Christmas countdown day 13: the hidden messages in carols

Beyond the festive there's a hint of rebellion and even revolution.

Ian Bradley

Ian Bradley is Emeritus Professor of Cultural and Spiritual History at the University of St Andrews.

Coventry Cathedral.

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The Christmas Countdown

It’s the season to be jolly, stressed, and all round Christmassy. On the Seen & Unseen Aloud podcast, we’re here for you with our Aloud Christmas Countdown!

Every day in December, we’ll drop some of the best seasonal content from Seen & Unseen Aloud. From how to survive Christmas, reviews of the best Christmas movies and the origin story of Santa Claus.

For when you’ve got your hands full of mince pies and baubles, but you still want to hear some thoughtful content, subscribe to Seen & Unseen Aloud for the Christmas Countdown.

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Throughout the year, the Seen & Unseen Aloud brings you the week’s best articles, in a short 20 minute podcast episode. Browse the index for episodes from Seen & Unseen Aloud, Re-enchanting and GodPod.

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Seen & Unseen Aloud

10 February 2025

1 min read

Love for friends, neighbours and team mates

Celebrating friendship, mediating on who is my neighbour, and bonding on a quiz show.

Natalie Garrett

Natalie produces and narrates The Seen & Unseen Aloud podcast. She's an Anglican minister and a trained actor.

A hand held out is gentle grasped by a turning person.

As this week concludes with Valentine's Day, we have our own collection of articles about love - John Wyatt brings a great celebration of friendship; Graham Tomlin acts as Augustinian mediator between JD Vance and Rory Stewart; Stuart Haynes talks about his strong bond with fellow The Chase teammates.