Steve Webb  0:01  
This is day 14 of the 2022 encore of the 2009 season of the Lifespring Why Christmas show. And I'm the OG God caster Steve Webb, my co host is James Cooper, creator of why christmas.com If you haven't heard, we're having a drawing where one lucky winner just like you will win an autographed copy of Bryan Duncan's A NehoSoul Christmas CD. For details on how you can enter go to Lifespringmedia.com/day9 to see how. That's Lifespringmedia.com/d-a-y-9 no spaces. Every day from now to Christmas day you'll hear an episode from the 2009 season. If you're not yet subscribed or following the show, you can do that at LifespringWhyChristmas dot show. And this is a value for value podcast. The show is free and it always will be, but if you're finding value in the show, think about the enjoyment you get when you listen to the fun things James Cooper and I bring to your enjoyment of Christmas, then put a number on that enjoyment, and go to lifespringmedia.com/support. James Cooper and I thank you very much. And now here's the show.

Steve Webb  1:27  
Welcome back, it's day 14 of the Lifespring Why Christmas show. And I'm Steve Webb. I'll be your host today. Have you sent in your Christmas trivia answers from show number nine. Remember we'll be drawing a name from Santa's hat on the Christmas Day show. And what does the winner get? Well how about an autographed Bryan Duncan A NehoSou Christmas CD. Autographed by Bryan, not James or I. Well, unless you want me to sign it too. I'll be there when Bryan signs it, so if you want my autograph, I'll do it. Though. I have no idea why anyone would want me to sign it. If you do want me to sign, note that in your email when you send your answers in. We'll be closing the contest on December 23 At midnight, Pacific Standard Time. Today we're talking about Christmas bells. Lots of our Christmas carols mentioned bells. There's the song Silver Bells. I heard the bells on Christmas Day. There's Jingle Bells and lots of others. And bells are a common decoration for Christmas. Why is that? Well, church bells are typically run to announce a major event or occasion. They're run on both happy and sad occasions including both weddings and funerals. Bells are rung at Christmas to announce and celebrate the birth of Jesus. Makes sense. And as with some other Christian customs, some say that the ringing of bells can be traced back to a pagan tradition. Pagans would ring bells to keep evil spirits away, and ringing bells was part of many pagan winter celebrations. In Victorian times, it was very fashionable to go carol singing with small handbills to play the tune of the carol. Sometimes there would be only the bells and no singing. And bell ringing is still popular today. And it's one of my favorite parts of Christmas. Can you imagine Christmas without bells? Why that'd be unthinkable. Tomorrow, James and I will have a jolly old time as we talk about Christmas crackers. And this is a show you won't want to miss. We'll see you tomorrow.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai