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In the waning days of the old year, when the sun turned hot and the wind warm, there came word from the South Country. It was said that the Fellowship of the Festive Fans had a mission in the land of the Middle Earth. A spiritual quest was formed to find the Kiwi Christmas.

Could it be there, not in the cold hearts of the orcs and the trolls, but in the ordinary folk in the country and the cities? Is it absent, scattered like starlight across the sea, faded in the sad and meager lives like the weary world we see in the moving picture called Christmas?

The festive group sets out from a small and stunning hamlet, nestled between the misted ranges and the blue hush of the Pacific. The sun is high and the grass is green in Oceania, not like the world above with its snow and shoveling. What is Christmas in this land? Does it have its own songs and laughter, along with its long and golden evenings?

Along the journey, there are ancient ferns and plants here with many rivers that whisper of old magic. There are no icicles, no frosty panes — only fish grilled hangi-style and sweet wine. We travel to the roadstops, strange but beautiful places with names like Queenstown and Auckland, and the companions are bewildered. There are no wreaths, no sleighbells, no reindeer. Only sunburn, barbecues, sausages, and Snoopy’s Christmas. We ask the same question: “Have you seen Christmas here?”

At last, the company arrives at a high hill above the Bay of Islands, where an old pohutukawa blooms with crimson fire. It is the place where the first Christmas mass was celebrated. The tree stands watch, its bark gnarled with age and memory. Beneath it, is a message, spoken not with tongue, but with the wind and sea, and in a voice as deep as midwinter.

“You seek Christmas,” we all hear, though no voice speaks. “Know that men carry it with them. You speak as though Christmas lives only in a wintry place, with its snow-laden songs. But here, it wears jandals and is found in the barbecue smoke. It dances in the eyes of tamariki leaping through sprinklers. It is summer-born, and it lives in true hope and kindness, no matter the location."

And so, after this episode, the circle is no longer sad for the plight of the family in Christmas. We do not search any longer, we are knowing. Christmas is found in New Zealand, and not with traditional images of snowmen, skating, and fireplaces. Instead, it lives with blue skies, beaches and the sunlight borne by its residents to the ends of the Middle Earth. And lo! It is good, especially for a 50th episode!

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The Festive Fans take this episode to Ethiopia to answer that age-old question: “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” Well, yes they do. In fact, it’s a lot different than what you might imagine. They like fasting, then eating, then playing a competitive field hockey game played like medieval combat. It’s an ancient tradition carried on now with neighbor against neighbor or town against town. Typically, it is played by men only, and it is supposed to be the game that the shepherds played the night that Jesus was born – “allegedly”.

Oh, and for Christmas, Ethiopians will dress in white. And it’s not on December 25th, it’s on January 7, according to the calendar of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. So, they do know how to celebrate. In fact, they spend forty-three days getting ready. Before all the feasting begins, they must fast to be physically and spiritually ready for the big event. In Ethiopia, Christmas isn't just a holiday—it’s a full-body experience – and they avoid eating meat, dairy, or animal products in those days leading up to Christmas. It is called the Fast of the Prophets.

When the families do gather to eat, they enjoy doro wat (spicy chicken stew), eaten with injera (a sourdough flatbread). Someone will also usually butcher a goat in their backyard, which is another holiday custom. Although, you won’t learn any of this from our featured film Crumbs, a post-apocalyptic futuristic sci-fi adventure featuring an angry Santa. It may be avant-garde. It may be alternative. It may be independent. You decide, but it’s just not festive.

We hope our visit here in 2025 may change some perceptions. Too often, Ethiopia and Christmas are associated with the Band Aid song. It may seem patronizing, culturally insensitive, or overly simplistic today, but let’s give it a break. We know that the title of the song — Do They Know It’s Christmas? – may feel condescending. Obviously, as Ethiopia is home to some of the oldest Christian traditions in the world, of course they know about Christmas.

However, this question is rhetorical. It’s about how, at that time, with so many suffering from extreme hunger, whether anyone would feel that it’s Christmas. The song isn’t about questioning Ethiopian faith; it’s challenging how everyone else can celebrate in comfort while the Ethiopians were facing a natural disaster and a horrible famine, compounded by war, displacement, and logistical collapse. International aid was desperately needed and although the lyrics may seem awkward today, they did shock the world into awareness and action. The song wasn’t written to teach about geography or theology. It was written to raise money for food aid and medical supplies, and it worked tremendously.

So let’s put the past aside. Come enjoy a trip to celebrate a beautiful country that is, at times, vibrant, messy, joyful and holy, but always with a big heart and a proud heritage.

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Join the Festive Fans for a little Pura Vida Christmas! Tonight’s country runs on this magical motto. After two years, we are finally making our way to Central America. Our first stop? We visit the beautiful, lush country of Costa Rica. We promise that everything about it will bring a smile to your face, including our featured film from 2024, Paradise Falls: A Christmas Story. It’s a festive tale filled with dreams, wishes, ghosts, and a donkey … you know, just a classic Christmas story.

And don’t be fooled by their “pure life” slogan -- that doesn’t mean chill. Costa Rica has an incredibly diverse landscape filled with waterfalls, volcanoes, and a rainforest full of howler monkeys, sloths and coatis, all packed into a country that's smaller than West Virginia. “Ticos” know how to turn up the holiday spirit.

They may not have snow here, but there is plenty of sunshine. Christmas may be warm, but they know how to party, with rodeos, bull runs, and lots of tamales. Making tamales is a social event. Families gather in assembly lines to wrap them in banana leaves, stuffing them with pork, rice, and vegetables. It’s festive and chaotic, and a great way to bond.

You’ll want to pack your surfboard and hiking shoes for this trip, but make sure your wrapping paper is recyclable and your gifts are sustainable. Costa Ricans pride themselves in being eco-friendly. Instead of a white Christmas for this show, we'll make it a green one. And don’t forget to leave some coffee out for Santa.

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The Festive Fans are on spring break, so we are veering off our main road to take a new scenic route. Instead of exploring a foreign country this episode, we are setting the way back machine 65 years to a magical time of those grand scale, over the top, larger than life films, with a literal army of extras and actors who don’t just act—they command the screen. We are instantly being transported back to Ancient Rome to witness the Biblical drama of Ben Hur.

Why, you might wonder, has your favorite podcast abandoned its Christmas pretense to tackle this epic Hollywood classic -- trading in snow and boots for sandals and capes? Well, while we love our cookies and eggnog, there are still times when we crave a jellybean or a Cadbury egg. So, we have set off on a seasonal side quest to learn about the pastel fever dream that is spring’s answer to Christmas – yes, we are talking about Easter! It’s still festive, full of sugar, and a good holiday-themed excuse to listen to ourselves talk. Think of it less like changing discussion topics and more like taking a holiday from our holiday... to talk about another holiday!

So, set down your bunny tail, grab a Peep and let’s kick back to enjoy the heavy eyeliner, dramatic pauses, and some wacky foreign Easter customs. Ze smelten de Paashaas!

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It’s time to grab all your ex-husbands and wives, strip down, and head for the sauna as Christmas is about to get messy. The Festive Fans are traveling to the Christmas capital of the world this episode – Germany! We are off to the original home to some of our most cherished holiday traditions. Plus, as an extra bonus, we get to learn a lot about St. Martin (the patron saint of Germany) and his special day, so put that in your old shillelagh and smoke it, Saint Patrick.

Join us as we explore a country blessed with spectacular scenery, historic and inviting villages, castles, and, most importantly, giant steins of beer. This is a really fun episode with a good movie, a great country, lots of authentic Christmas origins and a holiday song that keeps it all in perspective — Max Raabe’s “The Perfect Christmas Moment” from 2017, where he sings about just lazing around for the holidays. With Christmas markets, German potato salad (hot and cold), Krampus, and more … what more could you want for the start of spring?

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A talking dog? A racing turtle? Pizza with ashes? A one-eyed bald man? What does this all have to do with Christmas?

Find out this episode as we head out to one of the most biodiverse countries in the world to take on the Solar System or the Del Solar System. From the Andes Mountains to the Amazon Rainforest, it is Christmas Eve in Peru -- a place with a colorful history and a fascinating civilization -- and the Festive Fans want to know how they celebrate. Grab a hot chocolate and a piece of Paneton, slather it with butter, and settle down for a spirited evening at a home in Lima where an extended family is gathering for the holiday. There will be fireworks, and not just at midnight.

Based on a popular play, El sistema solar is a Santa sack filled with outrageous lies, an intra-family love triangle, and shocking revelations, and that’s all before dinner is served. Come join us on an intriguing multicultural trip to one of the most culturally complex countries in the world. You get to learn how to say Merry Christmas in Quechuan and plant a flag on the moon!

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When a movie is titled “?”, what is it called? Is it the symbol? Is it the words “question mark”? Or, is it just the desire for knowledge and answers? It is this and other questions that Festive Fans encounter on a visit to explore the rich vibrancy of the world’s largest island nation -- Indonesia. We review a complicated film that has violence, anger, and prejudice, but also displays compassion, faith and brotherhood -- much like the country itself.

The Festive Fans discover many such contradictions in this land of volcanos and earthquakes, in a place where you can find the true spirit of Christmas among the world’s largest Muslim population. The movie is a challenging story for holiday viewing. It is based on real-life events and without a happy ending. It is a fair examination of human frailties and the stress of different religions living together in a tightly-knit community. ? presents an honest assessment of the multi-cultural Indonesian society with its more than 245 million citizens and over 17,000 islands. But don’t despair, we also enjoy their unique Christmas traditions, music and culinary delights!

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The Festive Fans are travelling this episode to a locale that is not known as being either festive or much of a Christmas fan, but it is the cradle of civilization. It is the birthplace of the first laws, written language, rich history and archaeological sites. It is Iraq -- a country that the U.S. has been fighting for more than three decades. However, like the mythic Hatfield and McCoy feuding families, we often forget what initially led us down this path of combat. It all started back in 1990, when Iraq's dictator, Saddam Hussein, invaded its neighbor Kuwait to seize its oil reserves. The United States led a coalition of countries and liberated Kuwait in less than 40 days. The simmering dispute with Saddam Hussein continued into the 2000s. After September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush was convinced that Saddam Hussan was behind the terrorist attacks and falsely believed he was developing weapons of mass destruction. In March 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq vowing to destroy the weapons and end Saddam Hussein’s rule. We did topple Saddam Hussein, but only after spending $800 billion, and sacrificing the lives of 4,500 Americans and over 100,000 Iraqis. The long shadow of the invasion still looms over our relations with Iraq today, twenty years later.

Our effort here is simple. We want to get beyond the bad feelings created through decades of war and learn how, if it all, Christmas is celebrated in Iraq. We review a short film called Santa Claus in Baghdad from 2008, which is a modern Middle Eastern take on O. Henry's Gift of the Magi. The storyline is interesting, but with non-Iraqi actors, it does raise the question of how accurate it depicts modern day Iraq. We also learn of the Assyrian Christians who have lived in this area for 6,000 years. They have faced consistent persecution for centuries but are still active in modern day Iraq with Christmas trees and Santa Claus. Join us now as we embark on a journey through history and time to a land of expansive deserts, snow-covered mountains, and charming villages. We all may still be recovering from years of conflict, but we can assist with the healing.

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