Ridiculous History Podcast Summary

Episode: Christmas Traditions Are So Incredibly Weird!
Hosts: Ben Bowlin, Noel Brown
Super Producer: Max Williams
Date: December 18, 2025

Episode Overview

This festive Ridiculous History episode sees Ben, Noel, and Super Producer Max Williams diving into the wacky, wonderful, and at times bizarre history of global Christmas traditions. From burning straw goats and pooping logs to racketeering carolers and even sausage-cooking Finnish saunas, the crew explores an international grab-bag of holiday oddities. Their goal: Showcase how strange, sometimes dark, always surprising the roots of these customs are—and how Christmas, for all its tinsel and cheer, is a tradition that borrows wildly across time and culture.

1. The Scandinavian Yule Goat and Burning Effigies

Timestamp: 07:22–13:13

• Origin & Description:
  The Yule goat tradition, common in Scandinavia, traces back to pre-Christian paganism, possibly inspired by the Norse god Thor, whose chariot was pulled by goats (08:40).

  “So we build a goat effigy out of straw and then we burn it. This is probably connected to the worship of a Norse God...His name is Thor.” — Ben (08:28)

• Modern Celebrations:

  • In Gävle, Sweden, a massive straw Yule Goat is built (and often burned by pranksters).
  • In Finland, the Joulupukki, or Christmas Goat, appears in caroling traditions—participants wear goat masks and perform at doorsteps for treats.
  • The hosts joke about how these traditions blend performance, anonymity, and reward, paralleling both Christmas and Halloween.

2. The Lord of Misrule and King-for-a-Day Traditions

Timestamp: 13:02–15:28

• Medieval England & Scotland:

  • A commoner dubbed “Lord of Misrule” (or “Abbot of Unreason”) temporarily led holiday festivities, overseeing revelry.

  “It is something that carried on into the Tudor era and Elizabethan era...” — Noel (15:13)

  • Similar “king for a day” motifs survive in the King Cake at Mardi Gras and the sixpence in British figgy pudding.

• Saturnalia Connections:

  • These role-reversing customs echo Saturnalia, the Roman winter festival.

3. Caroling and Wassail – From Cheer to Highjinks

Timestamp: 15:45–28:44

• Wassailing Origins:
  “Caroling” (or “wassailing”) started in the 1200s not as singing, but as neighbors wishing each other good cheer—sometimes with demands for food or drink (22:58).

• The Shakedown Side:

  • Hosts draw parallels between traditional caroling and trick-or-treating:

    “We’re about how caroling used to be kind of more of a shakedown job...kids would go or young men would go knock on doors...sing and then be like, now you owe us stuff.” — Max (24:26)

  • Historic reports (Salem, 1679): Kids threw “stones, bones, and other things” at uncooperative households, even damaging property (26:09).

  • “Give treats or get tricks. It’s the original version of F A F O.” — Ben (25:40)

• Wassail:

  • Explained as a medieval spiced wine/punch, thick and fortified—“liquid fruitcake” (24:28).

4. Christmas Spider Legends & The Origin of Tinsel

Timestamp: 30:11–35:29

• Ukrainian and German Folklore:

  • Story: Destitute mother can’t decorate her tree, but spiders spin webs overnight that, come morning, are magically transformed into gold and silver threads (31:18).
  • Possible origin of tinsel on Christmas trees.

• Deeper Meanings:

  • Spiders regarded in some cultures as good luck; the legend often associated with charity, magic, and the transformation of hardship into plenty.
  • Several versions exist: Some have Santa or Jesus transforming the webs, some center the spider and a peasant exchanging kindness.

5. Finnish Sauna Traditions: Cooking in the Heat

Timestamp: 41:44–45:13

• Sauna Culture:

  • On Christmas Eve and during the cold months, Finnish families gather in saunas for both warmth and bonding.

  • A culinary twist: kiuas makkara (“stove sausage”)—sausages are cooked right in the sauna with onions and beer for holiday feasts (42:57).

    “What it means is stove sausage, but it is sausages that people traditionally cook in the sauna.” — Max (43:22)

  • Finland boasts around 3 million saunas for just 5.5 million people (44:34).

6. Burning the Devil in Guatemala

Timestamp: 45:13–47:35

• La Quema del Diablo:
  • On December 7, Guatemalans burn effigies of the devil made from household trash, marking the triumph of good over evil and cleansing before the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (45:58).
  • Dates back to the 1500s, reflecting syncretism of Catholic and indigenous rituals.

7. The Catalonian Pooping Log and Friend

Timestamp: 48:04–53:23

• Caga Tió & El Caganer:

  • In Catalonia, children care for an anthropomorphic log, “Tió de Nadal” (Christmas Log), covering it with a blanket and feeding it treats. On Christmas Eve, they beat it with sticks while singing songs to make it “poop” presents and sweets (51:20).

  • Closely related is El Caganer—a small figurine of a squatting man pooping, hidden in nativity scenes for luck and to fertilize the land.

  “You also have to abuse this poor guy, Tio de nadal to get your wishes...And if you don’t want to, I will hit you with a stick, Tio.” — Ben (52:07) “It’s full of contradictions, this tale.” — Noel (53:23)

8. Night of the Radishes & Creepy Christmas Characters

Timestamp: 54:04–56:13

• Mexico:

  • Night of the Radishes – Oaxaca’s December 23rd event features elaborate radish carvings depicting nativity and folklore scenes.

    “It’s a day in Mexico...dedicated to carving radishes into cool holiday-themed scenes.” — Ben (54:34)

• Germany’s Hans Trapp:

  • Scarecrow monster (Hans Trapp) used as a Christmas warning against bad behavior, another in the vein of dark Christmas enforcers like Krampus and Belsnickel.

9. Overarching Themes & Reflections

• Pagan Roots:
  The majority of “classic” Christmas traditions have deep pagan, pre-Christian, or region-specific origins.

  “All the stuff you love about Christmas comes from somewhere else, to be quite honest.” — Ben (15:28)

• Reward and Punishment:
  Across cultures, Christmas rites often blend celebration with veiled threats: behave or face consequences from supernatural holiday figures.

• Community & Survival:
  Many practices involve communal eating, singing, and rituals to bring luck, warmth, or bounty during winter’s darkest days.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Banter

• On Why Traditions Are So Weird:

  “Your celebration of Christmas—or the end of the year—your mileage is going to vary based on where you’re located and what your family likes to do.” — Ben (28:44)

• On the Crossroads of Nice and Naughty:

  “There’s a lot of these somewhat esoteric Christmas myths that always involve either being rewarded with candy or punished with pain. Minor torture.” — Noel (11:28)

• Ben, after the Caga Tió segment:

  “We’re kind of raising children to take care of a thing and then betray it, which is wild.” (53:23)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 07:22 – Scandinavian Yule Goat
• 13:02 – Lord of Misrule/King Cake
• 15:45 – Caroling, Wassail, and Shakedown Traditions
• 30:11 – Christmas Spider and Tinsel Origin
• 41:44 – Finnish Sauna Sausage
• 45:13 – La Quema del Diablo in Guatemala
• 48:04 – Catalonia’s Pooping Log and Caganer
• 54:04 – Night of the Radishes & Spooky Christmas
• 56:10 – Reflections and Wrap-up

Final Thoughts

Ben, Noel, and Max deliver an irreverent, insightful, and thoroughly entertaining survey of Christmas’s wildest corners. If you thought Christmas was all about sleigh bells and silent nights, this episode will have you reconsidering—while appreciating just how deeply weird and wonderful our holiday traditions can be.

For further odd holiday lore, check out previous Ridiculous History episodes on Krampus, Yule Lads, and Saturnalia. Happy Holidays, however you celebrate!