From the Vault 293: To All a Good Night

Part one of this episode of From the Vault features an original radio drama written by KPFK host Julio Martinez which traces the history of Santa Claus through a contemporary lens. It stars Nicholas, Bishop of Smyrna, John Winthrop, the Puritans of 1647, The Saxons, the Vikings, ChristKleinlein from Germany, Pere Noel from France, Washington Irving, John Pintard, the Montgomery Ward staff who brainstormed the Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer for their holiday catalog in 1939, and Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus.

Part two is radio adaptation of O. Henry’s The Gift of the Magi, the story a young couple, Jim and Della, who are short of money but desperately want to buy each other Christmas gifts. Unbeknownst to Jim, Della sells her most valuable possession, her beautiful hair, in order to buy a platinum fob chain for Jim’s watc