Christmas is Carnival: Carols and Calendars

Christmas is Carnival: Carols and Calendars

From Bone and Sickle by Al Ridenour

December 18, 2025 · 27 min · Episode 152

About this episode

This episode explores the historical overlap between Christmas and Carnival, examining how customs from Christmas may have influenced Carnival celebrations.

Historically, the celebration of Christmas and Carnival could overlap, and there is some reason to believe that customs associated with the former were inherited by the latter. A clue to this calendrical shift is offered by the Christmas song, “Carol of the Bells,” which uses the melody of an old Ukrainian New Year;s carol, one which dates back to the era in which New Year was celebrated in March (hence the springtime imagery of its original Ukrainian lyrics). Ukrainian postcard commemorating the folk song”Shchedryk” source of “Carol of the Bells” After a brief look at the variable date chosen to celebrate the New Year throughout European history, we take some time to rethink our modern understanding of what constitutes the Christmas season. The common notion that the season ends on December 25 or January 1, possibly including the weeks leading up to those dates, in historical understanding, was reversed, with Dec. 25 representing the start of Christmastide, which at the very least ran until Epiphany (Jan. 6) or Candlemas (Feb. 2). The merger of Christmas and Carnival is not only aided by the historically later end date of Christmastide, but…

People in this episode

Host: Al Ridenour

Topics covered

  • Christmas
  • Carnival
  • historical customs
  • New Year celebrations
  • Christmastide
  • cultural traditions

Keywords

  • Christmas
  • Carnival
  • historical customs
  • New Year
  • Christmastide
  • Ukrainian carols
  • cultural traditions

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Carol of the Bells, Shchedryk

Places: Ukraine, Germany

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