Unpacking the origins of our holidays with Henry Ansgar Kelly
Madeline Adamo and Jonathan Riggs I UCLA
In a way, talking to UCLA’s Henry Ansgar Kelly about holidays is like experiencing a one-person production of “A Christmas Carol.” The distinguished research professor of English is a wealth of knowledge about holidays past, present and future, just like Charles Dickens’ three ghosts who visit Ebenezer Scrooge on that fateful Victorian Christmas Eve.
To pinpoint one of Kelly’s main areas of scholarship, however, one must travel back four centuries from Dickens’ cobblestoned London to Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th century. It’s here that some of the most striking origins of Western holidays lie. For instance, we have Chaucer to thank for Valentine’s Day — but according to Kelly, we’re doing the holiday all wrong.
To learn more about the history of several holidays and the scope of Kelly’s work, hosts of the UCLA College’s podcast “Cabinet of Curiosities” sat down with the scholar to talk about mirth, mortality and misconceptions, and why you might want to consider writing your own obituary.
Read the full story and listen to the podcast here.
Image: Henry Ansgar Kelly
Composite by Tina Hordzwick and Katie Sipek/UCLA