Dec. 30, 2025
The Tomte: Scandinavian Spirits That Came Before Santa
Long before Santa Claus squeezed down chimneys with bags of presents, Scandinavian families knew something else watched over their homes during the darkest nights of winter—something small, ancient, and very particular about its porridge.
The Mystery
In the folklore of Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland, the Tomte (or Nisse, depending on where you're from) has been guarding homesteads for centuries. These diminutive spirits—typically described as elderly men the size of young children with long white beards and red caps—were believed to protect families, tend to livestock, and bring abundance to farms that earned their respect.
But the Tomte's help came with conditions. They demanded cleanliness, proper treatment of animals, and one non-negotiable offering: a bowl of Christmas porridge with butter on top, left out on Yule. Forget the butter? The consequences could be severe—from mischievous pranks like tying cows' tails together to outright catastrophe for the farm's fortune.
What We Explore
Josh Waters takes Shane deep into the world of these fascinating household spirits, exploring their origins in pre-Christian Norse tradition and their surprising connection to modern Christmas customs. You'll discover why the Tomte is considered an ancestral guardian, what happens when you hide the butter under the porridge (spoiler: don't), and how these ancient spirits evolved into the gift-giving Jultomte and Julenisse we recognize today.
Plus: An extended conversation about the brothers' favorite Christmas treats and Josh's meticulous eating rituals that have to be heard to be believed.
Sources & Further Reading
- Wikipedia: Nisse (folklore) - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisse_(folklore)
- Ingebretsen's Nordic Marketplace: Legend of the Nisse and Tomte - https://ingebretsens-blog.com/legend-of-the-nisse-and-tomte/
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WEBVTT
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[SPEAKER_03]: Long before a jolly man and red squeezed down chimneys with bags of toys, our ancestors knew something else watched over their homes during the darkest nights of winter.
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[SPEAKER_03]: Something small, something ancient, something with a long white beard and eyes that gleaned in the firelight.
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[SPEAKER_03]: In Scandinavia, they called it the tarmta, a spirit of the homestead, a guardian who asked for nothing but respect, cleanliness, and one ball of porridge with butter on the longest night of the year.
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[SPEAKER_03]: Treat it well, and abundance would follow, forget the butter, well, that's where things got interesting.
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[SPEAKER_03]: Hello, friend.
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[SPEAKER_03]: Welcome to the haunted bunker.
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[SPEAKER_03]: We're mysteries hide.
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[SPEAKER_03]: Alright, friend.
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[SPEAKER_03]: It's time to descend.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, Josh, watch your mystery to the air.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Mary, you will everyone, this time of the year, a lot of us celebrate the holidays, Christians call it Christmas, others call it you will, and in Germany they call it, God help us, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why
01:30.515 --> 01:43.016
[SPEAKER_01]: While I grew up with Christmas and the birth of Jesus, and I still know all the lyrics to most of the songs, I now call it Yule and go for more of a natural, some may say, or original, look to the holiday.
01:43.057 --> 01:54.396
[SPEAKER_01]: Things like decorating an evergreen tree, celebrating the solstice, giving gifts the Yule log, evergreen reeds, feasting and drinking,
01:54.376 --> 02:01.971
[SPEAKER_01]: Even the big ones like Santa Claus and December 25th, were all taken from various pagan Celtic and Norse cultures.
02:03.133 --> 02:12.351
[SPEAKER_01]: Santa was originally Odin, who would ride on his eight-legged horse, Sleafner, through the mid-winter night sky and deliver gifts.
02:12.331 --> 02:19.939
[SPEAKER_01]: The date of Christmas was actually chosen by early Christian poops to align with the current traditions of those they were eager to convert.
02:21.160 --> 02:30.049
[SPEAKER_01]: Kind of like if Jehovah's Witnesses started celebrating Christmas, I bet they would get a lot more people to open the door when they open a knock-in.
02:30.069 --> 02:38.338
[SPEAKER_01]: When you start looking into ancient practices, you really do get a better picture of just how sneaky some religions have been from the get-go.
02:39.196 --> 02:42.103
[SPEAKER_01]: Take, for example, my year mystery for today.
02:42.123 --> 02:55.737
[SPEAKER_01]: It is an adorable spirit who is for the most part good, as long as you're respectful, not lazy, and leave the offerings of porridge and butter at least once a year on the eve of you all.
02:57.134 --> 03:09.805
[SPEAKER_01]: If you don't do those things, it can be quite the devious little booker, hiding things around the house, stealing things, harming you, and it might even kill a cow as in one story.
03:09.825 --> 03:16.912
[SPEAKER_01]: They are the little house spirits known as Tomte in Sweden and Nise in Norway.
03:17.833 --> 03:27.141
[SPEAKER_01]: My first thought after researching these little spirits is just how fear-based our Christian upbringing has given most of us.
03:27.121 --> 03:35.960
[SPEAKER_01]: For most of human history, the things we often think of as a demon, or a poltergeist, has struck fear into the hearts of millions.
03:36.742 --> 03:47.425
[SPEAKER_01]: From movies, lore, and religious upbringing, so many of us were taught to fear the very things that the Tomte could do for us, and to us.
03:48.670 --> 03:57.228
[SPEAKER_01]: If the lights flicker, something moves, or weird things happen in our homes, how many of us instantly think of something scary?
03:58.291 --> 04:05.987
[SPEAKER_01]: Just imagine a belief based on understanding those creatures, and how a reactions might differ.
04:07.351 --> 04:14.583
[SPEAKER_01]: Instead of thinking our homes are possessed by some nameless evil entity, our first thoughts might venture to let that little spirit.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Who is about the size of a three-year-old with a white beard, a little hat, and just doing things to tell us that we need to do better.
04:24.479 --> 04:29.626
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, not everyone can have a tomte, it isn't like the house elves from Harry Potter.
04:29.666 --> 04:38.338
[SPEAKER_01]: They can and will move out of your home if you are lazy, aren't respectful towards it and the things that it does.
04:38.378 --> 04:44.226
[SPEAKER_01]: And like I said, if you don't leave at least one offering on the night of you will.
04:45.674 --> 04:52.475
[SPEAKER_01]: To have a tomte, you must keep your home clean and tidy at the bare minimum, to even be considered.
04:53.317 --> 04:55.705
[SPEAKER_01]: There are very 50-50 type of spirit.
04:56.467 --> 04:59.717
[SPEAKER_01]: Why would they help you if you don't even help yourself?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Those who wish for a Tomte to come stay with them can make sure that their homes are clean, have the porridge and butter for them, and literally just invite them in.
05:11.614 --> 05:19.606
[SPEAKER_01]: Some customs are based on intention of wanting a Tomte, while others say to call out of your door that the Tomte are welcome.
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[SPEAKER_01]: If you're lucky enough to have one like your home and the porridge you provide, and more
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[SPEAKER_01]: Those who follow the rules will get an extremely loyal Tomtae.
05:36.691 --> 05:39.916
[SPEAKER_01]: At that point, it is said to bring abundance into your home.
05:40.757 --> 05:44.141
[SPEAKER_01]: If you have a farm, your crops and animals will flourish.
05:44.962 --> 05:51.251
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you don't, you can see things from better opportunities for work or money flowing into the home.
05:52.012 --> 06:00.703
[SPEAKER_01]: But if you do have a Tomtae living with you and you break the rules,
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[SPEAKER_01]: not only will it most likely leave, but before it does, it can take away all the good things that it has done for you, and even kill your prized cow by some legends.
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[SPEAKER_01]: One folktale tells of a young girl,
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[SPEAKER_01]: who decided to play a trick on their home Tomte on the Eve before you all.
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[SPEAKER_01]: She laid out his porridge offering, but she hid the butter underneath it.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Now, the Tomte's butter's like crack.
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[SPEAKER_01]: You know, they like the porridge, it's all well and good, but the butter is what they're addicted to.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So don't mess with their butter.
06:37.966 --> 06:41.231
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm trying to look up what it looks like, how do you spell it?
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[SPEAKER_01]: T-O-M-T-E.
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[SPEAKER_01]: They're so cute.
06:45.090 --> 06:47.036
[SPEAKER_01]: Like they look like Nome's, essentially.
06:47.076 --> 06:49.563
[SPEAKER_01]: Nomes are more forest guardians.
06:49.803 --> 06:53.975
[SPEAKER_01]: And while the Tomte do live in the forest, they will come stay in your home with it.
06:53.995 --> 06:55.399
[SPEAKER_01]: They're going to have a scene, though.
06:55.699 --> 06:56.562
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
06:56.602 --> 06:58.467
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the Nome's scene, though.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Well, when she hit the butter, the disrespect angered the Tomtae, and he took his porridge to the barn and killed their prized heifer.
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[SPEAKER_01]: He then ate his porridge and then saw that the butter was on the bottom.
07:13.127 --> 07:18.797
[SPEAKER_01]: Feeling bad, he went to the neighboring farm and stole their best cow to replace the one he killed.
07:20.581 --> 07:23.526
[SPEAKER_01]: Moral of the story, don't mess with the Tomtae in his butter.
07:26.273 --> 07:28.196
[SPEAKER_01]: PalmTay don't just stay in the home.
07:28.256 --> 07:30.479
[SPEAKER_01]: They do venture out into the forest.
07:31.060 --> 07:32.803
[SPEAKER_01]: That's where they prefer to stay.
07:32.863 --> 07:41.676
[SPEAKER_01]: They are masters of disguise, some believing that they can even shape shift into different plants and animals to avoid detection.
07:42.618 --> 07:44.921
[SPEAKER_01]: Others think they are just great at camouflage.
07:46.343 --> 07:53.935
[SPEAKER_01]: I've got a whole bunch of them around my house, and then I even got little ornaments
07:55.518 --> 08:02.989
[SPEAKER_01]: They are known to adorn a red pointed hat and red cloak, which was meant to represent the spirit of the forest and the energy of the earth.
08:04.992 --> 08:11.942
[SPEAKER_01]: And even if you follow the rules for your home, Tomte, that doesn't mean that they won't sometimes still poke fun at you.
08:12.543 --> 08:15.467
[SPEAKER_01]: Why can't you, of us, who doesn't enjoy a good trick?
08:17.371 --> 08:23.219
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes they might occasionally hide your keys, or put something in your path to trip you.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Not to hurt you, just a slight trip.
08:28.546 --> 08:30.729
[SPEAKER_01]: Enough to get them laugh in at you.
08:31.731 --> 08:36.497
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you're lucky enough, you may even hear them laugh in, which is what I was talking about earlier.
08:36.517 --> 08:43.547
[SPEAKER_01]: If you're in your home and you trip, and you hear something giggle, are for thought would probably, oh god, there's a ghost called the priest.
08:45.248 --> 08:46.490
[SPEAKER_03]: Sure, shout the name.
08:46.530 --> 08:46.890
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Well, all that's nothing to be afraid of.
08:49.954 --> 08:54.419
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just their way of letting you know that they are in your home and that they like you.
08:54.479 --> 09:01.448
[SPEAKER_01]: Like us, we only pick on you if we like you for our ancient ancestors.
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[SPEAKER_01]: The Tomte was a spirit of resilience, a reminder that no matter how long, dark and hard the winter may be, we can get through it with resilience and by not being
09:16.163 --> 09:22.374
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't forget, winter wasn't always just a time when you had to shovel the driveway with warm up your car before driving.
09:23.376 --> 09:27.483
[SPEAKER_01]: For much of our history was a bleak, often times heartbreaking season.
09:28.866 --> 09:34.897
[SPEAKER_01]: If you were old or young, you literally had to come with the terms that you might not make it to see the spring.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Either by sickness, hunger, or the cold, a lot of people died in the winter.
09:41.307 --> 09:50.024
[SPEAKER_01]: Celebrations such as you will were meant to be a beacon of hope for everyone, something bright to look forward to in the darkness of winter.
09:51.266 --> 10:00.664
[SPEAKER_01]: It was celebrated around the solstice to showcase that we have made it through the darkest night, and that every day until spring will be just a little bit brighter.
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[SPEAKER_03]: It's cute.
10:02.873 --> 10:07.644
[SPEAKER_01]: Today the Tomte is still beloved in Sweden, Norway, and in my house.
10:08.646 --> 10:12.696
[SPEAKER_01]: Some more even attributes them as little versions of Santa Claus.
10:13.698 --> 10:19.431
[SPEAKER_01]: A little spirit that watches you all year and leaves gifts and sweets in your stockings on the eve of you all.
10:20.710 --> 10:24.496
[SPEAKER_01]: So why not add a little Tomta to your traditions?
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[SPEAKER_01]: What can I hurt to leave out instead of milk and cookies to some chubby white saint, a little bowl of porridge, and a little bit of butter for a house, Tomta?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Let's go.
10:36.675 --> 10:38.197
[SPEAKER_01]: There's so cute, uh, I love them.
10:38.758 --> 10:46.330
[SPEAKER_01]: I started seeing them maybe like right around after high school, you could start buying them, and I first I was like, it's a little gnome.
10:46.310 --> 10:51.096
[SPEAKER_01]: And then, through the years, I've become, or it was, when Maya came to visit it.
10:51.216 --> 10:53.259
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, she saw that.
10:53.279 --> 10:57.484
[SPEAKER_01]: I like, no, she was like, we have pumped his, or I can't remember if she called it.
10:57.784 --> 11:01.409
[SPEAKER_01]: I think I feel like she called it, Tomtenessay, like, both words.
11:01.529 --> 11:04.352
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but it's just depending on what country you're in.
11:04.493 --> 11:06.075
[SPEAKER_01]: She even mailed me one.
11:06.195 --> 11:07.016
[SPEAKER_01]: I've got my little.
11:07.036 --> 11:12.823
[SPEAKER_01]: Remember that?
11:12.803 --> 11:17.863
[SPEAKER_01]: Wendy, so I've got British students and I know we didn't say they're some of my press possession.
11:18.204 --> 11:20.794
[SPEAKER_01]: You need some of our other countries too.
11:20.814 --> 11:21.075
[SPEAKER_01]: I know.
11:21.646 --> 11:31.002
[SPEAKER_01]: I always leave cookies out just for the aesthetic for Santa, but I think I had a little tap of butter with some sprinkles on it per my house.
11:31.022 --> 11:31.563
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you add milk?
11:31.583 --> 11:31.803
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
11:32.604 --> 11:33.446
[SPEAKER_01]: I usually eggnog.
11:34.748 --> 11:35.309
[SPEAKER_01]: No, good choice.
11:35.429 --> 11:44.605
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I'm going to be, I mean, Santa Claus will be frinking it, but why he doesn't take because you know, he only takes a bite, so the rest I'll drink.
11:44.625 --> 11:47.890
[SPEAKER_03]: No, have you tried any of the alternative milk eggnog?
11:49.372 --> 11:52.156
[SPEAKER_01]: I've had the almond milk egg nog last year.
11:52.177 --> 11:58.447
[SPEAKER_01]: I usually just buy regular egg nog and then I add almond milk to it, like 50, 50.
11:58.947 --> 12:04.757
[SPEAKER_01]: It does not dilute the flavor, what's it such a strong, I just, I don't like the thickness of.
12:04.777 --> 12:05.137
[SPEAKER_01]: A regular egg nog.
12:05.157 --> 12:05.979
[SPEAKER_01]: Full fat egg nog.
12:05.999 --> 12:06.840
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes.
12:06.820 --> 12:07.922
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, I agree with that.
12:07.942 --> 12:12.189
[SPEAKER_03]: I normally get regular egg mugs and then I I'm milking down.
12:12.209 --> 12:13.731
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'll milk it down.
12:13.932 --> 12:14.733
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm milking down.
12:14.773 --> 12:17.417
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not going to try that oat milk egg knob last year too.
12:17.578 --> 12:18.439
[SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't bad.
12:18.519 --> 12:21.624
[SPEAKER_01]: It was two watery for me.
12:22.766 --> 12:32.642
[SPEAKER_03]: I like the oat milk one a little better than I got one from I think it was from my or at the other day.
12:33.837 --> 12:35.099
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know what it was about it.
12:35.159 --> 12:36.140
[SPEAKER_03]: I did not care for it.
12:36.520 --> 12:44.170
[SPEAKER_03]: It's it's made with almond milk, but I'm pretty sure that it has like I'm pretty sure it's like sugar free or something.
12:44.230 --> 12:46.553
[SPEAKER_03]: It even be like less fat or something.
12:47.794 --> 12:48.255
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know.
12:48.275 --> 12:49.637
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know how people drink alcohol.
12:49.897 --> 12:50.638
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
12:50.858 --> 12:53.922
[SPEAKER_01]: It was always so I know it burns
12:53.902 --> 12:57.866
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, the first time I ever had eggmog, it was alcoholic, it was by accident.
12:58.026 --> 12:58.787
[SPEAKER_03]: It was our uncles.
12:59.127 --> 12:59.568
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh yeah.
12:59.588 --> 13:01.109
[SPEAKER_03]: It was in the fridge or our grandma's house.
13:01.129 --> 13:02.090
[SPEAKER_01]: It was like, oh, eggmog.
13:02.871 --> 13:03.492
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
13:03.512 --> 13:04.152
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought it was eggmog.
13:04.172 --> 13:04.613
[SPEAKER_01]: It hurts.
13:04.813 --> 13:05.293
[SPEAKER_01]: It hurts.
13:06.655 --> 13:06.755
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
13:06.775 --> 13:22.170
[SPEAKER_01]: My favorite eggmog is I've only been able to find it in Ohio at the UDF convenience stores, United dairy farmers, and it is so good, but anybody in Ohio probably knows, because they sell ice cream too, and it's really a good ice cream.
13:22.150 --> 13:24.893
[SPEAKER_01]: But normally I'll get prairie farms.
13:25.173 --> 13:30.138
[SPEAKER_01]: That's like a local milk to us and they have good egg nog.
13:30.158 --> 13:31.219
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, always dilute it.
13:31.440 --> 13:32.381
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't do full fat.
13:32.481 --> 13:33.021
[SPEAKER_01]: Good egg nog.
13:33.262 --> 13:33.902
[SPEAKER_01]: I do the egg.
13:34.623 --> 13:36.445
[SPEAKER_03]: Like a 1% egg nog.
13:36.505 --> 13:36.986
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
13:38.587 --> 13:39.348
[SPEAKER_01]: Something you didn't got it.
13:39.388 --> 13:41.210
[SPEAKER_01]: Doesn't feel like you have to chew it.
13:42.451 --> 13:45.374
[SPEAKER_01]: I could never make homemade egg nog and be able to drink it.
13:45.735 --> 13:46.255
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, no.
13:46.275 --> 13:46.475
[SPEAKER_03]: No.
13:47.957 --> 13:49.879
[SPEAKER_03]: I have friends that make egg nog.
13:51.158 --> 14:07.277
[SPEAKER_03]: But my friends that make it they don't make it like stores make it it's more of a whipped cream okay I've had that before other people's but it's not like there's not like raw eggs no no that I'm put right for sure no
14:09.299 --> 14:10.441
[SPEAKER_01]: I did make an egg yolk.
14:10.621 --> 14:12.424
[SPEAKER_01]: Cheesecake once and that was really good.
14:12.444 --> 14:14.106
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know what I've had about.
14:14.246 --> 14:15.068
[SPEAKER_01]: That was really good.
14:15.088 --> 14:18.152
[SPEAKER_01]: It was just like, I'm like, hmm, what would this taste like?
14:18.333 --> 14:20.977
[SPEAKER_01]: Delicious, delicious, delicious.
14:21.057 --> 14:22.158
[SPEAKER_01]: I need a good cheesecake.
14:22.899 --> 14:23.761
[SPEAKER_01]: I know, I made one.
14:24.201 --> 14:26.465
[SPEAKER_01]: I made a little Debbie Christmas tree.
14:26.685 --> 14:27.867
[SPEAKER_01]: Cheesecake last year.
14:27.947 --> 14:29.890
[SPEAKER_03]: Motorhacks.
14:29.870 --> 14:42.173
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm telling you, one good thing about going there all the time, but because I'm a regular at this coffee shop in your town, I feel like norm for home, cheers, and we'll see you next time.
14:42.193 --> 14:42.854
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey Norms here!
14:43.215 --> 14:43.896
[SPEAKER_03]: That's how it is.
14:44.277 --> 14:50.528
[SPEAKER_03]: If I don't go there for a long time, I'll get a text from the manager or being like, you can't make sure you ain't dead somewhere.
14:50.508 --> 14:55.174
[SPEAKER_03]: But I was in another day and whenever I'm in there, they'll try new drinks.
14:55.595 --> 15:00.501
[SPEAKER_03]: I thought like the baristas will be mixed in new drinks and they'll come over and have me taste test them.
15:00.521 --> 15:00.741
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
15:01.502 --> 15:05.527
[SPEAKER_03]: And so they were working on their Christmas drinks one day.
15:05.608 --> 15:09.833
[SPEAKER_03]: And so I was helping them pick out the mix and so they made a...
15:11.720 --> 15:12.501
[SPEAKER_03]: Christmas tree.
15:12.541 --> 15:15.144
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, that was so good.
15:15.184 --> 15:18.568
[SPEAKER_01]: I've already eaten like gone through three boxes.
15:18.869 --> 15:21.812
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't get until December, but I've already gone through three boxes.
15:21.993 --> 15:25.878
[SPEAKER_03]: See, the thing is, this is if I get a box of them, I know all of us continue to eat the whole thing.
15:25.898 --> 15:27.860
[SPEAKER_03]: I think it's much more fun.
15:28.681 --> 15:31.404
[SPEAKER_01]: If they would sell them in December, it's one month a year.
15:31.444 --> 15:32.766
[SPEAKER_01]: You know.
15:32.746 --> 15:39.383
[SPEAKER_03]: And the thing is, is because I have an EV, I'm not going to cast stations because I'm sure that they sell an individual one and I probably just buy an individual one.
15:39.483 --> 15:46.020
[SPEAKER_01]: But the dollar for has them too, but they are the big ones that wear the cream ratio is that correct.
15:46.040 --> 15:46.902
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't eat those.
15:47.484 --> 15:48.426
[SPEAKER_03]: There's too much cream.
15:48.473 --> 15:48.773
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
15:49.014 --> 15:51.378
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, they're bigger than the regular ones.
15:51.898 --> 15:58.569
[SPEAKER_01]: Regular ones are, you know, yay bag, big ones are yay bag and there's a lot more cream center.
15:58.609 --> 15:59.771
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, it's not the same.
15:59.851 --> 16:00.772
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't like too much.
16:01.193 --> 16:02.375
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like eating something different.
16:02.395 --> 16:02.756
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:02.776 --> 16:02.896
[SPEAKER_01]: Nope.
16:02.916 --> 16:03.677
[SPEAKER_01]: This ain't what I like.
16:05.159 --> 16:06.121
[SPEAKER_01]: But they've been around.
16:06.361 --> 16:08.605
[SPEAKER_01]: They came about like right before you were born.
16:09.246 --> 16:11.469
[SPEAKER_01]: So I mean, you know, we've had them our whole lives.
16:11.910 --> 16:15.055
[SPEAKER_01]: So to us,
16:15.490 --> 16:17.053
[SPEAKER_01]: I was reading the back of the box.
16:17.474 --> 16:18.676
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, dude, that's good.
16:18.776 --> 16:22.844
[SPEAKER_01]: They showed all the box designs that they've had since like 86 or 87.
16:22.965 --> 16:24.027
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, that's cool.
16:24.568 --> 16:26.431
[SPEAKER_01]: And how they, they used to be triangles.
16:26.792 --> 16:29.137
[SPEAKER_01]: And then now that, you know, they have the little ridges on.
16:29.157 --> 16:29.417
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:29.658 --> 16:30.920
[SPEAKER_01]: No, they're actual Christmas trees.
16:30.940 --> 16:31.120
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:31.481 --> 16:32.223
[SPEAKER_01]: Except the big ones.
16:32.323 --> 16:33.124
[SPEAKER_01]: Those are triangles.
16:33.746 --> 16:34.347
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, they really.
16:34.447 --> 16:34.667
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:34.948 --> 16:36.030
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not seeing the big ones.
16:36.331 --> 16:42.922
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I accidentally got them last year because I saw a bigger box of them.
16:43.203 --> 16:49.393
[SPEAKER_01]: So my brain thought it said big box, normally in little debbies, the big box just has more of them.
16:49.934 --> 16:59.630
[SPEAKER_01]: Not these, they're only eight of them instead of six, like the smaller box, which I didn't see to like a home, and then there just isn't a lot bigger.
16:59.650 --> 17:02.355
[SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, they're just ain't the same.
17:02.335 --> 17:03.697
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I feel that way.
17:03.717 --> 17:07.101
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't like Oreos with too much now.
17:07.181 --> 17:08.122
[SPEAKER_01]: I like the thin ones.
17:08.163 --> 17:27.387
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, now I usually I make my own Christmas Sweets this time of year, but there's just a handful of things that are my tradition that I get and that's little Debbie Christmas tree cakes I get the white chocolate Oreos and then I get a box of dark chocolate or cover cherries That one box.
17:27.427 --> 17:29.490
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't get the other brands
17:29.470 --> 17:44.644
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's Queen Anne's or something like that, you know, that the usual, at least in us, I think that Zachary Chocolac covered cherries, those don't have the fondant in the middle, just the red, goop, they're not as good.
17:46.025 --> 17:47.627
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, like a chocolate cover chair.
17:47.787 --> 17:49.850
[SPEAKER_01]: And I eat them all exactly the same way.
17:50.350 --> 17:55.236
[SPEAKER_03]: I do really like when chocolate stores, like have homemade.
17:55.276 --> 17:55.797
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
17:56.217 --> 17:57.199
[SPEAKER_03]: Chocolate cover chairs.
17:57.259 --> 17:58.260
[SPEAKER_03]: That's really good.
17:58.280 --> 18:05.368
[SPEAKER_03]: A real fresh chair is a really care for the, whatever that additional sugary stuff is.
18:05.388 --> 18:07.551
[SPEAKER_01]: On the front is that white stuff, yeah.
18:07.571 --> 18:10.094
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, there's too much of it sometimes for me.
18:10.134 --> 18:13.298
[SPEAKER_03]: I feel like the the cherries are smaller.
18:13.683 --> 18:14.063
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
18:14.183 --> 18:17.146
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like they're going to have things covered in berries too.
18:17.346 --> 18:20.869
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's the same size, but you know, blueberries are a lot smaller than cherries.
18:21.030 --> 18:26.595
[SPEAKER_01]: So the center's like, well, I eat them very, you know, I eat things weird, better fingers.
18:26.655 --> 18:28.276
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat all the chocolate off, kick pads.
18:28.296 --> 18:31.819
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat the chocolate off the sides and then pull the wafer's, same with nutty bodies.
18:32.420 --> 18:33.661
[SPEAKER_01]: And so chocolate covered cherries.
18:33.881 --> 18:35.903
[SPEAKER_01]: I nibble the bottom off first.
18:36.143 --> 18:43.690
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I lick slash suck the
18:43.670 --> 18:55.666
[SPEAKER_01]: shell, bell, whatnot, and then I eat that last every single time I would never just put a hole when people like take one and just put the whole thing in the mouth.
18:55.726 --> 19:00.913
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, you and I'm all like, oh, yeah, they get them once a year.
19:00.933 --> 19:04.939
[SPEAKER_01]: So I usually will do one box because they're very sweet.
19:05.159 --> 19:07.382
[SPEAKER_01]: So those that last me a whole month.
19:07.362 --> 19:08.103
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
19:08.123 --> 19:16.478
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, I say for each one one and I usually the 12 nights of Christmas from Christmas afterwards because usually get them as a gift on Christmas.
19:17.139 --> 19:23.850
[SPEAKER_03]: One of those candies that I grandma always had on her dresser that were chocolate and she would always peel them apart.
19:25.653 --> 19:26.755
[SPEAKER_03]: That crunchy.
19:28.827 --> 19:49.897
[SPEAKER_03]: They're chocolate bars, they come in like a box of two, maybe like they come in like a little pack, I think there's two of them in a pack and like they're a little chocolate tubes and you can eat them like all at once, but I think it's she'd like peel on the part and like they're long wafer's nothing.
19:50.238 --> 19:51.780
[SPEAKER_01]: Are you talking about nutty baddies?
19:52.553 --> 19:52.994
[SPEAKER_03]: Probably.
19:53.515 --> 19:54.857
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, those are organic bars.
19:54.897 --> 19:56.860
[SPEAKER_01]: Those are little debbies like nutty bars.
19:57.280 --> 19:57.601
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
19:57.841 --> 19:59.143
[SPEAKER_01]: We're a peanut butter wafer.
19:59.163 --> 19:59.264
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
19:59.424 --> 19:59.704
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
20:00.125 --> 20:01.327
[SPEAKER_01]: That's the same thing.
20:01.347 --> 20:02.809
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat them in the exact same way.
20:02.989 --> 20:08.338
[SPEAKER_01]: You pill apart each layer of and then because all at once it's too much.
20:08.518 --> 20:10.862
[SPEAKER_01]: I like individual than that's the same way.
20:10.922 --> 20:11.743
[SPEAKER_01]: It kick at bar.
20:13.006 --> 20:16.653
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat the chocolate off the sides and then peel the layers apart.
20:16.833 --> 20:21.622
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I have not bought nutty buddies, that's what you call nutty buddies.
20:21.763 --> 20:24.768
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, those are my go-to little Debbie unless it's Christmas time.
20:25.209 --> 20:29.277
[SPEAKER_01]: I get nutty buddies or sometimes the little Swiss roll things.
20:29.645 --> 20:30.846
[SPEAKER_01]: but I prefer a nutty buddy.
20:30.927 --> 20:33.630
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I don't know if that was for instance.
20:33.650 --> 20:34.892
[SPEAKER_03]: Burners of child.
20:34.912 --> 20:38.336
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I think they've come out with like new nutty buddies.
20:38.416 --> 20:40.699
[SPEAKER_01]: Like they've gotten nutty buddy like cakes.
20:41.420 --> 20:46.005
[SPEAKER_01]: Almost looks like a twinky with paint of butter filling and I don't want to try those.
20:46.546 --> 20:48.168
[SPEAKER_00]: I like the just the regular.
20:48.849 --> 20:49.710
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no, I eat them.
20:50.151 --> 20:52.193
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat butter fingers nutty buddies.
20:52.393 --> 20:53.515
[SPEAKER_01]: I love a lot of stuff.
20:53.555 --> 20:55.497
[SPEAKER_01]: The same thing I've never really liked.
20:55.517 --> 20:56.579
[SPEAKER_01]: I love it.
20:56.599 --> 20:59.382
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I just, I like to savor.
21:00.678 --> 21:01.820
[SPEAKER_01]: Especially growing up.
21:02.060 --> 21:04.144
[SPEAKER_01]: If we got a little Debbie that was like a treat.
21:04.584 --> 21:10.955
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm not gonna just sit there and inhale it I want to savor and eat it as slowly as I can and make it last.
21:10.975 --> 21:14.962
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah I never realized that's funny.
21:15.422 --> 21:15.763
[SPEAKER_01]: That's to me.
21:15.803 --> 21:22.113
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just a normal way to eat it When people inhale and anybody I'm like, that's right.
21:22.935 --> 21:24.998
[SPEAKER_01]: You enjoy things
21:26.800 --> 21:31.054
[SPEAKER_01]: See, I don't drink, I'm like a little Debbie Connoisseur.
21:31.375 --> 21:34.084
[SPEAKER_01]: You got a gargle and smell it first.
21:34.365 --> 21:40.084
[SPEAKER_01]: I hints of red dye number 40 in corn syrup.
21:42.106 --> 21:44.269
[SPEAKER_03]: Peel it apart in the last an hour.
21:44.550 --> 21:45.691
[SPEAKER_01]: We even the Christmas trees.
21:46.613 --> 21:47.234
[SPEAKER_01]: It varies.
21:47.294 --> 21:49.196
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes I'll peel them in half.
21:50.158 --> 21:51.179
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, you would have worried.
21:51.199 --> 21:53.523
[SPEAKER_01]: How the hell do you pour the soft?
21:53.543 --> 22:00.253
[SPEAKER_01]: Will you go around with the fear fingers around the middle part where it's softer, where the filling is, and it's more malleable there.
22:00.373 --> 22:02.957
[SPEAKER_01]: And then you just gently spread it open.
22:03.938 --> 22:09.046
[SPEAKER_01]: You eat one side that does I have any frosting and then you eat the other side that does have all the frosting.
22:09.186 --> 22:09.987
[SPEAKER_01]: Kind of like Oreo.
22:11.114 --> 22:11.875
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm very weird.
22:12.055 --> 22:17.220
[SPEAKER_03]: I would never, very late about opening up a Christmas tree.
22:17.280 --> 22:23.286
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, things like that, you know, I, I, I, I guess my brain's like, how can I make this last as long as possible?
22:23.306 --> 22:26.149
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not thinking of cutting it because I went there.
22:26.189 --> 22:29.612
[SPEAKER_02]: In my head, I'm like, I really want two of these.
22:31.314 --> 22:34.437
[SPEAKER_02]: But if I eat it slowly, so take it apart.
22:34.757 --> 22:36.919
[SPEAKER_02]: Hold on, you butterfly.
22:38.063 --> 22:39.129
[SPEAKER_03]: a Christmas tree.
22:39.250 --> 22:39.994
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, a little better.
22:40.074 --> 22:40.376
[SPEAKER_01]: I do.
22:40.396 --> 22:40.839
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
22:40.859 --> 22:42.146
[SPEAKER_03]: The same way I butterfly.
22:42.166 --> 22:43.031
[SPEAKER_03]: I take a breath.
22:43.172 --> 22:43.554
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
22:43.634 --> 22:43.956
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
22:45.792 --> 22:46.873
[SPEAKER_01]: makes it last longer.
22:46.893 --> 23:00.548
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like you're eating two and then it's a never-ending circle because I'll always keep my little snacks and a basket on the kitchen counter and I'll be staying in there and I'm like grab two, grab two, you know, you want two.
23:00.588 --> 23:06.314
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll just grab one and then I'll go eat it, pull it apart, eat it that way too.
23:07.075 --> 23:08.897
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I'll sit there afterwards like,
23:09.839 --> 23:10.905
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to get another one.
23:10.925 --> 23:14.304
[SPEAKER_01]: A little devil, a little devil over there.
23:14.324 --> 23:16.255
[SPEAKER_02]: I like I'm going to get to.
23:18.817 --> 23:20.079
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, you won't, eh?
23:20.199 --> 23:26.851
[SPEAKER_01]: But if I do eat it regularly, I eat it from the base up to the, to where the little tippy top of the trees last bite.
23:26.871 --> 23:29.475
[SPEAKER_01]: I always try to save the best bite for last.
23:30.016 --> 23:30.858
[SPEAKER_01]: And the tip is the best.
23:30.878 --> 23:32.320
[SPEAKER_01]: Sandwiches or anything.
23:32.360 --> 23:36.868
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, the tip, it's, you know, most of it's the sides are covered in chocolate.
23:37.068 --> 23:39.913
[SPEAKER_01]: It's, you know, I don't know, to me, I'm like, that's the best.
23:41.362 --> 23:47.311
[SPEAKER_01]: If I'm eating a cheeseburger, I'll eat the side that has the most melted cheese on the side of it.
23:47.651 --> 23:48.753
[SPEAKER_01]: That'll be my last bite.
23:49.194 --> 23:49.634
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, it's one.
23:49.794 --> 23:51.337
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll be like, oh, that's the best bite.
23:51.357 --> 23:52.639
[SPEAKER_01]: It has all the cheese on it.
23:52.739 --> 23:53.981
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll say that to last.
23:54.101 --> 24:02.313
[SPEAKER_03]: I can honestly say that I've never looked at a cheeseburger and I thought what part of this am I going to eat first and what part am I saving for last?
24:02.333 --> 24:02.954
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I do it.
24:03.014 --> 24:03.815
[SPEAKER_01]: Everything I eat.
24:03.875 --> 24:04.416
[SPEAKER_01]: Never.
24:04.396 --> 24:05.157
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
24:05.177 --> 24:09.182
[SPEAKER_01]: Before I take a bite, I'll look at something and be like, well, do I want my next bite to be?
24:09.622 --> 24:20.656
[SPEAKER_01]: Because food has, I forget what it's called, some kind of like a depreciation to where, you know, when your food sets down in front of you at a restaurant, it always looks so good, you're salivating, blah, blah, blah, blah.
24:21.036 --> 24:24.941
[SPEAKER_01]: The longer it sits there in front of you, the less appetizing it appears to you.
24:25.101 --> 24:29.627
[SPEAKER_01]: Which is why a lot of people eat quickly, because they want to eat while they're still getting that like,
24:29.607 --> 24:41.329
[SPEAKER_01]: Dopamine or thing from their like oh, it's looks delicious and then it's gone Whereas I like to save her and Enjoy plan and live in the dopamine.
24:41.609 --> 24:48.021
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't eat in the movie theater very often because it's like if you want me to starve to death put me in a dark room
24:48.507 --> 24:53.376
[SPEAKER_01]: If you guys could have all the food in the world, I would not be able to eat a lot of things.
24:53.496 --> 24:57.242
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, skittles can't eat those in the dark, because I only eat one color at a time.
24:57.263 --> 25:02.372
[SPEAKER_03]: No, see, I'm opposite because if I'm watching a movie, I don't move with theater.
25:02.472 --> 25:04.034
[SPEAKER_03]: I want to be snacking on something.
25:04.475 --> 25:05.497
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't put a line.
25:05.677 --> 25:07.260
[SPEAKER_01]: I like to stay in the work popcorn.
25:07.280 --> 25:12.810
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't care what popcorn candy food.
25:12.790 --> 25:25.291
[SPEAKER_03]: Now I say that though, but like sometimes with food, I feel like I want to be able to see it because I'm iffy on some foods like I'll be afraid to eat a hot dog if I can't see it because I'm afraid that the hot dogs don't work.
25:25.311 --> 25:25.952
[SPEAKER_01]: Not going to be done.
25:25.992 --> 25:31.862
[SPEAKER_01]: If I distracted by the movie, I can eat popcorn, but if lights are on, I
25:31.842 --> 25:48.236
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll always eat the popcorn that has the biggest butt first, you know, that pop some of them have or more like the little harder You know, exploded pieces where some will have that, you know, thick White little butt on the popcorn.
25:48.256 --> 25:52.900
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, where it's just nothing but no seeds or nothing No kernel.
25:53.320 --> 25:56.823
[SPEAKER_01]: I guess yeah, that's the part grandma always feed to the dog.
25:57.043 --> 26:01.647
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, she'd bite off the
26:01.627 --> 26:01.950
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
26:02.859 --> 26:04.212
[SPEAKER_01]: That's my favorite part.
26:06.065 --> 26:09.229
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, do you have anything before we go to our last episode, Josh?
26:09.650 --> 26:13.676
[SPEAKER_01]: One more Christmas mystery for our unmasked.
26:13.696 --> 26:14.477
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, man.
26:15.278 --> 26:23.870
[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, go adopt a little Tomta or NSA depending on where you're from this year and add it to your Christmas magic because we're so freaking cute.
26:24.410 --> 26:29.037
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm about two or three on my tree and several just scattered around the house.
26:29.237 --> 26:30.138
[SPEAKER_01]: Once above the toilet.
26:31.180 --> 26:31.781
[SPEAKER_03]: Have you already?
26:31.841 --> 26:35.025
[SPEAKER_03]: You should take pictures of them and add them on Patreon.
26:35.123 --> 26:39.431
[SPEAKER_01]: I did the ornaments I have from my tree I've put on there, but the other one's out.
26:39.531 --> 26:40.093
[SPEAKER_01]: One lights up.
26:41.155 --> 26:41.816
[SPEAKER_01]: What's cute?
26:42.016 --> 26:48.068
[SPEAKER_01]: One's, I got a glittery blue sequins hat and a little bit on it.
26:48.088 --> 26:48.529
[SPEAKER_01]: That's fine.
26:48.549 --> 26:49.651
[SPEAKER_01]: You've got to have a gay one.
26:50.653 --> 26:53.158
[SPEAKER_01]: Of course, they're mostly men, of course they're gonna be a little gay.
26:54.180 --> 26:54.921
[SPEAKER_02]: That's gotta be.
26:55.762 --> 27:10.865
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, guys, don't forget to send us a postcard or anything fun that you find over two PO box six nine zero, you can title it to the bunker in Walbash, Indiana four six nine nine two and that's in the show notes.
27:10.945 --> 27:14.631
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to make a note right now to go check it this week because I keep forgetting.
27:14.611 --> 27:15.572
[SPEAKER_03]: Go check what?
27:15.753 --> 27:16.574
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh the peel box.
27:16.594 --> 27:17.335
[SPEAKER_03]: The peel box.
27:17.575 --> 27:23.224
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, it could be stuffed full of all types of slags that are less than if I said anything else.
27:23.244 --> 27:25.387
[SPEAKER_01]: You never know Just add a side out of mind.
27:25.587 --> 27:28.792
[SPEAKER_01]: I know usually the only time I go to the post office is to buy stamps.
27:29.152 --> 27:33.058
[SPEAKER_01]: That's true last time was like the Betty white stamps when they came
27:34.507 --> 27:39.798
[SPEAKER_03]: I had to go there because I had the whole fiasco with I think that would get re-new in the peel box.
27:39.818 --> 27:40.319
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, yeah.
27:40.841 --> 27:42.083
[SPEAKER_01]: That was a fiasco.
27:43.065 --> 27:44.468
[SPEAKER_01]: Four different keys.
27:46.112 --> 27:46.974
[SPEAKER_03]: It was so funny.
27:46.994 --> 27:47.495
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, damn.
27:47.515 --> 27:48.677
[SPEAKER_03]: And they felt so bad.
27:48.697 --> 27:51.002
[SPEAKER_03]: They're like, our systems not working right.
27:51.022 --> 27:52.445
[SPEAKER_03]: We're having to re-key it.
27:52.465 --> 27:54.169
[SPEAKER_03]: It's just, it's so funny.
27:54.757 --> 27:56.880
[SPEAKER_01]: They did everything, but give us a taller one.
27:56.921 --> 27:57.261
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
27:57.381 --> 27:58.904
[SPEAKER_01]: We got to get out of four.
27:59.004 --> 27:59.505
[SPEAKER_01]: Four.
28:00.046 --> 28:01.007
[SPEAKER_01]: I do too.
28:01.187 --> 28:02.369
[SPEAKER_01]: It's all the way at the bottom.
28:02.590 --> 28:06.536
[SPEAKER_01]: I got to get on all fours to make sure it's not leaving nothing all the way in the back.
28:07.338 --> 28:08.740
[SPEAKER_01]: Going to find me a husband that way.
28:08.780 --> 28:12.626
[SPEAKER_03]: Alright guys, we'll work at you over on unmasked right now.
28:12.947 --> 28:13.508
[SPEAKER_03]: See you there.
28:14.790 --> 28:15.010
[SPEAKER_00]: Bye.
28:17.268 --> 28:39.850
[SPEAKER_03]: the Tomta, the Nissa, how spirits who've watched over Scandinavian families for centuries were they just folklore, stories parents told to keep children respectful and homes clean, or is there something more to the small figures people still spot in the shadows of old farmhouses?
28:41.028 --> 28:53.885
[SPEAKER_03]: Maybe this year, when you hear something stir in your home, maybe you shouldn't be afraid, maybe it's just a little spirit checking in, making sure you've earned your abundance.
28:54.927 --> 29:02.597
[SPEAKER_03]: And maybe, just maybe, you should leave out a bowl of porridge with plenty of butter on top.
29:04.687 --> 29:11.037
[SPEAKER_03]: The lights are dimming, the bunker door is closing, but the mysteries, they're just getting started.
29:11.999 --> 29:26.121
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm Shane Waters, stay curious, stay skeptical, and stay a little bit scared, good night friend.
00:03.052 --> 00:14.288
[SPEAKER_03]: Long before a jolly man and red squeezed down chimneys with bags of toys, our ancestors knew something else watched over their homes during the darkest nights of winter.
00:15.630 --> 00:23.642
[SPEAKER_03]: Something small, something ancient, something with a long white beard and eyes that gleaned in the firelight.
00:24.905 --> 00:39.788
[SPEAKER_03]: In Scandinavia, they called it the tarmta, a spirit of the homestead, a guardian who asked for nothing but respect, cleanliness, and one ball of porridge with butter on the longest night of the year.
00:39.828 --> 00:49.663
[SPEAKER_03]: Treat it well, and abundance would follow, forget the butter, well, that's where things got interesting.
00:51.635 --> 00:52.276
[SPEAKER_03]: Hello, friend.
00:53.178 --> 00:54.901
[SPEAKER_03]: Welcome to the haunted bunker.
00:55.742 --> 00:56.704
[SPEAKER_03]: We're mysteries hide.
00:59.809 --> 01:00.470
[SPEAKER_03]: Alright, friend.
01:01.311 --> 01:02.914
[SPEAKER_03]: It's time to descend.
01:05.859 --> 01:08.243
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, Josh, watch your mystery to the air.
01:08.712 --> 01:29.910
[SPEAKER_01]: Mary, you will everyone, this time of the year, a lot of us celebrate the holidays, Christians call it Christmas, others call it you will, and in Germany they call it, God help us, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why can't you, why
01:30.515 --> 01:43.016
[SPEAKER_01]: While I grew up with Christmas and the birth of Jesus, and I still know all the lyrics to most of the songs, I now call it Yule and go for more of a natural, some may say, or original, look to the holiday.
01:43.057 --> 01:54.396
[SPEAKER_01]: Things like decorating an evergreen tree, celebrating the solstice, giving gifts the Yule log, evergreen reeds, feasting and drinking,
01:54.376 --> 02:01.971
[SPEAKER_01]: Even the big ones like Santa Claus and December 25th, were all taken from various pagan Celtic and Norse cultures.
02:03.133 --> 02:12.351
[SPEAKER_01]: Santa was originally Odin, who would ride on his eight-legged horse, Sleafner, through the mid-winter night sky and deliver gifts.
02:12.331 --> 02:19.939
[SPEAKER_01]: The date of Christmas was actually chosen by early Christian poops to align with the current traditions of those they were eager to convert.
02:21.160 --> 02:30.049
[SPEAKER_01]: Kind of like if Jehovah's Witnesses started celebrating Christmas, I bet they would get a lot more people to open the door when they open a knock-in.
02:30.069 --> 02:38.338
[SPEAKER_01]: When you start looking into ancient practices, you really do get a better picture of just how sneaky some religions have been from the get-go.
02:39.196 --> 02:42.103
[SPEAKER_01]: Take, for example, my year mystery for today.
02:42.123 --> 02:55.737
[SPEAKER_01]: It is an adorable spirit who is for the most part good, as long as you're respectful, not lazy, and leave the offerings of porridge and butter at least once a year on the eve of you all.
02:57.134 --> 03:09.805
[SPEAKER_01]: If you don't do those things, it can be quite the devious little booker, hiding things around the house, stealing things, harming you, and it might even kill a cow as in one story.
03:09.825 --> 03:16.912
[SPEAKER_01]: They are the little house spirits known as Tomte in Sweden and Nise in Norway.
03:17.833 --> 03:27.141
[SPEAKER_01]: My first thought after researching these little spirits is just how fear-based our Christian upbringing has given most of us.
03:27.121 --> 03:35.960
[SPEAKER_01]: For most of human history, the things we often think of as a demon, or a poltergeist, has struck fear into the hearts of millions.
03:36.742 --> 03:47.425
[SPEAKER_01]: From movies, lore, and religious upbringing, so many of us were taught to fear the very things that the Tomte could do for us, and to us.
03:48.670 --> 03:57.228
[SPEAKER_01]: If the lights flicker, something moves, or weird things happen in our homes, how many of us instantly think of something scary?
03:58.291 --> 04:05.987
[SPEAKER_01]: Just imagine a belief based on understanding those creatures, and how a reactions might differ.
04:07.351 --> 04:14.583
[SPEAKER_01]: Instead of thinking our homes are possessed by some nameless evil entity, our first thoughts might venture to let that little spirit.
04:15.665 --> 04:24.499
[SPEAKER_01]: Who is about the size of a three-year-old with a white beard, a little hat, and just doing things to tell us that we need to do better.
04:24.479 --> 04:29.626
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, not everyone can have a tomte, it isn't like the house elves from Harry Potter.
04:29.666 --> 04:38.338
[SPEAKER_01]: They can and will move out of your home if you are lazy, aren't respectful towards it and the things that it does.
04:38.378 --> 04:44.226
[SPEAKER_01]: And like I said, if you don't leave at least one offering on the night of you will.
04:45.674 --> 04:52.475
[SPEAKER_01]: To have a tomte, you must keep your home clean and tidy at the bare minimum, to even be considered.
04:53.317 --> 04:55.705
[SPEAKER_01]: There are very 50-50 type of spirit.
04:56.467 --> 04:59.717
[SPEAKER_01]: Why would they help you if you don't even help yourself?
05:01.520 --> 05:10.593
[SPEAKER_01]: Those who wish for a Tomte to come stay with them can make sure that their homes are clean, have the porridge and butter for them, and literally just invite them in.
05:11.614 --> 05:19.606
[SPEAKER_01]: Some customs are based on intention of wanting a Tomte, while others say to call out of your door that the Tomte are welcome.
05:21.308 --> 05:30.261
[SPEAKER_01]: If you're lucky enough to have one like your home and the porridge you provide, and more
05:31.945 --> 05:35.770
[SPEAKER_01]: Those who follow the rules will get an extremely loyal Tomtae.
05:36.691 --> 05:39.916
[SPEAKER_01]: At that point, it is said to bring abundance into your home.
05:40.757 --> 05:44.141
[SPEAKER_01]: If you have a farm, your crops and animals will flourish.
05:44.962 --> 05:51.251
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you don't, you can see things from better opportunities for work or money flowing into the home.
05:52.012 --> 06:00.703
[SPEAKER_01]: But if you do have a Tomtae living with you and you break the rules,
06:01.612 --> 06:13.083
[SPEAKER_01]: not only will it most likely leave, but before it does, it can take away all the good things that it has done for you, and even kill your prized cow by some legends.
06:14.006 --> 06:16.633
[SPEAKER_01]: One folktale tells of a young girl,
06:16.613 --> 06:21.641
[SPEAKER_01]: who decided to play a trick on their home Tomte on the Eve before you all.
06:22.502 --> 06:27.490
[SPEAKER_01]: She laid out his porridge offering, but she hid the butter underneath it.
06:28.191 --> 06:30.374
[SPEAKER_01]: Now, the Tomte's butter's like crack.
06:30.414 --> 06:35.442
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, they like the porridge, it's all well and good, but the butter is what they're addicted to.
06:35.462 --> 06:37.706
[SPEAKER_01]: So don't mess with their butter.
06:37.966 --> 06:41.231
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm trying to look up what it looks like, how do you spell it?
06:41.251 --> 06:42.553
[SPEAKER_01]: T-O-M-T-E.
06:44.288 --> 06:45.050
[SPEAKER_01]: They're so cute.
06:45.090 --> 06:47.036
[SPEAKER_01]: Like they look like Nome's, essentially.
06:47.076 --> 06:49.563
[SPEAKER_01]: Nomes are more forest guardians.
06:49.803 --> 06:53.975
[SPEAKER_01]: And while the Tomte do live in the forest, they will come stay in your home with it.
06:53.995 --> 06:55.399
[SPEAKER_01]: They're going to have a scene, though.
06:55.699 --> 06:56.562
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, exactly.
06:56.602 --> 06:58.467
[SPEAKER_01]: It's the Nome's scene, though.
06:59.763 --> 07:07.657
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, when she hit the butter, the disrespect angered the Tomtae, and he took his porridge to the barn and killed their prized heifer.
07:08.399 --> 07:12.145
[SPEAKER_01]: He then ate his porridge and then saw that the butter was on the bottom.
07:13.127 --> 07:18.797
[SPEAKER_01]: Feeling bad, he went to the neighboring farm and stole their best cow to replace the one he killed.
07:20.581 --> 07:23.526
[SPEAKER_01]: Moral of the story, don't mess with the Tomtae in his butter.
07:26.273 --> 07:28.196
[SPEAKER_01]: PalmTay don't just stay in the home.
07:28.256 --> 07:30.479
[SPEAKER_01]: They do venture out into the forest.
07:31.060 --> 07:32.803
[SPEAKER_01]: That's where they prefer to stay.
07:32.863 --> 07:41.676
[SPEAKER_01]: They are masters of disguise, some believing that they can even shape shift into different plants and animals to avoid detection.
07:42.618 --> 07:44.921
[SPEAKER_01]: Others think they are just great at camouflage.
07:46.343 --> 07:53.935
[SPEAKER_01]: I've got a whole bunch of them around my house, and then I even got little ornaments
07:55.518 --> 08:02.989
[SPEAKER_01]: They are known to adorn a red pointed hat and red cloak, which was meant to represent the spirit of the forest and the energy of the earth.
08:04.992 --> 08:11.942
[SPEAKER_01]: And even if you follow the rules for your home, Tomte, that doesn't mean that they won't sometimes still poke fun at you.
08:12.543 --> 08:15.467
[SPEAKER_01]: Why can't you, of us, who doesn't enjoy a good trick?
08:17.371 --> 08:23.219
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes they might occasionally hide your keys, or put something in your path to trip you.
08:23.259 --> 08:27.425
[SPEAKER_01]: Not to hurt you, just a slight trip.
08:28.546 --> 08:30.729
[SPEAKER_01]: Enough to get them laugh in at you.
08:31.731 --> 08:36.497
[SPEAKER_01]: And if you're lucky enough, you may even hear them laugh in, which is what I was talking about earlier.
08:36.517 --> 08:43.547
[SPEAKER_01]: If you're in your home and you trip, and you hear something giggle, are for thought would probably, oh god, there's a ghost called the priest.
08:45.248 --> 08:46.490
[SPEAKER_03]: Sure, shout the name.
08:46.530 --> 08:46.890
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
08:47.771 --> 08:49.754
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, all that's nothing to be afraid of.
08:49.954 --> 08:54.419
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just their way of letting you know that they are in your home and that they like you.
08:54.479 --> 09:01.448
[SPEAKER_01]: Like us, we only pick on you if we like you for our ancient ancestors.
09:01.809 --> 09:14.344
[SPEAKER_01]: The Tomte was a spirit of resilience, a reminder that no matter how long, dark and hard the winter may be, we can get through it with resilience and by not being
09:16.163 --> 09:22.374
[SPEAKER_01]: Don't forget, winter wasn't always just a time when you had to shovel the driveway with warm up your car before driving.
09:23.376 --> 09:27.483
[SPEAKER_01]: For much of our history was a bleak, often times heartbreaking season.
09:28.866 --> 09:34.897
[SPEAKER_01]: If you were old or young, you literally had to come with the terms that you might not make it to see the spring.
09:35.598 --> 09:40.146
[SPEAKER_01]: Either by sickness, hunger, or the cold, a lot of people died in the winter.
09:41.307 --> 09:50.024
[SPEAKER_01]: Celebrations such as you will were meant to be a beacon of hope for everyone, something bright to look forward to in the darkness of winter.
09:51.266 --> 10:00.664
[SPEAKER_01]: It was celebrated around the solstice to showcase that we have made it through the darkest night, and that every day until spring will be just a little bit brighter.
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[SPEAKER_03]: It's cute.
10:02.873 --> 10:07.644
[SPEAKER_01]: Today the Tomte is still beloved in Sweden, Norway, and in my house.
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[SPEAKER_01]: Some more even attributes them as little versions of Santa Claus.
10:13.698 --> 10:19.431
[SPEAKER_01]: A little spirit that watches you all year and leaves gifts and sweets in your stockings on the eve of you all.
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[SPEAKER_01]: So why not add a little Tomta to your traditions?
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[SPEAKER_01]: What can I hurt to leave out instead of milk and cookies to some chubby white saint, a little bowl of porridge, and a little bit of butter for a house, Tomta?
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[SPEAKER_01]: Let's go.
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[SPEAKER_01]: There's so cute, uh, I love them.
10:38.758 --> 10:46.330
[SPEAKER_01]: I started seeing them maybe like right around after high school, you could start buying them, and I first I was like, it's a little gnome.
10:46.310 --> 10:51.096
[SPEAKER_01]: And then, through the years, I've become, or it was, when Maya came to visit it.
10:51.216 --> 10:53.259
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, she saw that.
10:53.279 --> 10:57.484
[SPEAKER_01]: I like, no, she was like, we have pumped his, or I can't remember if she called it.
10:57.784 --> 11:01.409
[SPEAKER_01]: I think I feel like she called it, Tomtenessay, like, both words.
11:01.529 --> 11:04.352
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, but it's just depending on what country you're in.
11:04.493 --> 11:06.075
[SPEAKER_01]: She even mailed me one.
11:06.195 --> 11:07.016
[SPEAKER_01]: I've got my little.
11:07.036 --> 11:12.823
[SPEAKER_01]: Remember that?
11:12.803 --> 11:17.863
[SPEAKER_01]: Wendy, so I've got British students and I know we didn't say they're some of my press possession.
11:18.204 --> 11:20.794
[SPEAKER_01]: You need some of our other countries too.
11:20.814 --> 11:21.075
[SPEAKER_01]: I know.
11:21.646 --> 11:31.002
[SPEAKER_01]: I always leave cookies out just for the aesthetic for Santa, but I think I had a little tap of butter with some sprinkles on it per my house.
11:31.022 --> 11:31.563
[SPEAKER_01]: Do you add milk?
11:31.583 --> 11:31.803
[SPEAKER_01]: No.
11:32.604 --> 11:33.446
[SPEAKER_01]: I usually eggnog.
11:34.748 --> 11:35.309
[SPEAKER_01]: No, good choice.
11:35.429 --> 11:44.605
[SPEAKER_01]: I mean, I'm going to be, I mean, Santa Claus will be frinking it, but why he doesn't take because you know, he only takes a bite, so the rest I'll drink.
11:44.625 --> 11:47.890
[SPEAKER_03]: No, have you tried any of the alternative milk eggnog?
11:49.372 --> 11:52.156
[SPEAKER_01]: I've had the almond milk egg nog last year.
11:52.177 --> 11:58.447
[SPEAKER_01]: I usually just buy regular egg nog and then I add almond milk to it, like 50, 50.
11:58.947 --> 12:04.757
[SPEAKER_01]: It does not dilute the flavor, what's it such a strong, I just, I don't like the thickness of.
12:04.777 --> 12:05.137
[SPEAKER_01]: A regular egg nog.
12:05.157 --> 12:05.979
[SPEAKER_01]: Full fat egg nog.
12:05.999 --> 12:06.840
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes.
12:06.820 --> 12:07.922
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, I agree with that.
12:07.942 --> 12:12.189
[SPEAKER_03]: I normally get regular egg mugs and then I I'm milking down.
12:12.209 --> 12:13.731
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I'll milk it down.
12:13.932 --> 12:14.733
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm milking down.
12:14.773 --> 12:17.417
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not going to try that oat milk egg knob last year too.
12:17.578 --> 12:18.439
[SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't bad.
12:18.519 --> 12:21.624
[SPEAKER_01]: It was two watery for me.
12:22.766 --> 12:32.642
[SPEAKER_03]: I like the oat milk one a little better than I got one from I think it was from my or at the other day.
12:33.837 --> 12:35.099
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know what it was about it.
12:35.159 --> 12:36.140
[SPEAKER_03]: I did not care for it.
12:36.520 --> 12:44.170
[SPEAKER_03]: It's it's made with almond milk, but I'm pretty sure that it has like I'm pretty sure it's like sugar free or something.
12:44.230 --> 12:46.553
[SPEAKER_03]: It even be like less fat or something.
12:47.794 --> 12:48.255
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know.
12:48.275 --> 12:49.637
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know how people drink alcohol.
12:49.897 --> 12:50.638
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
12:50.858 --> 12:53.922
[SPEAKER_01]: It was always so I know it burns
12:53.902 --> 12:57.866
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, the first time I ever had eggmog, it was alcoholic, it was by accident.
12:58.026 --> 12:58.787
[SPEAKER_03]: It was our uncles.
12:59.127 --> 12:59.568
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh yeah.
12:59.588 --> 13:01.109
[SPEAKER_03]: It was in the fridge or our grandma's house.
13:01.129 --> 13:02.090
[SPEAKER_01]: It was like, oh, eggmog.
13:02.871 --> 13:03.492
[SPEAKER_01]: Yep.
13:03.512 --> 13:04.152
[SPEAKER_01]: I thought it was eggmog.
13:04.172 --> 13:04.613
[SPEAKER_01]: It hurts.
13:04.813 --> 13:05.293
[SPEAKER_01]: It hurts.
13:06.655 --> 13:06.755
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
13:06.775 --> 13:22.170
[SPEAKER_01]: My favorite eggmog is I've only been able to find it in Ohio at the UDF convenience stores, United dairy farmers, and it is so good, but anybody in Ohio probably knows, because they sell ice cream too, and it's really a good ice cream.
13:22.150 --> 13:24.893
[SPEAKER_01]: But normally I'll get prairie farms.
13:25.173 --> 13:30.138
[SPEAKER_01]: That's like a local milk to us and they have good egg nog.
13:30.158 --> 13:31.219
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, always dilute it.
13:31.440 --> 13:32.381
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't do full fat.
13:32.481 --> 13:33.021
[SPEAKER_01]: Good egg nog.
13:33.262 --> 13:33.902
[SPEAKER_01]: I do the egg.
13:34.623 --> 13:36.445
[SPEAKER_03]: Like a 1% egg nog.
13:36.505 --> 13:36.986
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
13:38.587 --> 13:39.348
[SPEAKER_01]: Something you didn't got it.
13:39.388 --> 13:41.210
[SPEAKER_01]: Doesn't feel like you have to chew it.
13:42.451 --> 13:45.374
[SPEAKER_01]: I could never make homemade egg nog and be able to drink it.
13:45.735 --> 13:46.255
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, no.
13:46.275 --> 13:46.475
[SPEAKER_03]: No.
13:47.957 --> 13:49.879
[SPEAKER_03]: I have friends that make egg nog.
13:51.158 --> 14:07.277
[SPEAKER_03]: But my friends that make it they don't make it like stores make it it's more of a whipped cream okay I've had that before other people's but it's not like there's not like raw eggs no no that I'm put right for sure no
14:09.299 --> 14:10.441
[SPEAKER_01]: I did make an egg yolk.
14:10.621 --> 14:12.424
[SPEAKER_01]: Cheesecake once and that was really good.
14:12.444 --> 14:14.106
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't know what I've had about.
14:14.246 --> 14:15.068
[SPEAKER_01]: That was really good.
14:15.088 --> 14:18.152
[SPEAKER_01]: It was just like, I'm like, hmm, what would this taste like?
14:18.333 --> 14:20.977
[SPEAKER_01]: Delicious, delicious, delicious.
14:21.057 --> 14:22.158
[SPEAKER_01]: I need a good cheesecake.
14:22.899 --> 14:23.761
[SPEAKER_01]: I know, I made one.
14:24.201 --> 14:26.465
[SPEAKER_01]: I made a little Debbie Christmas tree.
14:26.685 --> 14:27.867
[SPEAKER_01]: Cheesecake last year.
14:27.947 --> 14:29.890
[SPEAKER_03]: Motorhacks.
14:29.870 --> 14:42.173
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm telling you, one good thing about going there all the time, but because I'm a regular at this coffee shop in your town, I feel like norm for home, cheers, and we'll see you next time.
14:42.193 --> 14:42.854
[SPEAKER_02]: Hey Norms here!
14:43.215 --> 14:43.896
[SPEAKER_03]: That's how it is.
14:44.277 --> 14:50.528
[SPEAKER_03]: If I don't go there for a long time, I'll get a text from the manager or being like, you can't make sure you ain't dead somewhere.
14:50.508 --> 14:55.174
[SPEAKER_03]: But I was in another day and whenever I'm in there, they'll try new drinks.
14:55.595 --> 15:00.501
[SPEAKER_03]: I thought like the baristas will be mixed in new drinks and they'll come over and have me taste test them.
15:00.521 --> 15:00.741
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
15:01.502 --> 15:05.527
[SPEAKER_03]: And so they were working on their Christmas drinks one day.
15:05.608 --> 15:09.833
[SPEAKER_03]: And so I was helping them pick out the mix and so they made a...
15:11.720 --> 15:12.501
[SPEAKER_03]: Christmas tree.
15:12.541 --> 15:15.144
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh, that was so good.
15:15.184 --> 15:18.568
[SPEAKER_01]: I've already eaten like gone through three boxes.
15:18.869 --> 15:21.812
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't get until December, but I've already gone through three boxes.
15:21.993 --> 15:25.878
[SPEAKER_03]: See, the thing is, this is if I get a box of them, I know all of us continue to eat the whole thing.
15:25.898 --> 15:27.860
[SPEAKER_03]: I think it's much more fun.
15:28.681 --> 15:31.404
[SPEAKER_01]: If they would sell them in December, it's one month a year.
15:31.444 --> 15:32.766
[SPEAKER_01]: You know.
15:32.746 --> 15:39.383
[SPEAKER_03]: And the thing is, is because I have an EV, I'm not going to cast stations because I'm sure that they sell an individual one and I probably just buy an individual one.
15:39.483 --> 15:46.020
[SPEAKER_01]: But the dollar for has them too, but they are the big ones that wear the cream ratio is that correct.
15:46.040 --> 15:46.902
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't eat those.
15:47.484 --> 15:48.426
[SPEAKER_03]: There's too much cream.
15:48.473 --> 15:48.773
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
15:49.014 --> 15:51.378
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, they're bigger than the regular ones.
15:51.898 --> 15:58.569
[SPEAKER_01]: Regular ones are, you know, yay bag, big ones are yay bag and there's a lot more cream center.
15:58.609 --> 15:59.771
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, it's not the same.
15:59.851 --> 16:00.772
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't like too much.
16:01.193 --> 16:02.375
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like eating something different.
16:02.395 --> 16:02.756
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:02.776 --> 16:02.896
[SPEAKER_01]: Nope.
16:02.916 --> 16:03.677
[SPEAKER_01]: This ain't what I like.
16:05.159 --> 16:06.121
[SPEAKER_01]: But they've been around.
16:06.361 --> 16:08.605
[SPEAKER_01]: They came about like right before you were born.
16:09.246 --> 16:11.469
[SPEAKER_01]: So I mean, you know, we've had them our whole lives.
16:11.910 --> 16:15.055
[SPEAKER_01]: So to us,
16:15.490 --> 16:17.053
[SPEAKER_01]: I was reading the back of the box.
16:17.474 --> 16:18.676
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, dude, that's good.
16:18.776 --> 16:22.844
[SPEAKER_01]: They showed all the box designs that they've had since like 86 or 87.
16:22.965 --> 16:24.027
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, that's cool.
16:24.568 --> 16:26.431
[SPEAKER_01]: And how they, they used to be triangles.
16:26.792 --> 16:29.137
[SPEAKER_01]: And then now that, you know, they have the little ridges on.
16:29.157 --> 16:29.417
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:29.658 --> 16:30.920
[SPEAKER_01]: No, they're actual Christmas trees.
16:30.940 --> 16:31.120
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:31.481 --> 16:32.223
[SPEAKER_01]: Except the big ones.
16:32.323 --> 16:33.124
[SPEAKER_01]: Those are triangles.
16:33.746 --> 16:34.347
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, they really.
16:34.447 --> 16:34.667
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
16:34.948 --> 16:36.030
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm not seeing the big ones.
16:36.331 --> 16:42.922
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I accidentally got them last year because I saw a bigger box of them.
16:43.203 --> 16:49.393
[SPEAKER_01]: So my brain thought it said big box, normally in little debbies, the big box just has more of them.
16:49.934 --> 16:59.630
[SPEAKER_01]: Not these, they're only eight of them instead of six, like the smaller box, which I didn't see to like a home, and then there just isn't a lot bigger.
16:59.650 --> 17:02.355
[SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, they're just ain't the same.
17:02.335 --> 17:03.697
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I feel that way.
17:03.717 --> 17:07.101
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't like Oreos with too much now.
17:07.181 --> 17:08.122
[SPEAKER_01]: I like the thin ones.
17:08.163 --> 17:27.387
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, now I usually I make my own Christmas Sweets this time of year, but there's just a handful of things that are my tradition that I get and that's little Debbie Christmas tree cakes I get the white chocolate Oreos and then I get a box of dark chocolate or cover cherries That one box.
17:27.427 --> 17:29.490
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't get the other brands
17:29.470 --> 17:44.644
[SPEAKER_01]: I think it's Queen Anne's or something like that, you know, that the usual, at least in us, I think that Zachary Chocolac covered cherries, those don't have the fondant in the middle, just the red, goop, they're not as good.
17:46.025 --> 17:47.627
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, like a chocolate cover chair.
17:47.787 --> 17:49.850
[SPEAKER_01]: And I eat them all exactly the same way.
17:50.350 --> 17:55.236
[SPEAKER_03]: I do really like when chocolate stores, like have homemade.
17:55.276 --> 17:55.797
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
17:56.217 --> 17:57.199
[SPEAKER_03]: Chocolate cover chairs.
17:57.259 --> 17:58.260
[SPEAKER_03]: That's really good.
17:58.280 --> 18:05.368
[SPEAKER_03]: A real fresh chair is a really care for the, whatever that additional sugary stuff is.
18:05.388 --> 18:07.551
[SPEAKER_01]: On the front is that white stuff, yeah.
18:07.571 --> 18:10.094
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, there's too much of it sometimes for me.
18:10.134 --> 18:13.298
[SPEAKER_03]: I feel like the the cherries are smaller.
18:13.683 --> 18:14.063
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
18:14.183 --> 18:17.146
[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like they're going to have things covered in berries too.
18:17.346 --> 18:20.869
[SPEAKER_01]: And it's the same size, but you know, blueberries are a lot smaller than cherries.
18:21.030 --> 18:26.595
[SPEAKER_01]: So the center's like, well, I eat them very, you know, I eat things weird, better fingers.
18:26.655 --> 18:28.276
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat all the chocolate off, kick pads.
18:28.296 --> 18:31.819
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat the chocolate off the sides and then pull the wafer's, same with nutty bodies.
18:32.420 --> 18:33.661
[SPEAKER_01]: And so chocolate covered cherries.
18:33.881 --> 18:35.903
[SPEAKER_01]: I nibble the bottom off first.
18:36.143 --> 18:43.690
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I lick slash suck the
18:43.670 --> 18:55.666
[SPEAKER_01]: shell, bell, whatnot, and then I eat that last every single time I would never just put a hole when people like take one and just put the whole thing in the mouth.
18:55.726 --> 19:00.913
[SPEAKER_01]: And I was like, you and I'm all like, oh, yeah, they get them once a year.
19:00.933 --> 19:04.939
[SPEAKER_01]: So I usually will do one box because they're very sweet.
19:05.159 --> 19:07.382
[SPEAKER_01]: So those that last me a whole month.
19:07.362 --> 19:08.103
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
19:08.123 --> 19:16.478
[SPEAKER_01]: And so, you know, I say for each one one and I usually the 12 nights of Christmas from Christmas afterwards because usually get them as a gift on Christmas.
19:17.139 --> 19:23.850
[SPEAKER_03]: One of those candies that I grandma always had on her dresser that were chocolate and she would always peel them apart.
19:25.653 --> 19:26.755
[SPEAKER_03]: That crunchy.
19:28.827 --> 19:49.897
[SPEAKER_03]: They're chocolate bars, they come in like a box of two, maybe like they come in like a little pack, I think there's two of them in a pack and like they're a little chocolate tubes and you can eat them like all at once, but I think it's she'd like peel on the part and like they're long wafer's nothing.
19:50.238 --> 19:51.780
[SPEAKER_01]: Are you talking about nutty baddies?
19:52.553 --> 19:52.994
[SPEAKER_03]: Probably.
19:53.515 --> 19:54.857
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, those are organic bars.
19:54.897 --> 19:56.860
[SPEAKER_01]: Those are little debbies like nutty bars.
19:57.280 --> 19:57.601
[SPEAKER_01]: Okay.
19:57.841 --> 19:59.143
[SPEAKER_01]: We're a peanut butter wafer.
19:59.163 --> 19:59.264
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
19:59.424 --> 19:59.704
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
20:00.125 --> 20:01.327
[SPEAKER_01]: That's the same thing.
20:01.347 --> 20:02.809
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat them in the exact same way.
20:02.989 --> 20:08.338
[SPEAKER_01]: You pill apart each layer of and then because all at once it's too much.
20:08.518 --> 20:10.862
[SPEAKER_01]: I like individual than that's the same way.
20:10.922 --> 20:11.743
[SPEAKER_01]: It kick at bar.
20:13.006 --> 20:16.653
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat the chocolate off the sides and then peel the layers apart.
20:16.833 --> 20:21.622
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I have not bought nutty buddies, that's what you call nutty buddies.
20:21.763 --> 20:24.768
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, those are my go-to little Debbie unless it's Christmas time.
20:25.209 --> 20:29.277
[SPEAKER_01]: I get nutty buddies or sometimes the little Swiss roll things.
20:29.645 --> 20:30.846
[SPEAKER_01]: but I prefer a nutty buddy.
20:30.927 --> 20:33.630
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah, I don't know if that was for instance.
20:33.650 --> 20:34.892
[SPEAKER_03]: Burners of child.
20:34.912 --> 20:38.336
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I think they've come out with like new nutty buddies.
20:38.416 --> 20:40.699
[SPEAKER_01]: Like they've gotten nutty buddy like cakes.
20:41.420 --> 20:46.005
[SPEAKER_01]: Almost looks like a twinky with paint of butter filling and I don't want to try those.
20:46.546 --> 20:48.168
[SPEAKER_00]: I like the just the regular.
20:48.849 --> 20:49.710
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, no, I eat them.
20:50.151 --> 20:52.193
[SPEAKER_01]: I eat butter fingers nutty buddies.
20:52.393 --> 20:53.515
[SPEAKER_01]: I love a lot of stuff.
20:53.555 --> 20:55.497
[SPEAKER_01]: The same thing I've never really liked.
20:55.517 --> 20:56.579
[SPEAKER_01]: I love it.
20:56.599 --> 20:59.382
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, I just, I like to savor.
21:00.678 --> 21:01.820
[SPEAKER_01]: Especially growing up.
21:02.060 --> 21:04.144
[SPEAKER_01]: If we got a little Debbie that was like a treat.
21:04.584 --> 21:10.955
[SPEAKER_01]: So I'm not gonna just sit there and inhale it I want to savor and eat it as slowly as I can and make it last.
21:10.975 --> 21:14.962
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah I never realized that's funny.
21:15.422 --> 21:15.763
[SPEAKER_01]: That's to me.
21:15.803 --> 21:22.113
[SPEAKER_01]: It's just a normal way to eat it When people inhale and anybody I'm like, that's right.
21:22.935 --> 21:24.998
[SPEAKER_01]: You enjoy things
21:26.800 --> 21:31.054
[SPEAKER_01]: See, I don't drink, I'm like a little Debbie Connoisseur.
21:31.375 --> 21:34.084
[SPEAKER_01]: You got a gargle and smell it first.
21:34.365 --> 21:40.084
[SPEAKER_01]: I hints of red dye number 40 in corn syrup.
21:42.106 --> 21:44.269
[SPEAKER_03]: Peel it apart in the last an hour.
21:44.550 --> 21:45.691
[SPEAKER_01]: We even the Christmas trees.
21:46.613 --> 21:47.234
[SPEAKER_01]: It varies.
21:47.294 --> 21:49.196
[SPEAKER_01]: Sometimes I'll peel them in half.
21:50.158 --> 21:51.179
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, you would have worried.
21:51.199 --> 21:53.523
[SPEAKER_01]: How the hell do you pour the soft?
21:53.543 --> 22:00.253
[SPEAKER_01]: Will you go around with the fear fingers around the middle part where it's softer, where the filling is, and it's more malleable there.
22:00.373 --> 22:02.957
[SPEAKER_01]: And then you just gently spread it open.
22:03.938 --> 22:09.046
[SPEAKER_01]: You eat one side that does I have any frosting and then you eat the other side that does have all the frosting.
22:09.186 --> 22:09.987
[SPEAKER_01]: Kind of like Oreo.
22:11.114 --> 22:11.875
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm very weird.
22:12.055 --> 22:17.220
[SPEAKER_03]: I would never, very late about opening up a Christmas tree.
22:17.280 --> 22:23.286
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, things like that, you know, I, I, I, I guess my brain's like, how can I make this last as long as possible?
22:23.306 --> 22:26.149
[SPEAKER_02]: I'm not thinking of cutting it because I went there.
22:26.189 --> 22:29.612
[SPEAKER_02]: In my head, I'm like, I really want two of these.
22:31.314 --> 22:34.437
[SPEAKER_02]: But if I eat it slowly, so take it apart.
22:34.757 --> 22:36.919
[SPEAKER_02]: Hold on, you butterfly.
22:38.063 --> 22:39.129
[SPEAKER_03]: a Christmas tree.
22:39.250 --> 22:39.994
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, a little better.
22:40.074 --> 22:40.376
[SPEAKER_01]: I do.
22:40.396 --> 22:40.839
[SPEAKER_03]: Yeah.
22:40.859 --> 22:42.146
[SPEAKER_03]: The same way I butterfly.
22:42.166 --> 22:43.031
[SPEAKER_03]: I take a breath.
22:43.172 --> 22:43.554
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
22:43.634 --> 22:43.956
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
22:45.792 --> 22:46.873
[SPEAKER_01]: makes it last longer.
22:46.893 --> 23:00.548
[SPEAKER_01]: It's like you're eating two and then it's a never-ending circle because I'll always keep my little snacks and a basket on the kitchen counter and I'll be staying in there and I'm like grab two, grab two, you know, you want two.
23:00.588 --> 23:06.314
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll just grab one and then I'll go eat it, pull it apart, eat it that way too.
23:07.075 --> 23:08.897
[SPEAKER_01]: And then I'll sit there afterwards like,
23:09.839 --> 23:10.905
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm going to get another one.
23:10.925 --> 23:14.304
[SPEAKER_01]: A little devil, a little devil over there.
23:14.324 --> 23:16.255
[SPEAKER_02]: I like I'm going to get to.
23:18.817 --> 23:20.079
[SPEAKER_01]: You know, you won't, eh?
23:20.199 --> 23:26.851
[SPEAKER_01]: But if I do eat it regularly, I eat it from the base up to the, to where the little tippy top of the trees last bite.
23:26.871 --> 23:29.475
[SPEAKER_01]: I always try to save the best bite for last.
23:30.016 --> 23:30.858
[SPEAKER_01]: And the tip is the best.
23:30.878 --> 23:32.320
[SPEAKER_01]: Sandwiches or anything.
23:32.360 --> 23:36.868
[SPEAKER_01]: Well, the tip, it's, you know, most of it's the sides are covered in chocolate.
23:37.068 --> 23:39.913
[SPEAKER_01]: It's, you know, I don't know, to me, I'm like, that's the best.
23:41.362 --> 23:47.311
[SPEAKER_01]: If I'm eating a cheeseburger, I'll eat the side that has the most melted cheese on the side of it.
23:47.651 --> 23:48.753
[SPEAKER_01]: That'll be my last bite.
23:49.194 --> 23:49.634
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, it's one.
23:49.794 --> 23:51.337
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll be like, oh, that's the best bite.
23:51.357 --> 23:52.639
[SPEAKER_01]: It has all the cheese on it.
23:52.739 --> 23:53.981
[SPEAKER_01]: I'll say that to last.
23:54.101 --> 24:02.313
[SPEAKER_03]: I can honestly say that I've never looked at a cheeseburger and I thought what part of this am I going to eat first and what part am I saving for last?
24:02.333 --> 24:02.954
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, I do it.
24:03.014 --> 24:03.815
[SPEAKER_01]: Everything I eat.
24:03.875 --> 24:04.416
[SPEAKER_01]: Never.
24:04.396 --> 24:05.157
[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know.
24:05.177 --> 24:09.182
[SPEAKER_01]: Before I take a bite, I'll look at something and be like, well, do I want my next bite to be?
24:09.622 --> 24:20.656
[SPEAKER_01]: Because food has, I forget what it's called, some kind of like a depreciation to where, you know, when your food sets down in front of you at a restaurant, it always looks so good, you're salivating, blah, blah, blah, blah.
24:21.036 --> 24:24.941
[SPEAKER_01]: The longer it sits there in front of you, the less appetizing it appears to you.
24:25.101 --> 24:29.627
[SPEAKER_01]: Which is why a lot of people eat quickly, because they want to eat while they're still getting that like,
24:29.607 --> 24:41.329
[SPEAKER_01]: Dopamine or thing from their like oh, it's looks delicious and then it's gone Whereas I like to save her and Enjoy plan and live in the dopamine.
24:41.609 --> 24:48.021
[SPEAKER_01]: So I don't eat in the movie theater very often because it's like if you want me to starve to death put me in a dark room
24:48.507 --> 24:53.376
[SPEAKER_01]: If you guys could have all the food in the world, I would not be able to eat a lot of things.
24:53.496 --> 24:57.242
[SPEAKER_01]: Like, skittles can't eat those in the dark, because I only eat one color at a time.
24:57.263 --> 25:02.372
[SPEAKER_03]: No, see, I'm opposite because if I'm watching a movie, I don't move with theater.
25:02.472 --> 25:04.034
[SPEAKER_03]: I want to be snacking on something.
25:04.475 --> 25:05.497
[SPEAKER_01]: I can't put a line.
25:05.677 --> 25:07.260
[SPEAKER_01]: I like to stay in the work popcorn.
25:07.280 --> 25:12.810
[SPEAKER_03]: I don't care what popcorn candy food.
25:12.790 --> 25:25.291
[SPEAKER_03]: Now I say that though, but like sometimes with food, I feel like I want to be able to see it because I'm iffy on some foods like I'll be afraid to eat a hot dog if I can't see it because I'm afraid that the hot dogs don't work.
25:25.311 --> 25:25.952
[SPEAKER_01]: Not going to be done.
25:25.992 --> 25:31.862
[SPEAKER_01]: If I distracted by the movie, I can eat popcorn, but if lights are on, I
25:31.842 --> 25:48.236
[SPEAKER_01]: We'll always eat the popcorn that has the biggest butt first, you know, that pop some of them have or more like the little harder You know, exploded pieces where some will have that, you know, thick White little butt on the popcorn.
25:48.256 --> 25:52.900
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, where it's just nothing but no seeds or nothing No kernel.
25:53.320 --> 25:56.823
[SPEAKER_01]: I guess yeah, that's the part grandma always feed to the dog.
25:57.043 --> 26:01.647
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, she'd bite off the
26:01.627 --> 26:01.950
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah.
26:02.859 --> 26:04.212
[SPEAKER_01]: That's my favorite part.
26:06.065 --> 26:09.229
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, do you have anything before we go to our last episode, Josh?
26:09.650 --> 26:13.676
[SPEAKER_01]: One more Christmas mystery for our unmasked.
26:13.696 --> 26:14.477
[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, man.
26:15.278 --> 26:23.870
[SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, go adopt a little Tomta or NSA depending on where you're from this year and add it to your Christmas magic because we're so freaking cute.
26:24.410 --> 26:29.037
[SPEAKER_01]: I'm about two or three on my tree and several just scattered around the house.
26:29.237 --> 26:30.138
[SPEAKER_01]: Once above the toilet.
26:31.180 --> 26:31.781
[SPEAKER_03]: Have you already?
26:31.841 --> 26:35.025
[SPEAKER_03]: You should take pictures of them and add them on Patreon.
26:35.123 --> 26:39.431
[SPEAKER_01]: I did the ornaments I have from my tree I've put on there, but the other one's out.
26:39.531 --> 26:40.093
[SPEAKER_01]: One lights up.
26:41.155 --> 26:41.816
[SPEAKER_01]: What's cute?
26:42.016 --> 26:48.068
[SPEAKER_01]: One's, I got a glittery blue sequins hat and a little bit on it.
26:48.088 --> 26:48.529
[SPEAKER_01]: That's fine.
26:48.549 --> 26:49.651
[SPEAKER_01]: You've got to have a gay one.
26:50.653 --> 26:53.158
[SPEAKER_01]: Of course, they're mostly men, of course they're gonna be a little gay.
26:54.180 --> 26:54.921
[SPEAKER_02]: That's gotta be.
26:55.762 --> 27:10.865
[SPEAKER_03]: Well, guys, don't forget to send us a postcard or anything fun that you find over two PO box six nine zero, you can title it to the bunker in Walbash, Indiana four six nine nine two and that's in the show notes.
27:10.945 --> 27:14.631
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm going to make a note right now to go check it this week because I keep forgetting.
27:14.611 --> 27:15.572
[SPEAKER_03]: Go check what?
27:15.753 --> 27:16.574
[SPEAKER_03]: Oh the peel box.
27:16.594 --> 27:17.335
[SPEAKER_03]: The peel box.
27:17.575 --> 27:23.224
[SPEAKER_03]: Yes, it could be stuffed full of all types of slags that are less than if I said anything else.
27:23.244 --> 27:25.387
[SPEAKER_01]: You never know Just add a side out of mind.
27:25.587 --> 27:28.792
[SPEAKER_01]: I know usually the only time I go to the post office is to buy stamps.
27:29.152 --> 27:33.058
[SPEAKER_01]: That's true last time was like the Betty white stamps when they came
27:34.507 --> 27:39.798
[SPEAKER_03]: I had to go there because I had the whole fiasco with I think that would get re-new in the peel box.
27:39.818 --> 27:40.319
[SPEAKER_01]: Oh, yeah.
27:40.841 --> 27:42.083
[SPEAKER_01]: That was a fiasco.
27:43.065 --> 27:44.468
[SPEAKER_01]: Four different keys.
27:46.112 --> 27:46.974
[SPEAKER_03]: It was so funny.
27:46.994 --> 27:47.495
[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, damn.
27:47.515 --> 27:48.677
[SPEAKER_03]: And they felt so bad.
27:48.697 --> 27:51.002
[SPEAKER_03]: They're like, our systems not working right.
27:51.022 --> 27:52.445
[SPEAKER_03]: We're having to re-key it.
27:52.465 --> 27:54.169
[SPEAKER_03]: It's just, it's so funny.
27:54.757 --> 27:56.880
[SPEAKER_01]: They did everything, but give us a taller one.
27:56.921 --> 27:57.261
[SPEAKER_01]: Right.
27:57.381 --> 27:58.904
[SPEAKER_01]: We got to get out of four.
27:59.004 --> 27:59.505
[SPEAKER_01]: Four.
28:00.046 --> 28:01.007
[SPEAKER_01]: I do too.
28:01.187 --> 28:02.369
[SPEAKER_01]: It's all the way at the bottom.
28:02.590 --> 28:06.536
[SPEAKER_01]: I got to get on all fours to make sure it's not leaving nothing all the way in the back.
28:07.338 --> 28:08.740
[SPEAKER_01]: Going to find me a husband that way.
28:08.780 --> 28:12.626
[SPEAKER_03]: Alright guys, we'll work at you over on unmasked right now.
28:12.947 --> 28:13.508
[SPEAKER_03]: See you there.
28:14.790 --> 28:15.010
[SPEAKER_00]: Bye.
28:17.268 --> 28:39.850
[SPEAKER_03]: the Tomta, the Nissa, how spirits who've watched over Scandinavian families for centuries were they just folklore, stories parents told to keep children respectful and homes clean, or is there something more to the small figures people still spot in the shadows of old farmhouses?
28:41.028 --> 28:53.885
[SPEAKER_03]: Maybe this year, when you hear something stir in your home, maybe you shouldn't be afraid, maybe it's just a little spirit checking in, making sure you've earned your abundance.
28:54.927 --> 29:02.597
[SPEAKER_03]: And maybe, just maybe, you should leave out a bowl of porridge with plenty of butter on top.
29:04.687 --> 29:11.037
[SPEAKER_03]: The lights are dimming, the bunker door is closing, but the mysteries, they're just getting started.
29:11.999 --> 29:26.121
[SPEAKER_03]: I'm Shane Waters, stay curious, stay skeptical, and stay a little bit scared, good night friend.
