Mango Bite #4: 'Twas the Night Before Christmas

It’s the final Mango Bite — and the final show of the season.

As a little gift for your Christmas week, I reached back out to all of the guests from 2025 (plus a few new A.I. friends) and brought everyone together for a reunion reading of ’Twas the Night Before Christmas.

Also… happy 95th birthday to PopPop. 🎄

⸻
Guest Information
Everyone is a guest on this episode.

Resources and Links
Nothing to link for this episode. 

Music used in this episode:
All music in this episode is licensed for use through Epidemic Sound.

⸻
IF YOU LIKE WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE AT THE MANGO TIMES, PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW BY...
✅ Send me a text and let me know what you think.
✅ Share this episode with a friend RIGHT NOW!
✅ PLEASE LEAVE ME A REVIEW ON APPLE PODCASTS HERE.
✅ Buy Me A Taco (LINK HERE)

Chapters

• 0:05 Welcome To Mango Bite #4
• 0:21 How A Poem Reimagined Santa
• 2:36 A Visit From St. Nicholas Reading
• 6:01 Thank Yous And Guest Roll Call
• 7:14 Dedication And Closing Moments

Transcript

SPEAKER_02: 0:05

Hey, it's Fletch, and this is the Mango Times Podcast. Welcome to Mango Bite Number Four. Remember, I've taken the month of December off, so I'm doing weekly short episodes. I'm calling them Mango Bites. And for the last three weeks, I've gone back and shared clips from earlier episodes. Well, this week I have a really special episode for you. You know, over the year we had some great guests on the Mango Times. We had people from all over life talking about the Fletch Festo, talking about adventure, just talking about life. And what I did was I invited all of them back on to this episode to help me read a little Christmas poem that we know is called A Visit from St. Nicholas. You know, on December 23rd, 1823, the poem was written and published anonymously in this local newspaper in New York. And it was a slightly different take on Santa Claus at the time. Up until then, it was traditionally depicted as this, you know, thinner, less jolly, kind of this horse riding disciplinarian that was a combination of mythologies. You had the British Father Christmas, you had the uh the Dutch uh Sinterklaas and that fourth century bishop Saint Nicholas. But the poem that came out in that newspaper painted a totally different picture. It gave Santa a reindeer, it even named them, it described Santa as someone who could magically sneak in and out of homes by way of a chimney, and it created this picture, this cheerful, chubby icon that has just been present on holiday cards, movies, television shows, uh, malls. Uh I mean, even Coca-Cola ads have this nice jolly Santa Claus. So the poem is now known as 'Twas the Night Before Christmas,' which comes after that very famous first line. But thirteen years after it was published in that newspaper, a gentleman by the name of Clement Clark Moore took credit for its authorship. And though his claim to the poem is now in question, many believe that the poem was actually penned by New York writer Henry Livingston. So this is a visit from St. Nicholas, as told by all the guests on the Mango Times Podcast in 2025. A visit from St. Nicholas.

SPEAKER_01: 2:57

While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads, and Mama in her kerchief and I in my cap had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

SPEAKER_12: 3:08

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

SPEAKER_10: 3:21

The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow gave a luster of midday to objects below. When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a miniature sleigh and ate tiny reindeer.

SPEAKER_11: 3:32

With a little old driver so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick. More rapid than eagles, his coursers they came, and he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

SPEAKER_03: 3:44

Now Dasher, now Dancer, now Prancer and Vixen, on Comet, on Cupid, on Donter and Blitzen, to the top of the porch, to the top of the wall. Now dash away, dash away, dash away all.

SPEAKER_08: 4:00

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, when they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky. So up to the housetop, the courtiers they flew, with the sleigh full of toys in St. Nicholas, too.

SPEAKER_07: 4:15

And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof the prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head and was turned around. Down the chimney, Saint Nicholas came with a bound.

SPEAKER_06: 4:31

He was dressed all in fur from his head to his foot, and his clothes were tarnished with ashes and soot. A bundle of toys he had flung on his back, and he looked like a peddler just opening his pack.

SPEAKER_09: 4:44

His eyes, how they twinkled, his dimples how merry, his cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry, his droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

SPEAKER_02: 4:57

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, and the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath. He had a broad face and a little round belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly.

SPEAKER_00: 5:13

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf. And I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself. A wink of his eye and a twist of his head soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

SPEAKER_05: 5:27

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work and filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk. And laying his finger aside of his nose and giving a nod, up the chimney he rose.

SPEAKER_04: 5:40

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, and away they all flew like the down of a thistle. But I heard him explain, Airy drove out of sight. Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.

SPEAKER_02: 6:01

Alright, I want to thank everyone who participated in the poem this year. My wife Kendra, James Estes, Lisa Kelgard, my son Christian Fletcher, Corey Strauss, Roy Mendiola, Isaac Gross, John Eighty, Matt Andrews, Tom Slater, and good old Popop on the back porch. Hey, thanks for a great year here at the Mango Times Podcast. Thanks for allowing me to reboot and stick with it for an entire year. Thanks for these last few weeks just enjoying these Mango Bites. If you like what we're doing here at the Mango Times, please head over to Apple Podcasts and leave us a review. Or you can slide down in the show notes and send me a text message just telling me what you think about the show. We're gonna be back next week with our season trailer for season six on the Mango Times. We're so excited about what is coming. So tune in again next week. And until then, happy everything, all the holidays, and get out there and quietly make some noise. This final episode of the Mango Times podcast for 2025 is dedicated to my dad. Happy birthday. You make ninety five look easy. I got through this.

SPEAKER_04: 7:25

You just read the part. Oh, okay. When you want to do it.

SPEAKER_02: 7:28

Whenever you're ready.

SPEAKER_04: 7:30

Okay.