to the Wind, if. you aren't familiar with that, you would.

immediately be like, "That sounds a lot. like the Peanuts guy." He had a style. >> Oh, yeah. >> that was all his own that was instantly. recognizable. And um Charles Schultz. even said like, "Hey, he's his music is. really to be credited in a large part. for the success of the Charlie Brown. Christmas specials.". >> Um if you've heard Christmas Time is. here, too. Um there's an instrumental. version that's all Galdi. And then. there's a well another Gali version, but. it has lyrics of the little kids. singing. And um I guess Lee Mendlesson.

basically did what a producer does when. he couldn't find a lyricist. He just. took the reins and did it himself. >> Yeah. Apparently, he he was having. trouble and he said he wrote it in about. 15 minutes on the back of an envelope. Uh pretty simple lyrics, but Vince Galdi. never went on to be known for a lot. after this. His output after that um. wasn't super famous. Um but you know, I. I think it was Ethan Iverson from that. New Yorker article made a great point. He was like, you know, he shouldn't be. cast aside in the history of jazz. Um,

he should very much be remembered. because his really uh his effective and. efficient techniques on the piano um he. he called Charlie Brown Christmas like a. gateway drug for people who were never. into jazz before. And I think that kind. of says it best. >> Yeah. And he didn't have much time to. grow as a jazz musician after the. Charlie Brown success because he died uh. 10 years later in 1976 at age 47. >> Yeah. >> But his music lives on. The Charlie. Brown Christmas uh album was voted into. the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. The.

only travesty with that is that it took. so long. And it's part of the Library of. Congress's National Recording Registry. of Culturally, historically, or. aesthetically important American sound. recordings. >> That's right. I wish we could play all. of that music today, but we can't. because we don't want to get sued. >> Yeah, you're probably already going to. get sued just by humming. >> Oh, I doubt it. They said the judge. would say, "No, that was not. recognizable as the work at hand.". Dismissed.

>> Um, let's have a little jingle interlude. of our own making or that's in the. public domain and we willh head on over. to the dark of night in Wales. How about. that? Let's do it. Okay, Chuck, we're in Wales. It's dark. It's cold. It's uh one of the 12 days of. Christmas somewhere in there. And we.

want to thank Alexandra Stock who has. sent in plenty of ideas before. She sent. this one in. We also want to thank. Museum Wales, Skynews, and Wales.com for. all the info about what's known as the. Mari Lloyd, which is not spelled like it. sounds, at least not the second part. It's L WYD. And that is Welsh. It's. Welsh as Welsh gets. And um it's a. Christmas tradition that clearly dates. back to Celtic tradition, but the the.

purpose, the point, all that stuff has. been kind of lost to history. But it's. peculiar to Wales. Um you can't find. this anywhere else. And even in most. parts of Wales, you're not going to find. it these days, but it still survives. And for good reason, because it's. actually a pretty cool little Christmas. tradition, >> for sure. Uh and here's how it goes. down. Uh on a certain night, uh the Mari. Lloyd, which is a a ghost horse, very. pale ghost horse, rides from house to. house, >> uh kind of looking to be led in, looking. for hospitality for people that are in.

there enjoying their pumpkin spice old. fashions and their apple ciders. >> uh by the fireplace. Um but how it plays. out is it's it's a hobby horse. Um these. men get together uh it's a broomstick. and they get covered in a white sheet uh. to form the body of the horse. They have. these colorful ribbons from uh the neck. uh to form the neck and the mane. Uh and. then here's the most disturbing part is. uh I think sometimes it would be like. papier-mâché um or wood or something.

like that with like a hinge jaw so it. looks like a horse's head. >> Um but in the olden days traditionally. it was a real horse's skull. >> Yeah. And it's frightening looking. If. you see some oldtimey marioids um that's. they're scary. And one of the reasons. why they're scary is they're supposed to. represent like death and spirits and. being out in the cold in the the dark in. winter, right? Um but as scary as that. sounds, it's not like a Krampus. tradition where Mari Lloyd's going to.

come get you like um take you away and. leave you cold or something like that. It's a it's in the tradition of. mummering where um caroling also came. from. going from house to house getting. as drunk as you possibly can and. engaging in this kind of Christmas. tradition which is again this is fairly. peculiar but the whole thing takes place. when the Mari Lloyd they're processing. through the town um on essentially a. parade and they go from house to house. when they show up on the doorstep of a. house they start singing verse and they.

um through the closed door and on the. other side of the door the family starts. singing verse back and essentially a um. a verse battle goes back and forth. between the two. >> Yeah, it's a rap battle. Uh the weirdest. thing about this is the door is closed, >> right? >> But I guess the whole point of this. thing is uh they go back and forth. Um. sometimes it could take like an hour. until one side finally gives up. Uh I. guess they can, you know, they they.

can't come up with a a new next line. Uh. or they're too drunk to and they say, "All right, you guys win." So, the. reason the door is closed is because if. there is a victory by the Mari Lloyd. crew, uh, and they usually won. Um, the. whole point was to be invited in after. that. So, that's why the door is shut, >> right? But again, the Mari Lloyd is. scary. It's death. That kind of thing. That's why the family's trying to keep. them out. But when they come in, they're. like, "Here's some wasel. Here's some. rich crackers with an olive on it." You. know, they welcome them in. And the Mari. Lloyd's like role at that point is to.

run around and like nip at the children. and scare them and maybe knock some. stuff over. Um they might put the fire. out in the family's house. Just general. mischief and and revalry, right? There's a BBC like five, six minute. documentary showing a Mari Lloyd um well. it's called a a panka PWNCO that verse. battle take place and it's the most. stayed uh presentation you can ever.

find. Like if you just saw that you'd be. like the Mari Lloyd is seems like a very. serious thing. It's not. It was again. drunken revalry um going from house to. house basically spreading the Christmas. spirit and in return for letting the. Mari Lloyd in you uh your house would be. blessed with good luck for the new year. >> That's right. Uh we're the Mari Lloyds. and we came to say we came to bring you. luck in the usual way. >> I love Fruity Pebbles in a major way. >> Yeah. So, uh in the end it turns out to.

be a good party. I guess your home might. get slightly wrecked, but you got good. luck. Uh there are a couple of theories. about what that name actually means. Uh. one translation is Grey Mary. Uh and. that's a legend linking um Mari Lloyd to. the nativity story and that it was a. pregnant horse that was in the stables. where uh Mary is said to have had Jesus. So they're like, "We need some room in. here to have this very special baby. So. I know you're pregnant as well, horse, but hit the road.".

>> Yeah. The horse is like, "Um, I was here. first.". >> Yeah. And I'm also pregnant, by the way. >> And apparently the horse spent days. trying to find um a place to have her. fo. It's a very sad story. >> Yeah. >> But it's um Christian in origin. Uh and. a lot of people are like, "This is not a. Christian tradition. This is pagan as it. gets." Um and there's the other. translation of it, the grey mare. And in. Celtic and British mythology, the grey. marear or pale horse was a venerated um.

I guess animal that could kind of cross. over from this world to the underworld. fairly easily, which really kind of gets. across the whole horse skull and. explains all that kind of stuff. >> Yeah. Well, you know what they say about. the uh grey mare. >> She's not what she used to be. >> No, she ain't. So this is a very old. tradition probably but it saw its heyday. in the 19th century and in the most. delicious way right. >> yeah but ironically in trying to decry. this thing that was a Christian scholar.

was saying like you know we can't do. this uh it you know like all things like. the Stryand effect it brought more. attention they didn't call it that then. no. >> but it brought more attention to it and. all of a sudden like uh how-to manuals. sprung up. >> right um and so finally though that. heyday in the 19th century kind of died. off by the 1960s it was totally gone. They think like they don't think anyone. was celebrating it anymore, but some. groups of merry makers found out about. it or revived it. And uh it still goes. on today uh in a few different places.

And apparently it's when they do it, it's pretty big and pretty fun and. pretty rowdy and just uh colorful and. not really scary at all. >> I love it. >> Me, too. Hats off whales. >> Hats off whales. Hats off uh uh Tom. Jones. Is he Welsh? >> Yeah. Wasn't that his name? The the. singer with the the Elvis hips? >> Yeah, he was Welsh, huh? >> He's Welsh, baby. >> Okay, great.

All right, Chuck, we've arrived at the. last piece, which I love. you found it. and I think it's very helpful and I love. how it adds some like good advice to. this episode. >> That's right. Uh cuz everyone loves. putting up if you celebrate Christmas. and you celebrate with a Christmas tree, you love putting up those Christmas tree. lights. >> Mhm. >> But storing those things and then. unveiling them the next year can be a.

real pain in the rump. >> A real drag, right? >> That's right. So, we're going to tell. you at least some internet source tips. on how to properly store those Christmas. tree lights. >> The first one, I like this one. It's. complicated, but it's cool. So, you take. a wrapping tube, a Christmas paper. wrapping tube. First, unroll the paper. on it and throw it away. And just take. the tube, >> and you make a little notch in the end, one end of it about an inch long, and. you run the end of the Christmas lights. through, and you stick you jam like the.

plug end into that notch so it can't. come out. Okay. >> Yeah. Well, not I mean, the plug goes. into the the tube hole, >> right? And then you just pull the the. electrical cord through that uh slit. >> Okay. That's another way to do it. Sure. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. >> But then you take the lights and you. start twisting them. Twist. Twist. Twist. around the uh tube. Well, you twist the. tube and the lights kind of diagonally. go around the tube and then you get to. the other end, cut another slit, put the.

other plug end in, and uh there you go. You've got one way to store Christmas. lights. That seems pretty great to me. Yeah, you you know depending on the. length of your uh tube, you might have. to go back over the other way, but the. point is it's not getting wrapped and. wrapped and wrapped around each other. Maybe just like one overlap. >> Okay, that's one way. What about another. way? >> Well, this is I mean these are all. fairly similar. In this case, though, you're going to cut a re rectangular. piece of cardboard uh from a box. You.

know, depending on how big you want it, maybe 18 in by 9 in. >> Okay. And this time you cut little. square notches about an inch from each. end on both sides. And those notches are. going to do the same thing that that. slit did. They're going to secure that. plug. >> And then you just wrap it around that uh. that section of cardboard box. >> Yeah. Like if you've ever done any. plumbing work or something, sometimes. whatever piece you're replacing, it'll. come with a little thing of uh Teflon. tape. >> It's the exact same thing in miniature.

that we're talking about. >> Yeah. Exactly. >> Uh I like that one. That's probably the. one I would try of all these. >> Okay. >> This one sounds really not super. helpful. The you use one of those uh. coffee caddies with the four um little. depressions for coffee and you stick the. plug in through one of the you know how. the each little hole or depression has. some slits in it. >> Yeah. >> You stick the plug in through that and. you just start wrapping that guy over. and over and over again. Wrap wrap wrap.

And then when you reach the other. plugin, you stick that through a hole, too. >> Yeah, not too bad. Uh, this way is maybe. a little likelier to get tangled because. you're wrapping it over itself through. the center of that thing over and over, >> right? But what about what do you do, Chuck? I think that's what the people. want to hear. >> Well, the chuck method is very lowfi. I. found that it works for me. May not work. for you. Uh, I take the lights off the. tree and then I lay them sort of out one. at a time on the couch. Uh because the.

whole point of all this is you don't. want those tangles. You know, that's the. biggest hassle of these things. >> Sure. >> They're kind of unwieldy. And then I. take that one of those little plastic. grocery bags that I'm about to go. recycle. >> And instead, I just sort of bunch up. that individual cord and stick it in the. bag. Each one gets its own bag. Uh as I. said in this piece that I sent to you, it sounds super janky, but I found that. it doesn't really tangle when you take. them back out. And they pack really. nice, you know, much nicer than these.

big long tubes because you can just sort. of flat pack them in a bin. >> And as long as they're each one, the. whole point is just to do one per bag. and to keep them separate. And when I. unveil them, they don't really get that. tangly. >> That's amazing. There's got to be some. sort of fluid dynamics or something at. play that somebody could explain, but I. don't get how that works. But that's. cool. >> What's your method? >> Well, first of all, I want to say you. didn't say super janky in the piece you. sent. It says janky AF. >> That's right. Cuz I'm a a hip kid.

>> Uh my method is I follow two different. methods. One, you can just leave the. lights up throughout the year and just. don't turn them on till Christmas. >> on the tree. >> Mhm. >> Okay. >> The second uh what I actually really do. is I just do that method where you have. your you stick your arm up at the elbow. at a 90° angle. >> and you just kind of wrap from between. the your thumb and forefinger across. your palm through your elbow. palm, elbow, palm, elbow. You have to say that. out loud while you're doing it over and. over again. It helps if people are.

watching you while you say that, too. And then before you get to the end, >> maybe about six inches left, you uh wrap. that around the the middle of that cord. >> Oh, okay. And then. >> like a like a extension cord style. >> Precisely. As a matter of fact, that's. probably the best thing to call it. Extension cord style is what I do. >> All right. I bet that works pretty good, huh? >> It does. But I want to try yours. It. sounds fun. >> Yeah. Uh, I mean, like I said, it's. pretty janky. Um, you can also, you. know, we should point out that they. obviously sell all sorts of contraptions.

and storage devices for these now, but I. don't know, just be a little more fun. Come up with your own method. Don't buy. some other dumb thing. >> No. As anyone who's ever done the. holidays really knows, that's cheating. >> That's right. Uh, and that's it, everybody. That's the 2025 stuff you. should know. holiday extravaganza. special of all time. >> That's right. Uh and as we say every. year, you know, whatever however you. choose to celebrate your holiday this. year, uh we hope you're doing it right.

Um we hope you're surrounded by friends. and loved ones. And it sounds trit to. say that if if you're lonely this. holiday season that we're thinking about. you, but we truly truly are cuz this can. be a a rough time of the year for some. folks. Um, and so, you know, we we. really uh think a lot about those those. situations this time of year. >> That was very sweet, Chuck. >> Yeah. >> And everybody out there, we hope you. guys have a happy holidays, that it's. safe, that it's merry and bright and all. that jazz. And from us and Jerry and the.

whole stuff You Should Know crew, we. wish you a merry Christmas and a happy. new year. Stuff You Should Know is a production of. iHeart Radio. For more podcasts, iHeart.

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