Epcot Festival of the Holidays Part 2

Soundscapes by Here With the Magic

Soundscapes: Epcot Festival of the Holidays Part 2 Follow along with the show notes below!

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(3:46) Over the course of the last century, Christmas has become less of a religiously associated holiday in the Western part of the world, adopting icons and traditions beloved by people of all faith affiliations and cultural backgrounds. Though the season is still predominantly rooted in Christian tradition, with songs regaling the birth of a savior and families gathering to worship together, the burgeoning popularity of Santa Claus in the early nineteenth century welcomed the secular world to experience the joy of Christmas for themselves.

Today, families all over the world come together around the time of the Winter Solstice to exchange gifts, enjoy lavishly appointed feasts, and spend quality time with one another. Especially in Europe and in North America, the most popular and universally recognizable Christmas custom involves a benevolent gift-giver who comes to leave presents for children as they sleep on Christmas Eve. Known by different names around the world, this jolly and joyous champion of generosity is descended from the person of St. Nicholas, who was a historical figure in Asia Minor during the reign of the Roman Empire.

The story of St. Nicholas is shrouded in mystery and riddled with legend, the most widely accepted of which recounts an occasion where Nicholas dropped bags of coins through the open window of a poor man while he slept, in order to save his three daughters from ruin. Whatever the true circumstances of his altruism, St. Nicholas was a very real person who inspired the inauguration of Santa Claus and his various namesakes centuries later.

St. Nicholas’ feast day is celebrated during the Christian season of Advent, just a few weeks before Christmas. Children leave their shoes out for St. Nicholas, just as they hang stockings on the mantel for Santa on Christmas Eve. In the morning, they find small trinkets and chocolate coins (known as “gelt” to Jewish children during Hanukkah) to commemorate that parable of selflessness which bestowed on him a reputation which the figure of Santa Claus carries on today.

That is where our journey re-commences today, far from the Mediterranean shores that we departed when last we made merry at the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays. Halfway around World Showcase Lagoon, the stately elegance of the American Adventure pavilion scores our welcome with elegant piano music that trails away like snowflakes falling slowly to Earth.

(5:14) Christmas decorations in patriotic red, white, and blue are hung along the stone fountain and around the white columns of the colonial theater. A corresponding Christmas tree stands next to the holiday kitchen, where the comforting aroma of a Thanksgiving reprise draws us in - turkey and cranberry sauce and all the classic trimmings.

Just beyond is the heart of all the action, the one and only Santa Claus, seated on a velvet throne and surrounded by children vying for his attention and listening ears. Like something out of a classic Christmas storybook or a Norman Rockwell painting, Santa’s interactions with each girl and boy are enough to grow the Grinchiest heart at least three sizes.

(6:00) Listen closely - do you hear Santa speaking to a shy little princess and her precocious older brother? This is the Magic of the season revealed to us right Here and now in the innocence of youth. It is their belief, wholesome and unwavering, that reminds us that joy is found when we permit ourselves to experience life and this Magical season through the eyes of a child, through their audacious hope and limitless dreams.

As we watch from afar, this perfectly serendipitous moment becomes a memory, an inspiration that will open our minds and hearts to all that we are about to see and discover. And it is with that renewal of spirit and spring in our step that we continue on, far across the sea to the Middle East of the year 164 B.C.

(7:38) Along the stone dwellings and torchlit streets of Jerusalem, the recently liberated Maccabees sought to give thanks to the goodness of God for delivering them from their oppressors. They entered their sacred temple and discovered that they only had enough oil to last one night of their vigil. By some miracle, their oil lasted for eight nights, until someone was able to return and replenish their supply. They praised God for his faithfulness and protection over their people, and so the Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, was born.

Today, Hanukkah is celebrated in Jewish homes and temples all over the world. For eight nights, families gather in remembrance and jubilation, reaching across the generations to connect with their ancestors who endured so much in the name of freedom. Gifts are exchanged and wooden dreidels are spun for prizes and tokens of prosperity. Slowly braised and tender Brisket is the centerpiece of their feast, surrounded by crispy potato latkes fried in oil to commemorate the eight nights of miraculous light so long ago. For dessert, sweet, jam-filled donuts called sufganiyot are sure to satisfy the sugar cravings of the whole mishpacha. Traditional songs are sung and friends and neighbors greet each other with a heartfelt “Shalom,” a blessing of peace to all who seek to experience the Magic of this season of light.

(8:50) In anticipation of our excursion across the seas to our next holiday celebration, let’s pause Here for a moment and listen to the story of Hanukkah, as it is told by someone who holds its spiritual significance and whimsical wonder very close to his heart.

(18:27) There is arguably no continent more redolent with holiday enchantment than the whole of Europe. Its storybook settings, complete with rich history, spellbinding castles and breathtaking architecture make it the backdrop of many a Christmas fantasy. In France, the holidays are a time of abundance and magnanimity. French families spare no expense in their preparations, indulging where they have lived more frugally in the months leading up to the season.

Our journey through the holidays around the world wouldn’t be complete without a digression Here, where the elegance of France is augmented by glittering stars and swirling garlands. The smells of peppermint and sweet pâtisserie permeate the air, enticing our appetites into luxurious indulgence. Flourishing poinsettias offset the Parisian color palette with pops of cheery crimson. Miniature Christmas scenes depict the Tour de Eiffel and the Arc de Triomphe, with a third ornamental display dedicated to the beloved French holiday tradition: the Bûche de Noël.

Known to the English-speaking world as a Yule log, this decadent cake is rolled and filled to emulate the trunk of a tree, and decorated with marzipan mushrooms and leaves. The Yule log imbibes the Christmas wishes of those who partake in its creation, their selfless act of sharing an assurance that they will indeed come true.

(20:21) Of course, our Joyeux Noël would not be complete without a visit from the legendary person whose namesake the holiday holds. He is a symbol of hope and gratitude, anticipation and childlike delight to all French people, young and old. As we hear the unmistakable crescendo of Christmas bells, let us take a moment in this beautiful pavilion to be regaled by a heartwarming tale from the sweet and beguiling Père Noël.

His account of the Christmas Eve traditions beloved by families throughout all of France comes in the form of a letter from his little friend Babette, who lives in the scenic countryside of Provence. Babette writes to Père Noël to share her love for the whole Christmas season and most especially, Le Réveillon de Noël, the Christmas Eve festivities that French families spare no expense in making the grandest event of the year.

They enjoy sumptuous feasts of roast goose, fromage, and savory pâté, escargot and succulent oysters. For dessert, the pièce de résistance: a classic Bûche de Noël. The feast is followed by joyous caroling and endless merriment. Many families dress in their holiday best and attend Midnight Mass together, returning home to place le Petit-Jésus in their own crèche, or Nativity scene, which in France is broadened to include figurines of local merchants and townspeople.

Then, when all is quiet and everyone is asleep, Père Noël leaves a special present in the shoes that children leave expectantly by the extinguished embers of their fireplaces.

On Christmas morning, squeals of delight at the sight of gifts and sweets tumbling from mismatched shoes call to mind a concept that we tend to lose sight of as age and experience breed skepticism and doubt. The faith of a child in that which they cannot see is a remarkable and fearless thing.

Maybe, just maybe, that is where their joy comes from, that unassailable light that radiates from their souls and gives them their incredible courage. That is the Magic of youth, of Christmas, of believing in something bigger and more beautiful than what we can easily see.

(31:07) Though it is hard to imagine a more uplifting holiday story than that of Père Noël, we are once again cajoled by a refrain of jingle bells, and so we make our way over the bridge and onto the charming cobblestone streets of jolly old England.

Here, a Happy Christmas is already well underway. Every corner and doorway in the village square has been strung with lights and garland, multi-colored baubles and quintessential Christmas crackers. Their pops and bangs won’t be heard until Christmas Eve, but there are enough roars of laughter and yuletide festivities emanating from the local pub to last until then, anyway.

(31:40) A jovial bell-ringer belts out a traditional Welsh carol to all the watching villagers, calling to us with a reverberating “Hear ye, hear ye!” We gather in eager curiosity around the Christmas tree, where Father Christmas himself entertains us with stories and song and his brazen, conspicuous laugh, brimming with that cozy feeling that warms even the coldest winter nights up and down the country.

It turns out, according to the well-traveled Father Christmas, that many of the most well-known and beloved holiday traditions the world over actually originated in the United Kingdom. As in many American homes, British families hang their stockings by the fireplace on Christmas Eve and exchange gifts with one another on Christmas morning. Many timeless Christmas stories, such as Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, were written and set in the heart of England during the largely romanticized Victorian era. Even the custom of hanging mistletoe is passed down from the earliest inhabitants of modern-day England and Ireland.

Father Christmas is full of the wisdom of the ages, of tales from his travels and holiday cheer in spades. His laughter is infectious, his demeanor gregarious and warm. As his story comes to an end and he wishes us well on our way, he shares one last yuletide carol to carry us merrily on to the finale of our journey through the holidays, the culmination of all the joy and hope we have found Here as we’ve traveled near and far.

(40:56) The Candlelight Processional has been a beloved tradition at Disney Parks since the first one took place at Disneyland in December 1958. Since then, it has brought guests of all ages, races, religions, and nations together to hear the biblical story of Christmas told with such passion and humanity that it is sure to resonate with each one of us, whether we celebrate Christmas or not.

A full orchestra led by a renowned conductor accompany a choir assembled from within the Disney cast member family. They come together to fill the air with joyful noise, welcoming us into this theater under the stars with an array of sprightly, seasonal favorites. Then, as the story begins and we are transported to back thousands of years to the village of Bethlehem, the music betrays a paradigm shift. It moves from winter whimsy to a sort of ardent yearning as we follow shepherds and wise men on their earnest pursuit of a revelatory star, and of the baby sleeping peacefully beneath its heavenly glow.

A triumphant symphony bursts suddenly into the prophetic stillness of the night. With trumpet sounds and cymbal crashes and a chorus of ethereal beauty, it announces the arrival of a promise finally fulfilled; of hope for generations and peace to all people, near and far.

Magic and humanity have a unique way of converging this time of year, arousing compassion and curiosity in those otherwise content to carry on existing in their own spaces and routines, their own self-imposed confines. May we give ourselves over to that feeling today, as we find ourselves Here in this storybook of global unity and yuletide cheer. May we find joy everywhere we look, peace in the presence of chaos or calm, and Magic glowing brightly in our hearts and homes.

From our Here With the Magic family to you and yours, we wish you a joyous and memorable holiday season and a bright and bountiful new year.