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The Secret History of Christmas

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The Secret History of Christmas

By: Bill Bryson
Narrated by: Bill Bryson
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About this listen

A cornucopia of Christmas delights from the bestselling author of A Short History of Nearly Everything and Notes from a Small Island.

Christmas is the single biggest annual event on the planet, a time for merry-making, over-indulgence, peace, goodwill, and the occasional family row. It’s as comfortable and familiar as a pair of old shoes and yet still glittery and exciting. But what do you really know about it? It’s stuffed full of traditions and rituals that most of us have been observing all our lives without having the slightest idea of where they come from.

Why is it called Boxing Day, for example? Why do we sing about Good King Wenceslas – who wasn’t a king and possibly not even good? What’s the story behind Christmas crackers? Who would have guessed that one of our most popular Christmas carols began as a kind of semi-pornographic Welsh folksong? And how did St Nicholas, a bishop from the dawn of Christianity, turn into the plump and jolly figure of Santa Claus with a flying sleigh and a home at the North Pole?

Christmas, and how it got that way, is full of surprises. Join Bill Bryson to reach into this Christmas stocking and pull them out – along with the inevitable tangerine.

©2022 Bill Bryson (P)2022 Audible, Ltd Political Science Politics & Government Funny Thought-Provoking Witty Christmas Nonfiction

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All stars
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Wonderful audiobook, well researched, well read and as entertaining as Mr Bryson's books usually are.

Bryson does it again

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Bill Bryson investigates Christmas with all his usual research and wit. A great listen. Thank you Bill and a very happy Christmas to you :-)

Happy Christmas :-)

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It's kinda meh... some bits are interesting, other bits are inaccurate (especially regarding eastern European Christmas traditions)

OK...

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Interesting history of Christmas, a good time of year to listen to it and quite short

Enjoyed

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Fun Xmas book that I will probably listen to every year as part of my holiday entertainment ☺️ 🌲

Good cheery Xmas book

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This provides some insights into different cultural traditions relating to the festive period around the world. As ever for Bryson, he mentions differences between Britain and America with dry humour. It was a little bland in parts but I did learn some interesting things. Worth a listen if it interests you during the festive season. The narration is ok, though I wouldn't say its entirely enthralling but it certainly passes the time and gives some interesting facts, so, not too bad.

Interesting festive history listen

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Interesting, informative and amusing look at Christmas past and present in Bill Bryson's unparalleled style.

Very Enjoyable

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Brilliant! Informative and entertaining. The perfect listen in the run up to christmas. Perfectly read by Bill Bryson.

Brilliant and informative

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Bill Bryson is at his best when he’s got a well researched topic that he can inject his own humour in to. I’m almost surprised that this is his first go at Christmas because an event with so much history and peculiarity seems the perfect topic for him.
I could listen to Bill Bryson narrate anything and his reading here is excellent, the book itself is a little shorter than his other output but still packed with plenty of facts and excellent jokes in classic Bryson style.

Bill Bryson and Christmas - a perfect match

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Excellent exploration and summary of the origins of Christmas traditions. I particularly like the historical analysis of the nativity but modern celebrations of Christmas are covered too.

Interesting history

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