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dot com for details. Welcome

1:02

to the history tricks where any resemblance

1:04

to a boring old history lesson is purely

1:06

coincidental. Hello.

1:10

It's Susan. In just a moment, Beckett's

1:13

gonna tell you all about missus

1:15

Claws. It's our annual tradition here

1:17

at The History Shix to put her story

1:20

at the tip top of your podcast feed.

1:22

Look, there's lots of Santa cause

1:24

history is floating around at this time of year.

1:27

But as is our way, we

1:29

like to spotlight women and

1:31

when you shine a spotlight at missus Klas,

1:33

you can see her

1:34

depth, her wisdom, her wit,

1:36

her endurance. When we talk about her history,

1:39

you'll learn all the very important

1:41

jobs that missus Klase has done,

1:43

including believe it or not, supporting

1:46

the women's suffrage movement. Beccat

1:48

and I both celebrate Christmas, so I'm going

1:50

to say happy Christmas. We hope

1:52

that you have the merriest and warmest

1:55

and healthiest of holiday

1:57

seasons. We'll be back with more

1:59

stories of incredible women after

2:01

the first of the year. So enjoy your

2:04

New Year's and stay safe. Thank

2:06

you for listening. Now on

2:08

with the show.

2:11

Hello, and welcome to the show. It's

2:13

just back it today with a tiny little

2:15

mini cast about one of the most undersigned

2:17

characters that's around during this time of year.

2:20

Today, I'm going to give you the history of

2:22

missus Claws. Santa is mostly

2:24

patient, certainly tolerant wife

2:26

of somewhere in the neighborhood of two hundred

2:28

years or so. A note to listeners

2:31

with young children in the room do preview

2:33

the content, you know, just in case

2:35

I say something of a revealing nature

2:37

about shall we say the charlie

2:39

old elf himself. So

2:42

on we go, once upon a time

2:44

Santa Claus was a bachelor, not only

2:46

a bachelor, but a bishop, Nicholas

2:49

of Myra in modern day Turkey,

2:51

who was born in the year two seventy.

2:54

He used to pay the dowries of poor girls

2:56

on the sly and leave treats for the children

2:58

of his town. Theoretically anonymously,

3:01

but the word went out. If you leave your

3:03

shoes out on the steps and someone

3:05

happens to be passing by, well,

3:08

you just never know. The legend

3:10

began with a real man and was kept

3:12

alive by the Dutch tradition of Centerclaws.

3:15

Wondery That's what happens when you

3:17

say the words Saint Nicholas over time

3:20

with an accent and another language, sort

3:22

of like when you play the telephone game, the words

3:24

just change. Still with the gifts

3:26

and the shoes, but now only on one

3:28

day, December fifth, and CintraClaws

3:31

was brought to the New World. New Amsterdam,

3:34

now, of course, New York, With the Dutch

3:36

settlers, center class became

3:38

the modern words Santa Claus somewhere

3:41

around the American revolution. Even

3:43

at the time of twas the night before

3:45

Christmas and all through the house,

3:47

etcetera, Santa is

3:50

still a single man. He got the reindeer

3:52

with this column in eighteen twenty three,

3:54

but no mention of a wife until

3:56

eighteen forty nine, and that was

3:58

only in a morality tale by an author

4:01

named James Rees. About a family

4:03

who was kind to two old strangers. And

4:05

in the morning, they were revealed

4:07

to be, quote, not Santa Claus

4:09

and his wife But in fact,

4:12

the daughter they'd thrown out of the house for having

4:14

a boyfriend who comes back married

4:16

and with money. So perhaps not

4:18

yet the missus Klas we've grown

4:20

to expect. But the

4:22

casualness with which they mentioned,

4:25

not Santa Claus and his wife, kind

4:27

of implies that a wife for mister

4:29

North Pole was sort of common

4:31

knowledge. That was just now making it into

4:33

print. She remained a shadowy figure

4:35

and not much was known about her where did

4:37

they meet? What was she like? How did

4:39

she look? Harper's magazine? In

4:41

eighteen sixty two gave her a dozen

4:44

red petticoats. This was the time of

4:46

the Balmoral petticoats. Queen Victoria

4:48

and family made them very famous.

4:50

Red flannel, warm with a slightly

4:53

shorter skirt for country walking and physical

4:55

activity or ice skating, but

4:57

a dozen. Other than their insulating

4:59

properties, I just do not know. I hope her rocking

5:01

chair was a giant one. Missus

5:03

Klaws, not yet named, had

5:05

her first truly prominent role in

5:08

lills, travels, in Santa Claus

5:10

land. In eighteen seventy nine, here's

5:12

a quote from that story. There was a lady

5:15

sitting by a golden desk Writing in a

5:17

large book, and Santa Claus was looking

5:19

through a great telescope. And every

5:21

once in a while, he stopped and put his

5:23

ear to a large speaking tube. While I

5:25

was resting, he would on with his observations. Presently,

5:28

he said to the lady, put down a good

5:31

mark for Sarah Buttermilk. I see she's

5:33

trying to clover her quick temper. So,

5:36

missus Claus is now the keeper of the naughty

5:38

and nice list. Tradesman's wives

5:40

often did the books. This seemed to be more

5:42

of the same. But author Katherine

5:45

Lee Bates gave her an attitude in

5:47

goody Santa Claus on the sleigh ride in

5:49

eighteen eighty nine in which missus

5:51

Santa lays it out there Why should you

5:53

have all the glory of the joyous Christmas

5:56

story? Poor little goodie Santa Claus

5:58

have nothing but the work. Now the pack

6:00

is fairly rippled and poor Santa's

6:02

well nice stifled, yet you would

6:04

not let your goodie fill a single

6:06

baby suck. Yes, I know the task

6:09

takes brain deer, I can only hold the

6:11

reindeer. And to see me climb down

6:13

chimney, it would give your nerves a shock.

6:16

Any finally lets her go down, and Phil

6:18

is talking. Mary Christmas

6:20

little people, joy bells ring

6:22

in every steeple and goodies, gladest

6:24

of the glad I've had my own

6:26

sweet will. At last,

6:28

missus Klase has a taste of the fame.

6:31

Incidentally, Katherine Lee Bates

6:34

was a professor at Wells wrote for

6:36

the Atlantic monthly and would later give

6:38

us the lyrics to America, the beautiful,

6:40

which in my opinion would have made a far

6:42

better anthem for this country than the one we have.

6:45

Since it lies within most people's vocal

6:47

range. And then, suddenly,

6:49

missus Claus was back grounded. For

6:52

eighty some years, there she went back to the

6:54

supporting role. During this time, she didn't

6:56

even have the nice and naughty list to sustain

6:58

her. That work was taken up by Santa's

7:01

brownies. Who we now call elves

7:03

or assistance, and missus Claus

7:05

was the representative of the cult

7:07

of domesticity we talked about in

7:09

the Queen Victoria podcast. Missus

7:12

clogs keeps Santa darned and fed

7:14

and chewed up makes cookies and cocoa

7:16

and apple pies and roast beef and

7:19

She might have charged the production line

7:21

but only while Santa's way and

7:23

is a mother figure to all the elves

7:25

and is the plump mob capped

7:27

bustling smiley figure that we still

7:29

associate with her name today, or

7:32

she might have a spectacular white ballerina

7:34

bun on top of her head in sneaky wire

7:36

rimmed spectacles, but still

7:39

no name. No official

7:41

one anyway. She's been called Jessica

7:43

Anna, Margaret, Martha, Carol,

7:45

Samantha, and of course, Charlie

7:48

Brown's Choice, Merry Christmas.

7:51

Congratulations on keeping your own

7:53

last name was what Charlie Brown's sister

7:55

wrote in the early sixties. I will

7:57

say that Ian Rooted off the Red nosed reindeer,

7:59

which was from Night sixteen sixty four, she

8:02

inexplicably is this abrasive

8:04

dark haired lady who keeps trying to make Santa

8:06

eat because, quote, no one likes a skinny

8:09

Santa. Even though the food, even

8:11

the apple is gray. If that's on

8:13

TV, look at the food, don't Wondery.

8:15

They never even painted it or something. Anyway,

8:17

and there are quite few nineteen fifties

8:19

depiction of missus Santa Claus as

8:21

a young red head, which we hope is

8:23

missus Santa. In fact, Santa.

8:26

I'm doing that thing right now where I put my

8:28

two fingers up to my eyes and then I point them

8:31

at you, but otherwise, white haired

8:33

elderly lady with either an exaggerated round

8:35

figure or else a very good

8:37

hour glass model of corsets. So

8:39

the nineteen sixties were really when Missus

8:41

c had her comeback. Her debut back

8:43

into the popular imagination seems to

8:46

be a story published in Family Circle

8:48

in nineteen sixty one in How

8:50

missus Santa Claus saved Christmas by

8:52

Philip McGinley, Santa has taken

8:54

to his bed and blows through the alarm

8:56

and so missus Claus takes to the air

8:59

and mixes up everybody's presence, but

9:01

somehow everyone ended up better off.

9:03

It's the Hygiene's era for sure. There's no

9:05

possible way I can highlight every single

9:08

show that featured miss this clause. So here

9:10

are few of the highlights. Nineteen

9:12

seventy four, the year without a Santa Claus,

9:14

which was also based on a Phyllis Mckenzie

9:16

story, incidentally, Samclaws is

9:18

all burnout and he decides to take a year

9:20

off. So missus s has to go out

9:22

in search of the Christmas spirit. Remember

9:25

the snow visor and the heat visor? Missus

9:27

Claus has to do some fast talking to get them to

9:29

agree. This was a major holiday

9:31

movie during my childhood. Nineteen

9:33

ninety six, the movie. Missus

9:36

Santa Claus, Angela Landsbury,

9:38

tried to give her input on improving the machinery

9:41

and efficiency, and Since she was

9:43

all ignored, she set out to prove it for

9:45

herself that she had the right idea about

9:47

delivering the presence. And a time

9:49

travel mishap lands her in the middle of night

9:51

team ten where she becomes involved in the

9:53

suffrage movement. I cannot make this

9:55

stuff up. Two thousand two, the

9:57

Santa Claus two. Where in fact,

9:59

the whole hook of the entire movie is that Santa

10:02

has to find a wife where Christmas will go

10:04

away forever. That actually might be her most

10:06

starring role of any movie yet.

10:08

Two thousand ten. Martha Claus

10:10

tries to save the Simpsons Christmas in an

10:12

episode called The Fight Before Christmas,

10:15

which, of course, everything and everyone comes

10:17

back to the Simpsons in the end.

10:19

And incidentally, Martha Claus

10:21

is Martha Stewart because of course she

10:23

is. And last but not least, in

10:25

fact, my absolute favorite depiction

10:27

there ever has been. Emelda Staunton.

10:30

Yes. The lady who plays Professor Umberidge

10:33

the scariest villain in the entire Harry

10:35

Potter series, plays missus Klase

10:37

in Arthur Christmas from two thousand

10:39

eleven. And in that movie, missus Klase

10:41

handles all her squabbling relatives wraps

10:44

her own game present from Santa, and hands it

10:46

to him to give to her, makes the gravy, and

10:48

then drives the technological Wondery

10:50

Santa Enterprise, the s one all by

10:52

herself. It's been quite a journey for missus

10:54

Klas, from anonymous, to bookkeeper,

10:57

to hearthkeeper, to time traveler, diplomat,

11:00

problem solver, and peacekeeper. Missus

11:03

Klas, we salute you. Take

11:05

the twenty six stuff this year, won't you?

11:18

A quick update from two thousand

11:21

seventeen, my old favorite

11:23

from Arthur Christmas has been overtaken

11:26

In the year two thousand sixteen, Mark's n

11:28

Spencer produced a Christmas ad

11:30

entitled Christmas with Love from

11:33

missus Claws. I can't even express

11:35

how amazing she is. It's almost like a

11:37

James Bond thriller meets

11:40

missus Claws. So it's very good. She flies

11:42

a helicopter. She's kind of a bad aleck,

11:44

and it actually made me cry at several points.

11:47

She's played by Janet McTear, who

11:49

you'll probably know from the diversion series

11:51

as Edith Pryor. I don't know. The gauntlet's

11:54

been thrown. I don't know how anyone is ever

11:56

going to top this one. I'll provide a link

11:58

to a video of that commercial at the history

12:00

checks dot com, feel free to visit the Pinterest

12:02

board because it is full of missus

12:04

Glaws depictions. So there are mini

12:06

rabbit holes to fall down there.

12:08

Hi. It's Susan again from twenty twenty

12:11

one. I'd like to take just a moment

12:13

to acknowledge and thank

12:15

some very important people to us.

12:17

Starting with all of the members of

12:20

our private Facebook group, The History

12:22

Chegg's podcast lounge, there's

12:24

so much interesting discussion and

12:27

weekly trivia and baking

12:29

challenges and we started

12:32

window Wednesdays where you show us

12:34

the view of your world on

12:36

Wednesdays. And Tuesdays, we

12:38

have an opportunity to tune our own

12:40

horns and celebrate with the entire group,

12:43

things that we've accomplished. So thank

12:45

you for joining us there. All of you.

12:47

And there are members of that group who

12:49

go above and beyond. Sarah

12:52

and Nancy and all the weekly

12:54

trivia people who have

12:56

stepped up to host the games every

12:59

Saturday on Zoom for

13:01

Ashley who gets us baking in the

13:03

theme of a different historical woman

13:05

every single

13:06

week. And because

13:09

the group grew, we have a group

13:11

of moderators in there. We have

13:13

Sarah? That's the same, Sarah who

13:15

does trivia. Sarah and Susan

13:17

and Sean who also maintains

13:20

list of podcasts that aren't the

13:22

history checks recommended by

13:24

other lounge members. It's

13:26

a beautiful list if you're ever looking for

13:28

another show to listen to. We certainly

13:30

wanna thank our mods, Sullin, Lindsay,

13:33

Stacey, Katie, and La

13:35

Michelle. A special hug and

13:37

thank you to JD for his behind

13:40

the scenes tech support all year

13:42

long, and our partners

13:44

at Wondery, especially Ali

13:46

and Julie. And we'd also like

13:48

to thank Laura from like minds travel, our

13:50

tour agent, extraordinary. We

13:53

are going to get to London this year. Right,

13:55

Laura? Right, Laura? She

13:58

at this very moment is finalizing

14:00

the details on yet another amazing

14:03

tour that we'll be taking in the future

14:05

to places that and I have only talked

14:07

about on the show, and we get to

14:09

do that with you. So there'll

14:11

be more information on that very

14:14

soon. As always, we really

14:16

appreciate people who have gone

14:18

above and beyond and click the donate button

14:21

on our website. And donate

14:23

to us either sum

14:25

or Wondery, all of those

14:27

donations help keep the lights on it.

14:29

Well, I used to say the House of Wood. But

14:31

that's where Beckett lives. I come

14:33

to you from the

14:36

closet of felt acoustic tiles.

14:39

So from this beautiful closet, I thank

14:41

all of you. From me

14:44

and

14:44

Beckett, we wish you a very happy

14:46

and healthy twenty twenty two.

14:49

Thank you so much for listening and

14:51

happy or merry Christmas to those that

14:53

celebrate it. Bye. Our music

14:55

comes courtesy of music alley. Today's

14:58

closing music is Santa will

15:00

find you by Mindy Smith.

15:03

If you fall away

15:06

on this holiday,

15:09

enjoy the dreaming, love

15:11

being in the battle. If

15:16

you're worried at all, then

15:19

you may be for God.

15:22

You shouldn't. Thank

15:24

you.

15:28

Closures there, and you're

15:31

shining. Bye,

15:33

like a beacon. Bye,

15:36

does a northern star.

15:40

So don't worry because.

15:45

Sir, I will find you

15:48

wherever you are.

15:52

Sir, will find you

16:07

If you feel this sending full,

16:10

brandy, and sleep

16:13

outs, as they seem to go

16:15

and tap on. The room.

16:19

You're a wet pile in

16:22

like it with your cousin. A

16:24

second grandma send you.

16:28

There'll be presents for

16:30

you.

16:41

Novels done. So

16:45

don't worry, because

16:49

752

16:52

wherever you're on.

16:56

So fun.