Christmas countdown day 6: Father Christmas origin story

Red radical: the tales behind the Santa we see today

Graham Tomlin

Graham is the Director of the Centre for Cultural Witness and a former Bishop of Kensington.

A Lego Stanta figure strolls across a table holding a wrench

Artem Maltsev on Unsplash.

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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.

Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or Amazon.

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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Graham Tomlin, Editor-in-Chief

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Podcast

Advent

Podcasts

Re-enchanting

26 November 2025

1 min read

Re-enchanting... waiting - Rich Villodas

Belle and Justin talk Advent and waiting with author and pastor Rich Vallodas.

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

A man leans against a wall, arms folded.

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About this episode

Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship in New York City. He is the author of several books including the award winning Deeply Formed Life.

He joins Belle and Justin to talk about his new book Waiting For Jesus - An Advent Invitation to Prayer and Renewal.