Christmas and Commerce

圣诞节与商业

This American Life

2025-12-24

1 小时 2 分钟
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Stories about the intersection of Christmas and retail, originally broadcast in 1996 when our show was only a year old. Including David Sedaris's "Santaland Diaries" about the seasons he spent working as an elf at Macy's.
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  • Hey everybody, it's Ira.

  • Okay, so what you're listening to right this second is not our regular weekly program,

  • but an extra episode that we decided just to throw it on the podcast feed for the holiday and Merry Christmas.

  • We just figured that lots of you might be traveling long distances this week,

  • flying or driving and might want to have something extra to listen to on the way.

  • Or maybe you're with your family and you just need a long walk where you get a break from people who you love.

  • You definitely do love them.

  • There's no question, but sometimes a person does just sometimes need a little break.

  • Okay.

  • Anyway, it's Christmas time.

  • This episode is from our very first year as a national show,

  • has a couple of classic old school stories that definitely stand the test of time.

  • Okay, I've said enough.

  • I'm now handing off now to uh, myself back then.

  • You know that saying, you can really tell who somebody is in a crisis.

  • You can really tell at Christmas too.

  • That's because Christmas, more than any other day in the American year,

  • is a day when we're all handed the same,

  • the same stage props, the same tree, the presents,

  • the meal, the relatives, and all the same expectations.