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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Re-enchanting

16 July 2025

1 min read

Re-enchanting... The story of Jesus - Bear Grylls

Justin and Belle talk to Bear about his journey and the inspiration behind his new project

Nick Jones

Nick is the senior editor of Seen & Unseen.

Bear Grylls talks next to a caption reading 'it's the greatest story ever told.

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About this episode

Bear Grylls is an adventurer and survival expert who has become known to millions through his TV shows, documentaries and writing. His most recent book is ’The Greatest Story Every Told’, an account of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus told through the eyes of five eyewitnesses

Justin and Belle talk to Bear about his own life and faith journey and the inspiration behind his new project as they re-enchant… the story of Jesus.

Visit the The Greatest Story Ever Told web site.

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