In a huge departure from the normal format, Katie & Joe revisit the recent Holiday Special episode on Elf (2003), featuring Dr Chris Deacy, to share some insights gained and questions raised by that episode. If you have not yet listened to our Elf episode, we highly recommend doing so first, and coming back to this one.

Discussion points include:

The Jews Who Wrote Christmas, by Rob Kapilow

Elf screenwriter, David Berenbaum's relationship with Christmas films, as discussed in The Movies That Made Us

Pew Research's Portrait of Jewish Americans (2013)

Santa Slashers, Silent Night Deadly Night (1984) and Violent Night (2022)

And, is Christmas really pagan? Professor Candida Moss has an answer for you.

If you know of any research that is relevant to the topics discussed in this episode, or would simply like to share your thoughts on our discussion, please do Get In Touch!

And if you're still not done with the cultural trappings of Christmas yet, do check out "The Very Recent Origins of the Christmas Tree" by friend of the show, Dr Andrew Mark Henry.

Episode Credits:

Thanks again to Dr Chris Deacy for his contribution. And to everybody who voted in one of our polls and shared your thoughts with us - it was much appreciated!

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