11 December 2012

My Christmas Spirit


Today I am breaking the blog silence by praising Disneyland.  Surprised, many of you are, I know, but stay tuned for a few minutes here.  Rebecca and I took a quick trip last week to Walt’s wonderland, the happiest place on earth, Disneyland.  We did all the regular things, sans kiddos.  Something unique though: one of the nights we sat and watched Disneyland’s Candlelight Procession.  


The Candlelight Procession is nothing fancy for December:  large choirs singing Christmas carols, lots of people holding fake candles, and a celebrity reading a story.  The unique part for me, and the part that finally helped me to feel the Christmas spirit this year, was the fact that the story that was read, was none other than the Christmas Story from the bible.  Up to this point, I wasn’t feeling very “Christmasy.”  Despite the amazing decor all over Disneyland, and the huge tree on main street, my Christmasness just wasn’t materializing. 

Disney’s Candlelight processional was amazing, and not just because it was Edward James Olmos doing the reading, but because they blasted it as loud as could be.  They did not hide the fact that we celebrate Christmas because of the birth of the Savior.  The carols that were sung were all the classics from any hymnal: What Child Is This, O Little Town of Bethlehem' Angles We Have Heard on High, etc.  The bible story was right out of the Bible, granted not the King James version, probably the new Mickey Translation, but it was still the bible story.  

This experience impressed me because in a world that is trying its best to hide the Savior and teachings of the Savior from public view, Disneyland is belting it out as loud as can be every single night in December. Our world is focused on the commercialness of Christmas, yet Edward James Olmos Stood and Delivered the Bible Christmas story with pride and feeling.  And near the conclusion, all in attendance sang Silent Night.  Thank you once again, Disneyland.  To see one of the Candlelight Processionals, go here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LjKHVtBkL0

7 comments:

Amy said...

What a treat! I seriously thought the *real* meaning of Christmas was all but gone outside of church! I knew I liked that Walt Disney.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing. That's why I will always love Charlie Brown! We are finally taking the kids to Disney, they don't know yet but it's their Christmas this year along with the rest of the world! We will definitly make sure to watch for it.

Thanks for always being true to who you are too! Thats kind of why I like you!

Merry Christmas friend!

Jolene_Gary said...

Thanks for posting this. It is just what I needed!

Danielle said...

that's really cool. maybe i'll need to get to disney one of these days.

on a (somewhat) related note, we've seen the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular a couple times, and at the very end, they do this whole thing on the birth of Christ. very shocking the first time, but it was amazing!

stephanie said...

That sounds awesome! I would love to take my girls one day. How is it that you get to go so often?

Aimee said...

I love everything about Disney (except for all the dumb shows that I've had to tolerate for several years). We have wanted to take our kids for Christmas for a long time. That was really cool and after watching the link on you tube, I want to go today. Right now. And I'm not opposed to a trip without kids.

Thanks for sharing! Hope your Christmas was awesome.. and as Christmasy as ever.

Stephanie said...

How great! I did not expect that Disney would have any Christ in Christmas, but I'm glad to hear it. I never answered your question on my blog, and maybe now it's too late. We stayed at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott on Harbor.

Glad you and Rebecca got a kid-less getaway. We seem to get those about every 10 years, which means it'll be about 8 more until our next kid-less trip. ;)