Haley Stodart

Professor Genell
Digital History
8 November 2021

Part I: Brainstorm:
1. Define your Audience – Who is my audience?
My audience will consist of casual listeners and those who are interested in the
unknown and slightly unique background of what is today considered “common
knowledge.” I want to entertain people with origin stories they may not expect or just
would simply find interesting.

2. What kind of podcast will you create?

This podcast will either be a solo-scripted format or will be narrative radio format, in
the sense that it tells a story.

3. How frequently will your podcast run?

This podcast will be a limited series podcast that consist of three seasons with four
episodes per season. However, this could be extended to more seasons if interest is
there.

4. How long will episode be? 

The episodes will last from 15-30 minutes each time. I chose this length of time
because the podcast won’t require much mental focus and I think this time is ideal for
those casually listening around the house or in their cars on a commute for example.

5. How will you organize episodes?

This will be a series of episodes that follow around the particular topic of holiday
history and traditions. The first episode of each series will breakdown the history of
the holiday, and the following three will pick out one unique tradition (whether it be
food, ceremony, celebration, decoration, and more) and discuss how they came to be
celebrated or used in the 21st century.

This limited series will consist of three seasons with four episodes each season. Each
episode will be released on a weekly basis for one month. As of now, the months will
be October, November, and December.

6. What is the purpose of your podcast? What is the driving concept?

The purpose of this podcast is to introduce unknown (or lesser-known) narratives and
history surrounding very popular topics, such as the common holidays celebrated in
the United States. Some of these traditions come from specific ethnic and cultural
origins that many may be unaware of but also share a connection with. People
connect more easily with history when they can see personal representation, and this
podcast will strive to do so in a way that is fun and entertaining but also educational
and instructive.
 Part of what makes this podcast interesting is that I think it not only appeals to a
broad audience within the United States, but it can be expanded to appeal to truly
anyone who follows any form of tradition, whether it be holidays, annual
celebrations, or more. Furthermore, this can address holidays and traditions from any
race, culture, and nation. Though currently focused on America, it could go
international and be something that fosters deeper understanding in not only one’s
personal history but the history of those around them, hopefully inspiring greater
empathy and knowledge across cultures.

7. What is the title of your podcast? 

Holiday History: Traditions and Celebrations of the Past and Present
- This title is broad for a reason, as there are numerous holidays and celebrations
that could be discussed on this podcast if need to. In the desire to have inclusivity
and accessibility, I will not be gearing this towards one specific group, religion, or
people.

8. Where will you publish your podcast? 

I will publish this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google, and Spotify if possible. Spotify is
becoming an increasingly popular source, but expense and the monetization needed for future
series if needed/required will play a factor.

Part II: Write a short pitch for your podcast.  

My Podcast is called Holiday History. It is all about the historical origins of American
(and possible international) holidays, traditions, and celebrations. It is a limited series that
will run on a weekly basis for three months. Each episode will focus on either the history
behind a holiday and/or the history behind a specific holiday tradition. Each episode will
end with a suggestion on how to engage in the topic of that particular episode more (i.e.,
a recipe for a particular holiday food or a book with more information on the origins of
the bringing gifts for Christmas). It will be released starting in October of 2022 and run
through the end of December 2022. These dates could be adjusted depending on interests.

The audience for this episode will be a casual listener with basic historical interest and
any small amount of time on their hands. This is not meant to be a lecture or high-focus
podcast, but one of relaxation and possible background entertainment. I want it to be as
accessible as it can be without losing its value or interest.

Part III: Outline one episode of your podcast. 

Opening Audio (To be used in all episodes):

https://prosearch.tribeofnoise.com/artists/show/24919/10748

*Audio fades to a low level, remains quietly in the background 

[The show tag line of “Its Holiday History with Haley” comes over gets spoken.]
 *Audio swells, then cuts out before intro 

Narrator: Hello, my name is Haley Stodart, and welcome to the first episode of “Holiday
History: Traditions and Celebrations of the Past and Present.” The purpose of this podcast is to
explore the historical origins of American holidays, traditions, and celebrations. Shedding light
on the unknown history of the spookiest holiday, in this episode we will be discussing how
Halloween came into being. Where did it get its name from? What culture originally celebrated
it? Have pumpkins always played a role? To find these answers, we will be looking at particular
religious festivals, old myths, and more. Let’s get started!

Audio clip - Transitional Music: https://freesound.org/people/DDmyzik/sounds/468218/

(Merry folk holiday music, medieval composition for performances and folk pieces. Traditional
violin, accordion, drum, trumpet. Meant to be generic and upbeat.)

Narrator: Halloween dates back thousands of years to the Celtic people who lived in the area
that is now Ireland. On the night of Oct 31, the Celts celebrated Samhain [Saw-en], a harvest
festival where they believed that ghosts of the dead returned to earth.

Insert background audio of folks at a festival, chatting and walking around.

Narrator: Now it was believed that the spirits or ghost who returned from the dead could cause
trouble, play tricks, and possibly damage the crops of the harvest. To help in this situation, Celtic
priest, who were called Druids, would often building fires, dress in costume, and dance/sing
around them. The fires were believed to ward off the ghosts.

Audio of festival fades out and is replaced by that of a fire crackling in the background.
https://freesound.org/people/florianreichelt/sounds/563766/

Cut off audio of fire after a few seconds.

Narrator: This tradition thrived as a celebration until the Roman Empire began conquering the
majority of Celtic territory. The Romans, who historically brought the Christian faith into the
mainstream of society, began to combine the traditional celebration of Samhain into a more
Christian based holiday. This was done most effectively by Pope Gregory III. See, around
600AD, Pope Boniface IV {Differing pope, I know, bear with me folks} dedicated the Pantheon
in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was
established in the Western church. Now, on to the main man that I mentioned earlier, Pope
Gregory III later expanded All Martyrs Day to include all saints as well, and moved the
observance from May 13 to November 1. This then became known as All Saints Day, or All
Hallows Day. Hallowed means sacred or holy in the Christian faith, and a hallow is often a
synonym used for Saints. Now, the church made November 2nd, the day following All Saints
Day, “All Souls Day” in an attempt to pull the attention of spirits away from the pagan tradition
Samhain of October 31st. However, the popularity of Samhain never fully waned but its name did
eventually shift. Since October 31st was the day before All Hallows Day, it took on the title All
Hallows Eve, which eventually transitioned into the Halloween title we know today.
Celebrated in a similar fashion to Samhain (but with religious overtones in costumes), both All
Hallows Eve and All Saint’s Day included bonfires, costumes (now of some saints, angels, devils
but also still witches and other religious/superstitious motifs), and community gatherings.

Audio Transition – Coming Across the Waves:

https://freesound.org/people/florianreichelt/sounds/450755/

*Audio fades to a low level, remains quietly in the background 

Narrator: So how did this pagan tradition turned somewhat Christian make its way into
America? We have migration history to thank for that folks! The immigration of various
European peoples and cultures brought Halloween (and the festivals and superstitions associated
with it) to the new world.

Cut off wave audio.

Narrator: Now despite it being transformed by the church into a more acceptable celebration, the
practice of dancing and engaging with ghosts and those who have passed on still didn’t rest well
with everyone in the U.S. In fact, staunch religious beliefs and superstitious fears kept the
celebration of Halloween pretty limited in the early years of the nation. However, increased Irish
immigration in the 19th century really began to popularize the holiday, and the themes we see
today began to solidify.

Early celebrations continued the Druid and Roman traditions of coming together with
harvest food, sharing stories of the dead, dancing/singing, and dressing in costume. But
on a day when the souls (both good and evil) are close, mischief was bound to happen.
While some people celebrated the harvest, others took this time to play off of fear and
unease surrounding loose spirits and pull pranks, tricks, and illusions all based on the
notion that the souls of those departed were returning to the land of the living. Often
times, the tricks went too far, and children in particular started to ask for sweets and
threatened tricks/vandalism if not received. This sparked the beginnings of trick or treat.

By the late 19th century, there was a move to make Halloween into a holiday more about
community gatherings than witchcraft, religious overtones, and pranks. By the turn of the
century, newspapers and other outlets encouraged parents to take anything scary or
grotesque out of Halloween, turning the holiday from trick to treat. While it still has its
spooky and superstitious overtones from a history of bonfires and spiritual connection,
most of the modern holiday is geared more towards good fun and partying with costumes
that range from the historical angels and devils to now heroes and pop-culture characters.

Audio – “Tradition Takeover,” Swoosh sound to introduce this segment. Will be used in all
“Tradition Takeover” moments throughout the series.
https://freesound.org/people/Electroviolence/sounds/234555/
Narrator: Now it’s time for tradition takeover folks! In this segment, we pull a common tradition
from the holiday of choice and breakdown its origin story. For our first episode, we are going to
discuss how the carving of pumpkins came to be a pastime enjoyed across the nation during the
month of October.

According to tradition, carving a pumpkin called a Jack O’ Lantern comes from old Irish
myth about a man named Stingy Jack. The myth goes that one-day Stingy Jack invited
the devil to have a drink with him. He didn't want to pay for it (aka “Stingy”) and
convinces the Devil to himself turn into a coin to pay for the drinks. The Devil does, but
instead of paying, Jack pockets the coin (aka the Devil) next to a silver cross so the Devil
cannot turn back unless he agrees to not bother Jack for a year and not claim his soul
when Jack dies. The Devil agrees and is released. After waiting a year, the Devil returns
and Jack convinces him to climb a tree for fruit. Jack then carves a cross on the trunk so
the Devil could not come down unless he agrees to leave Jack alone for 10 years. The
devil agrees again, and is released. Now, Jack dies before the 10 years are up. After his
passing, Jack was said to have been denied by God in heaven because of all of his
mischief on earth. His soul also wasn’t claimed by the Devil, as the Devil had agreed not
to claim his soul in their first coin toss.

So, the myth goes that Jack’s soul wanders the night with only a single flame or spark of
the life he once had. Jack put the spark into a carved-out turnip (which were much more
common in Ireland at the time) and has been roaming the earth ever since. The Irish
began to refer to his ghostly figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” or “Jack O’ Lantern.” People
began carving scary faces into turnips/potatoes (and later pumpkins in America) and
placing them in windows/near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering
evil spirits.1

Narrator: So, before you transition the pumpkins into pies this holiday season, think of old
Stingy Jack and how your carved pumpkin may just keep a sense of peace in your home. That is
all for our first episode of Holiday History! For more information on history of Halloween, tune
in next week to hear about how so many came to fear the dreaded black cat and how bobbing for
apples has its own Roman roots. This is Haley Stodart, signing out!

Part IV: Select podcast cover art and write a description that would be used on Apple
podcasts.  

Description: “Holiday History: Traditions and Celebrations of the Past and Present”
examines the historical origins of holidays, traditions, and celebrations across Unite
States of America. Starting with the three most common, this series will breakdown the
history of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, with individual episodes also
dedicated to particular traditional pieces, such as food, music, activities, and more. Please
join us each week during the months these holidays take place to learn more about how
we come to gather, celebrate, commemorate, and maybe even console during the holiday
season today.

1
“How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth” History.com, last modified October 21, 2021,
https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins
 Cover Art:

Snap-Apple Night, painted by Irish artist Daniel Maclise in 1833. It was inspired by a
Halloween party he attended in Blarney, Ireland, in 1832. Wikipedia Commons.

Bibliography
“Halloween 2021.” History.com. Last modified October 25, 2021.
https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

“How Jack O’Lanterns Originated in Irish Myth” History.com. Last modified October 21, 2021.
https://www.history.com/news/history-of-the-jack-o-lantern-irish-origins

Image: Maclise, Daniel. Snap Apple Night. Painting, 1833. Wikipedia Commons.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Snap-Apple_Night_globalphilosophy.PNG