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

Podcasts

3 February 2025

1 min read

Beer, balance, and thanking the universe

New Seen & Unseen episode.

Natalie Garrett

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

A painted sign on a road reads 'THANK YOU'

Caleb Chen on Unsplash.

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In this week's bumper episode, we hear Callum Elwood's exhortation to Sabbath - as opposed to constant hustling or quiet quitting; Jonathan Torrance takes seriously the marketing suggestion to "drink religiously"; Graham Tomlin suggests that the philosophy often espoused by Love Islanders - thanking the Universe - makes no sense; finally Piotr Ashwin-Siejkowski celebrates the power of the little red cross, trusted by everybody.

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Graham Tomlin

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