Minnesotans know that with the coming of bitter cold, something else is knocking on the door. The holiday season is a time of tales, readings, song, and reflection. Get your fill of lutefisk; hear the church bells rung “the old fashioned way;” take a tour of Hmong New Year; feel the melancholy of the farm; experience foreign students first encounters with turkeys and pumpkin pies; and learn the history of fruitcake. These are some of the wide-ranging stories of Minnesota holiday life that await your senses.
Please note: Most content related to this topic that is contemporary or created after 2005 can be found on our main content pages of MPR News, YourClassical MPR, The Current, APM Reports, and Marketplace.
November 27, 1993 - MPR’s Chris Roberts interviews Karal Ann Marling, a local author and scholar of American popular culture and art. Marling discusses history of the holiday bird, the turkey.
December 10, 1993 - In this segment of Voices from the Heartland, Duluth author Michael Fedo reads essay on his recollections while traveling with musical partner Dan Kossoff as they toured the Midwest during the holidays.
December 13, 1993 - Writer Suzann Ledbetter reads a holiday story on the lengths taken in getting a Christmas tree. Story is from Ledbetter’s book “The Toast Always Lands Jelly-Side Down: And Other Tales of Suburban Life.”
December 22, 1993 - Minnesota poet and author Bill Holm comments on a number of winter topics, from the sense of poverty on the farm, to the meaning behind lutefisk.
December 23, 1993 - MPR’s Joe Follansbee reports from Rochester’s Federal Medical Center, where prisoners are preparing an annual production of “A Christmas Carol.” Follansbee interviews a few of the participants.
December 23, 1993 - Minnesota poet and author Bill Holm reflects on singing Christmas songs in his Lutheran childhood, with memories of the cold, tin ears, and a favorite carol.
December 24, 1993 - On this Christmas Eve Midday, listeners share Christmas stories and describe what the holiday means to them. Program also contains a reading and closes with holiday music.
December 25, 1993 - St. Paul author Lawrence Sutin shares his thoughts on being a non-Christian Christmas celebrant.
December 31, 1993 - MPR’s Greg Magnuson interviews MPR reporter Euan Kerr about the New Year’s Eve song “Auld Lang Syne.” Kerr, a Scot himself, explores the Scottish origins of song.
January 14, 1994 - In this segment of Voices from the Heartland, Minnesota author Barton Sutter reads his essay on recycling Christmas trees. This essay was later collected in Sutter’s book "Cold Comfort: Life at the Top of the Map."