Disney Schooling: Festival of the Holidays | Must See & Do, Tips for Visiting, & More!

Hey everybody! Welcome to the Waldock Way. I'm Jessica. I'm Emily. And today's video is going to be a look at the storytellers from the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays. So we went over this past weekend to go enjoy all that Epcot had to offer for the holidays. In fact, make sure you stay tuned to see a blog post that will be going live about all of the food that we ate while we were there. But this video will be about all of the storytellers. So we're going to show you all of the different storytellers that we watched. Which was your favorite storyteller? Obelefana. She loved her some Lebefana. Why was Lebefana's story your favorite? Because now she's looking for Jesus because she's seen the bright star and the kings went up to her and all that so she's still looking for him. And why is that your favorite? Because she's traveling and it's super cool because I love to travel and I love people traveling too. So it's about her traveling all over the world? Or is it because you think it's such a sweet story? Well it's such a sweet story because she gives all the people cookies if they're good. So what was one thing you learned from the storytellers that you didn't know before we went? Um, it's in Mexico when you get to hit the piñata and everything just comes exploding. Super cool. So you didn't know that they did a piñata during Los Pasados? Yeah, I didn't know that. Nope, because we haven't done Mexico yet. We have not traveled there yet in our curriculum. So that is one thing you learned, right? Do you want to know what Mommy's favorite was? What was your favorite? My favorite was United Kingdom, Father Christmas. But mainly because Emily got to be part of the show and it was super cute. What did you get to do? I got to ring the jingle bells on a stick and I went jingle, jingle, jingle. Do you know what song you helped sing? Or what song you helped play? It was Deck the Halls with Balls of Holly. Yep, it was Deck the Halls. Alright guys, without further ado, we're going to go ahead and let you guys watch all of the storytellers from the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays. We hope you enjoy them. We learned a ton and all of their performances were amazing. Amigos, those poinsettias that you see here today are native to Mexico and they play an important part of our Fiesta Navidad. As the story goes, a young girl did not have a gift to give at the Christmas Eve service so she remembered that even the most humble gift, if given in love, is truly appreciated. So she gathered together a bouquet of weeds from the side of the road and placed them on the Christmas Eve altar and they blew into the beautiful red flowers that you see here today. It was truly a Christmas miracle and the poinsettia became known as Flor de la Nochebuena, Flower of the Holy Night, because of the way it bloomed during the Christmas season. Indeed, indeed, indeed it was a true Christmas miracle. The poinsettia became Flor de la Nochebuena, Flower of the Holy Night. Folks, today as our gift to you, we wish to present traditional music and dance from the beautiful southern state of Chiapas. The way we celebrate this in Mexico is the community gathers together and they form a procession and go throughout the neighborhood from door to door singing the song of Las Bosadas and they get turned away at every stop until finally someone in the end lets them in and there's a big fiesta and food and music and even a piñata. Now our group today is going to help us do the same thing, just a little different. They're going to come around to you and knock three times and what I want you to do is turn them away and tell them no. And hopefully someone in the end will let them in, we'll have a big fiesta and maybe even break a piñata. Piñata! And now it's time for the best part of the party! La piñata! Traditionally, the piñata is filled with candies, fruits, and other treats for the children. And when it's broken, they all scatter to grab as much as they possibly can. But today, we're going to do things just a bit different. The children will line up, they will attempt to break the piñata, but whether they do or don't, they will all get a treat at the end. Feliz Navidad! I want to wish you a Merry Christmas! I want to wish you a Merry Christmas from the world! Oh my heart! I want to wish you a Merry Christmas! I want to wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart! Thank you everybody, we enjoyed it! Gul Jul! Yes, that is how we say Merry Christmas in my country! Gul Jul! Now, all across Norway, the holidays are family time, but how you celebrate the holidays depends on whether you live in a fancy, fancy city, or like me, on one of our wonderful Norwegian farms. Now, in the city, families might spend time together going to concerts, or festivals, or church services, or parties. And like many of you, they are visited by Santa Claus. But, on our farms, many families still celebrate the tradition of the Christmas Nisse. Now, there are two. There is Julen Nissen, who comes on Christmas Eve to leave the children gifts, and Fjos Nissen, who lives in the hayloft of our barns. Now, it is said that this Nisse, this barn Santa, is one of our many wonderful, yet strange little elves, who are the guardians of our farm animals and welfare. And it is said that especially at Christmas time, we must treat this Nisse, this barn Santa, with respect. For if we don't, he is known to cause quite a bit of mischief in one way or another. I have lived on a farm my whole life. And in all my Christmases, I have never seen him. So all this talk about a barn Santa is neither here nor there. For we all know these mischief makers do not exist. Except in stories and fairy tales. So all this talk about a barn Santa is neither here nor there. For we all know these mischief makers do not exist. Unless they do exist, and are therefore very clever and mischievous. Indeed. Now, it is said that this barn Santa is a very old and rather odd-looking little gnome. Well, that's not true. Careful, Sigrid, I've got my eye on you. Oh, what was that, sir? Oh, sorry, I thought I heard. That's so funny. What was I saying? Oh my goodness, I seem to have lost my train of thought. Allow me to take advantage of Sigrid's dramatic pause to properly introduce myself. I am the legendary barn Santa. Right on cue. Very nice. So, I don't exist, huh? Well, you all see me, don't you? Yes, okay. Now, who said no? Well, let's hear everybody else except for you. Let's hear you all say a nice Gruyule. Very nice. And it would be a Gruyule, but every Christmas has been the same. Sigrid here doesn't see me because she doesn't believe that I exist. Even when I do this. She still doesn't see me. Say, you all wouldn't mind if I take the liberty of using a little mischief and magic to help Sigrid with her story? Who knows? Maybe this time she just might believe. Christmas in Norway is my favorite. Festive decorations like those over there and smell of holiday cookies mops through the air in preparation for the big day. But here is the best part. In Norway, we have a three-day celebration. Well, that's right. We celebrate with a party. Oh, Sigrid. We like to party. We like to Our biggest celebration day is on Christmas Eve. Now, in the middle of the day, 12 o'clock or so, everything shuts down early. The bells ring in the chapel. And everyone returns home to their families. Well, anyway, back on the farm. The farmer will give the animals a special treat. An extra big helping of the finest oats and barley. Friends, imagine it's Christmas Eve. The farmers bring the goodies for the animals. He says, eat up, little piggies. And Sigrid, what sound do the hungry Norwegian piggies make? No, no. Do it again. No, no. Well, how about this? From here over, you'll all be my hungry Norwegian piggies, okay? Let's hear you all say nice. Nuff, nuff. You can do it louder than that. Louder. Okay, good. But that's enough. And Sigrid, what sound do the hungry Norwegian cows make? Moo. Oh, very nice. Yes, everyone else, you're my hungry Norwegian cows. Okay, let's hear you say nice. Moo. Oh, very good. I heard a really nice one now. It was a whole herd that I heard. Okay, where are my piggies? And my cows? And my piggies? And my cows? And my piggies and my cows? Oh, keep it going. And Sigrid will take us to farm on Christmas Eve. Piggies and cows, let me hear you. Oh, yes, the farm animals are very hungry and noisy. But you can stop now. The farmer leaves the animals treats, but the children don't forget about the barn Santa. They leave him treats too. Oh, that's right. They leave me treats too. A nice big bowl of rice porridge with a little bit of cinnamon and sugar and a nice little pat of butter right on the top. All right, well, maybe it doesn't sound like such a treat to all of you. But believe me, when the kitties leave me a nice steaming bowl of porridge in the hay It just warms me right up on a cold winter's night when it's high in fiber, too. You will never guess what the barn Santa likes to eat. Go ahead, try to guess. Rice porridge. Yes, rice porridge. How did you guess? Well, we also leave him a big stein of ale. What? Ale. You should try. Never mind. Now, back on Christmas Eve, the people are getting ready for the big celebration. All right, it's lights out. And the entire family is very excited. The whole house is lit only by candlelight. Now, after a big feast, everyone is so thrilled, especially the children, because they know the Christmas tree is in the next room. And then the moment they have all been waiting for. This is the best part. The parents finally say to the kids, OK, kids, let's go into the next room. So, the rest of the night is spent exchanging gifts and singing Christmas carols in front of the Christmas tree until very late at night. And that is all on Christmas Eve. But even though the children opened up their presents on Christmas Eve, they still get up early on Christmas Day. Some people attend church services, but then the rest of the day is spent with family. But they are not done yet, because the day after Christmas in Norway, December 26, that is our second Christmas Day. Yay, that's the day for parties, visiting friends, and ringing bells and knocks. Don't even think about it. Oh, my, well, kids, what to do? Sigrid is almost at the end of her story. She's almost at the end of her wits, too. But she still doesn't see me. So, I need magical help from all of you. Yes, yes, yes. I need you all to say a really big boo. Can you do that for me? Yeah, OK. On the count of three, all together. Here we go. Ready, Knox? Are you ready? OK, here we go. One, two, three. Boo! Oh, so anyway, now you know all about the holidays in Norway. And I am sorry to burst your bubble about the whole Noel thing, but he does not exist. He doesn't. It's me. It's him. I'm him. Come on, Santa. Boo you. Please enjoy this special presentation of the Chinese Lion Dance. The lion is happy to meet you. The curious lion explores the surroundings. The hungry lion eats lucky food and will spread good fortune to all. The lion is tired from eating and jumping and tries to take a cat nap. A light sleeper, the lion is wide awake now and continues dancing. By meeting the Chinese lion, we hope that you and your family are blessed with good fortune and happiness for the holidays and all year long. Thank you. Xiexie. Oh, you happy one, oh, you blessed one, Christmas is coming to an end. Who is lost, who is born, rejoice, rejoice, oh, Christendom. Oh, you happy one, oh, you blessed one, Christmas is coming to an end. Who is lost, who is born, rejoice, rejoice, oh, Christendom. Oh, you happy one, oh, you blessed one, Christmas is coming to an end. Oh, you happy one, oh, you blessed one, Christmas is coming to an end. Oh, you happy one, oh, you blessed one, Christmas is coming to an end. Oh, you happy one, oh, you blessed one, rejoice, rejoice, oh, Christendom. Merry Christmas. My name is La Befana, and I am a witch. But I am a good witch, see. My name, La Befana, means gift giver. I am the gift giver in my country, in Italy. So if you have been a very good child, I bring to you gifts and goodies and sweets. But if you have been maybe not so good, what do you think I bring to you then? Coal. Coal, see. Oh, you know so young to know such things. I keep an eye on you. Now, in your country, you have a different gift giver, see. Who is it brings to you the gifts at Christmas? Santa Claus. Santa Claus, see. I tell you, La Befana have been bringing gifts down the chimney to the bambini, before Saint Nick was even a twinkle in his mama's eye. Now, Santa Claus, what does he fly on? What does he ride? The sleigh. The sleigh, see. And who pulled the sleigh for Santa? Reindeer. Poor old La Befana. She does not have a sleigh. She does not have reindeer. So, what do you suppose La Befana flies on? A broom. A broom, see, because I am a witch. Do I scare you? No. What about getting only socks and underwear for Christmas? That is scary. Now, Santa Claus, when does he come to visit? When does he bring you the gifts? Christmas, see, or the Christmas Eve? Do you know when La Befana comes to visit? I visit on January the 5th, which is the eve of the Epiphany. And do you know why this is? Everybody say to me now, why La Befana? Why La Befana? Oh, I am so glad you asked. I tell you now, this is my story. Once upon a time, more than 2,000 years ago, I lived in a lonely cottage by the side of a great highway on which many caravans of camels passed all the time. You don't see too many camels these days, huh? One day, I am sweeping outside of my little cottage when a group of strange men come up to me. Oh, they are very exotic, you know, from faraway lands. Oh, they are dressed very rich, like kings and everything. And they speak to little old me, to La Befana. Well, you can imagine the words they use. They are funny words that La Befana does not know. But they are so excited. They are pointing this way and that. And the word I do remember is Bethlehem. Do you know this word, Bethlehem? Yes. It is good to know the Bethlehem now, after all these stories, huh? But back then, I did not know what Bethlehem was. But these strangers, they talk with their hands, see? And this La Befana understands. They tell me the big star in the sky is to tell of a great king who had been born in the Bethlehem. And they have been following his star. La Befana, she has seen the star. It is why the sky is so bright these past few nights, huh? To tell you the truth, it was beginning to irritate me a little bit. It was keeping me awake at night. But I am so caught up in the story of finding the baby king that the strangers ask me to come along. For a moment, I am filled with such a longing to follow the star. And then I think, whoa! You pazzo! Befana, you crazy, huh? Stars and camels and strange men in the middle of the night? It is not such a good idea. So I say to the strangers, no, I am sorry. La Befana, she cannot come with you. And so the strangers go to the Bethlehem without me. But I stand outside in the night while I look at the star. And I wonder. A few days later, a little shepherd comes running into my village. He says to me, hey, La Befana! How come you don't go to the Bethlehem? Everybody talking about the baby king that was born. Born in a lowly stable. But everybody saying, he is the son of God. Just then, the sky opens up. Such a beautiful light. La Befana cannot even look at it. It is as if the star of the baby king have just burst into glory. And the sound of the angels singing. So many, many angels singing. It is like nothing I have ever heard before. And then I know. I must go to the Bethlehem. Oh, I am so excited. I run inside to find a gift for the special bambino. I had seen the gifts of the kings. They were very fine. I do not want to go empty handed. So I look and I search. But all I can find is a little doll made from a scrap of wool. But it is better than nothing, I think. La, la, la. I am so excited. I will go to the Bethlehem. I will find the baby king. And I run outside to follow the star. It is gone. The beautiful star, she is gone. La Befana had waited too long. And now I cannot find the Christ child. So, for two thousand years, I am looking. I am searching for the Jesus bambino. The Christ child. And on the eve of the epiphany, that day when the wise men arrive in the Bethlehem, I climb down the chimney and I look into the faces of the bambini and I say, what if it is you? What if you are the Christ child? And you know, when they are sleeping, you think it could be so. And just in case I have looked into the face of the Jesus bambino himself, I leave a gift for every child. In Italy, Christmas is a time of great celebration. It is the time to gather the family together. The grandmothers, the grandfathers, the aunts and the uncles, and all of the cousins. And we cook. Oh, yes. And we eat. We laugh. We tell stories around the table. All the bambini, they play with the gifts and the goodies that I bring. And we sing and we dance. It is molto bella. You know what I am saying. So, I leave you now with my version of what we say in Italy. We say, Pasqua con che voi, Natale con i tuoi. And this means, Easter, you celebrate with whomever you like. But Christmas, Christmas always with your own. So, I say to you all, Buon Natale. Buon Natale, Merry Christmas, and Furibare. Grazie. One, two, three, six, seven, eight. From everywhere fill in the air, Oh, how great is the sound, Of an entirely different kind, While we sing and sing, And we join in a cheer, Christmas is here, In the middle of the night, We all rejoice, In the middle of the night, We all rejoice, In the middle of the night, Don't let me go. Snowbound land, snowbound peaks, snowbound plateaus, clad in white. Little Jesu, little mother, could see Joseph come this night. The wind, the wind, the snow, the haze, the fog, the fog, the fog, the sleigh bells ringing, gaily singing, merrily, merrily, merrily o'er. Cold and blazing white as snow, so cold and crisp and black, the shotgun's blowing, we are going onward through the night. Hey-ah-oh-la, hey-ah-oh-la, like a flying oar, the snow, the haze, the fog, the fog, the fog, the sleigh bells ringing, gaily singing, merrily, merrily o'er. Cold and blazing white as snow, so cold and crisp and black, the shotgun's blowing, we are going onward through the night. Hey-ah-oh-la, hey-ah-oh-la, like a flying oar, the snow, the haze, the fog, the fog, the fog, the sleigh bells ringing, gaily singing, merrily, merrily, merrily o'er. Cold and blazing white as snow, so cold and crisp and black, the shoutgun's blowing, we are going onward through the night. Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. That's how we say Happy New Year in Japan. Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu. My name is Shizue. Yes, the old year is almost gone, and it's time to welcome the new year. So even though it's a bit early, I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Happy New Year! Now, let's read together in Japanese. Repeat after me. Akebashite. Akebashite. Omedetou. Omedetou. Gozaimasu. Gozaimasu. Yes, very good, very good. Welcome to the Japan Pavilion and our celebration of Oshogatsu. Can you say Oshogatsu? Oshogatsu. That's right, Oshogatsu. Oshogatsu is a traditional Japanese new year which lasts from January 1st through January 7th. And today, I appear before you as a humble street vendor. But what I sell is a very important part of Oshogatsu. And here it is. It's called a Daruma doll. He's rather handsome, don't you think? Daruma is like a good luck charm. As you can see, Daruma has no pupils in his eyes. The custom among Japanese is to make a wish and paint in the left eye. Then when your wish comes true, you must paint in the other eye. But what if your wish doesn't come true by the end of the year? Well, you can always try again next year because I have lots of Darumas to sell. Mini Daruma, Big Daruma, lots of Darumas available. Darumas for sale, Darumas for sale. Come, come, gather around. Darumas for sale. Now, the legend of the Daruma dates back to the 6th century. A Buddhist monk named Zorubo Aishi began a lifelong journey to spread the teachings of Buddha. His journey was difficult. It often times, the road that he traveled was plagued with rubbers. Daruma said, My disciples, I believe that if the body is in poor health, then the spirit will also be weak. So, let's develop a system of exercise to keep the body and mind healthy, as well as a means to deal with rubbers who often break your bones. So, this unique style of exercise and defense later went to Japan and became known as Karate. Years later, Daruma went to the temple at the top of the Great Mountain, where he meditated for 9 years. Imagine, remaining motionless for 9 years. Many of us cannot stay still for 9 minutes, right? The legend goes on to say that Daruma lost the use of his limbs after remaining motionless for a solo. And this is why the Daruma is without arms and legs. Daruma is a symbolic reminder for people of Japan of patience and persistence through the ups and downs of life. As we say, which means literally. Knocked down 7 times and get up 8. They always come back to their upright position, no matter how hard it is in October. It's like a child is about to die. Now, New Year's or Oshogatsu is a time for rejuvenation, asking for blessings, and celebrating the coming of spring. In olden times, each person became a year older on New Year's Day rather than on their birthday. And we Japanese literally sweep the old year away with very thorough house cleaning and freshening up of interiors before we can welcome the new year. In a special Nengajo, where New Year greeting cards are dropped at the post office weeks in advance where they are kept until being delivered to each household in entire country all at once on New Year's Day. Another thing always done in advance is the preparation of tasty Osechi Ryori. This is to be served cold over the first days of the new year, giving women of the household a rare break from cooking. Nearly everyone should be free from stress, work or study, allowing time to be with family, carry out centuries-old rituals and traditions together. So the new year always has been, and still is today, the most important holiday in Japan. Now, let's imagine for a moment that you are Japanese on New Year's Eve. So on New Year's Eve, which is December 31st, you would stay up late and eat. Do you know what we eat on New Year's Eve in Japan? We eat soba noodles, which is available right over there, by the way. We eat soba noodles on New Year's Eve, hoping that we can live long and healthy lives. Long and healthy soba noodles. And then you would hear the huge bronze bells called Joya no Kane. It sounds GONG around midnight. GONG at Buddhist temples. Can anybody guess how many times the bell rings on New Year's Eve in Japan? Yes? 12. 12 times? Yes. Any other numbers? Actually, it's more than 12 times. What do you think? 34. 100. Oh, 100. Good guess. How about 100 plus 8 equals everybody? 180. You're genius. That's right. 108 times. 108 times bell ringing signifies the conquering of 108 Bonno, which means earthly desires. So, with the Bonno defeated by the bell ringing, we Japanese believe that we can start the New Year with a clean slate. Then the next day, which is January 1st, you rise early on Ganjitsu, the first day of the New Year. You put on new clothes from head to toe and try to go see the first sunrise of the year called Hatsuhinode. Before breakfast, you drink Otoso, a sweet spiced wine to awaken the Shinto spirit within you and prevent sickness within the mile of your home. Then you run to the mailbox to check for the beautiful Nengajo, our New Year greeting cards from Belgian friends. And later in the day, the callers might come in for the meal of Osechi Ryouri and maybe more Otoso. Then you go to Shinto shrine to pray for the blessing of the New Year. So, everyone in Japan gets into the spirit of Oshogatsu, enjoying the symbolism and beautiful customs of the New Year. Oshogatsu is a time for reflection, for family and friends, and of course what? It's a holiday much like Christmas. It is full of goodwill, friendship, and renewal of hope and happiness. Welcome to the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays! It's a beautiful time, family. You know what happens? In Morocco, throughout the mountains and deserts, celebrations represent all the different cultures of the Moroccan people. We want to celebrate with you guys because celebration is the spice of life, isn't it? So, we want you guys to be part of the show. Please, come on in. We're celebrating everybody's birthdays. Come on in, come on in, come on in. It goes like this. We want you guys to have a great time. And it goes like this. It goes like this. Please, come on in. Come on in now. Everybody, clap your hands. Everybody. Next one. You're the show. Right. Clap your hands. Ha'ova. Nagila. Ha'ova. Nagila. Ha'ova. Nagila ben Yismecha. Ha'ova. Nagila. Ha'ova. Nagila. Ha'ova. Nagila ben Yismecha. Shalom, everyone. Shalom. Thank you. My name is Zachary, and I am so excited to be here celebrating Hanukkah with all of you here at the Epcot International Festival of the Holidays. Thank you. I've just come home to Orlando after a few years of studying abroad and meeting people from all over the world. In my travels, I learned that people in different places and cultures celebrate Hanukkah in their own way. And now I get to share what I've learned with all of you. You know, a lot of people think that Hanukkah is a very serious and sober holy holiday, but that is not completely true. In fact, Hanukkah is the only Jewish holiday that is not specifically mentioned in the Torah, our holy book. Hanukkah is a joyful holiday celebrating a victory and a miracle. It all began in 166 BCE when a small band of Jews known as the Maccabees defeated the large and powerful Assyrian army, driving them from Jerusalem and reclaiming their holy temple. After the battle, the Maccabees rededicated the temple and relit the eternal candle, a candle that is required to burn in synagogues at all times. They only found enough oil to light the candle for one day. Yet by a miracle, the candle burned bright for eight days, long enough for a messenger to return with more oil. This is why we now celebrate eight days of Hanukkah. Now, during the eight days and nights of Hanukkah, families gather together, much like we are right now. We eat, we sing songs, we eat, we exchange presents, and did I mention something? We eat, because we do. Specifically, we eat potato latkes and jelly donuts, foods that are cooked in oil to help us remember the miracle of the oil that burned for the Maccabees so long ago. We also have a few other traditions, such as lighting the Hanukkiah, a nine-branched menorah like the one you can see behind me now. At sunset on the first night of Hanukkah, we actually light two candles. The center candle, which is called the shamash, and the candle furthest to the right. The shamash is the servant candle. It serves as a reminder for each of us to be a light, shining into a dark world. Now at sunset on the second night of Hanukkah, we light the shamash and the first two candles and so on and so forth until the eighth night, when all of the candles are lit and burning bright. Light the first and second too, when tomorrow's day is through. Then light three and then light four. Every dusk, light one candle more. Till all eight burn bright and high, honoring a day gone by. Now in my family, like so many other families around the world, our tradition has always been to exchange gifts immediately after lighting the candles. My parents would always give us kids the biggest presents on the first and the last nights. The nights in between were for, you could say, smaller presents. School supplies, clothes, and yes, I know what some of you are thinking. We did get the extra fancy pair of socks. Hey, check out these bad boys I got last year. Yeah? Might be the best pair of socks in the entire world, but do not worry. If socks are not your style, although I question your judgment, if these socks are not your style, we also got some of the Hanukkah staples. Chocolate coins called gelt. Oh, and of course, dreidels. Now a dreidel, for those of you who don't know, is a four-sided spinning top. On each side is a Hebrew letter. Nun, gimel, hey, and shin. My sisters and brothers and I would each put some of our Hanukkah gelts into a pot, and then, one at a time, we'd spin the dreidel. Now if the dreidel landed on nun, we got nun. If it landed on shin, it was actually even worse. We had to add another of our chocolate coins to the pot. But if it landed on hey, we got half the chocolate coins in the pot, and if one of us was lucky enough for it to land on gimel, we'd get all the chocolate in the world! Yeah! No, we did not get all the chocolate in the world. That would be way too much chocolate, right? Yeah, well, we would get all the chocolate in the pot, though, which is still way too much chocolate. In France, if a shire writes a letter to me, Père Noël, and puts a return address on the envelope, the French government pays the postage on my reply. Not bad, eh? I get so many letters. I would like to share with you one of my favorites. It came to me from a lovely little girl named Babette, who lives with her old uncle Louis, and her brother François on a farm near Le Bon, in the mountains of Provence. A letter, it will give you a bit of the flavor of the holiday season in France. Écoutez, Guyson, Dear Père Noël, Even so, my brother François says Christmas is for babies. I look forward to L'Avier du Petit Jésus, and a visit from you. Of course she does. The Watch Night, ah, the Watch Night, Christmas Eve, eh? The Watch Night? The Watch Night is a magical evening when my family and I sit in front of the fire, sipping hot cider, and Uncle Louis tells the story of the birth of the baby Jésus. She goes on to say that her brother François teases her about the François. He does not believe in Christmas. He does not believe in Père Noël. But for me, nothing surpasses the magic of the Watch Night, and the fragile beauty of a child's face on Christmas morning. Alors, with Christmas still several days away, Uncle Louis secretly decorated the tree, and François Babette set up the crèche. Do you know this word, crèche? The nativity scene, one of the most important symbols of Christmas to the French, even though it was invented by an Italian. Saint Francis of Assisi, he's okay, too. Now, you know the figures that go into the crèche, yes? Marie-Joseph, the wise man, the little drummer boy, eh? Wherever they come from in Provence, the statues one makes for the nativity also include people from your village. The baker, the priest, little figures made out of clay, called santons. That means little saints. And Babette's wish for Christmas last year was that she would get yet another santon to put into the nativity scene, as if it, too, was going to worship the baby Jésus. It's a nice custom, eh? Last year, Babette was finally old enough to go to midnight mass with Uncle Louis, also very beautiful, as Uncle Louis carried a newborn lamb to the priest to symbolize the Lamb of God and then put it into a little cart for Babette to pull around the church for everyone to see, with shepherds playing flutes and drums. Then, after mid-mass, they go home for Le Réveillon, a big supper! Who likes to eat at Christmas time, eh? Who likes to eat on the time, eh? The French are not equal! Last year, for Le Réveillon, Babette, she had roast goose, pâté, Oh! It sounds very fancy, no? It means cheese! Desserts! They had bouche de Noël, a cake shaped like a yule log. You know François likes that one hundred feet! Then, Babette puts a little santon of the baby Jésus into the crèche. And finally, the last she does before she goes to bed is to set out her shoes for me to fill with treats and goodies! I am Father Christmas and I welcome you to the United Kingdom! We are gathered here to toe the devil's nail one stroke for each year since the birth of Christ. Now, where was I? Got to fifty-one before the song. I rang it a few times, didn't I? Sixty-five! Sixty-six! Sixty-seven! Madam, what year is it? Two thousand nineteen! Oh my! That minus sixty-seven! I need to ring this one thousand nine hundred and fifty-two more times! Let's get to it! Sixty-eight! Sixty-nine! Seventy! Seventy-one! Seventy-two! We'll get back to that later. There we go. Oh, now. At any rate, I am Father Christmas and I've been around for many years bringing holiday joy to good children throughout the land. I've received letters from many of you this year. You, sir, you're expecting quite a lot for Christmas. Ever the optimist, this fellow. Yes, very nice. Well, where was I? Oh, the carol I was singing. Like many of today's Christmas traditions, originated in the United Kingdom. In fact, it is not uncommon to find groups of carolers much like yourselves standing on a street corner much like this one singing songs of the season. That gives me an idea. Hello, my young friend. What is your name? Emily. Hello, Emily. Where are you from? From the U.S.A. She's keeping it vague in case I decide I want to visit. Do you know what part of the U.S.A. you're from, Emily? Florida. That's why she's embarrassed. Yes, it's all right, dear. Now, have you been good and kind this year? I know you have. I know about these things. Emily, would you be kind enough to help me out? Yeah. Please come join me. Now, Emily, I want you to hold these jingle bells. When I point and say, jingle bells, you ring those bells. Let's practice. Jingle bells. Nicely done. Emily knows exactly what she's doing. There's nothing for me. Jingle bells. Thought I'd catch her off guard there, but she was ready. Jingle bells. She's good. No fooling her. All right, will you join Emily and me in singing that traditional Welsh Christmas carol? Yes. Which one are we going to sing? Jingle bells. No, Deck the Halls. I said traditional Welsh Christmas carol. Jingle bells does not come from England. I think it comes from New Jersey or someplace like that. We're doing Deck the Halls. I'll point on the falas and you shake away, all right? Here we go, everyone. One, two, here's your cue. Deck the halls with boughs of holly. Fa la la la la, la la la la. Tis the season to be jolly. Fa la la la la, la la la la. Don we now our gay apparel. Fa la la la la, la la la la. Troll the ancient yuletide carol. Fa la la la la, la la la la. That's the holiday spirit. Give yourselves a hand. How about a hand for Emily, bell ringer extraordinaire. You're welcome. Dear, hold on. I have something special for you. I do. I have a reindeer bell. Oh. This is a magical Christmas bell. Emily, on Christmas morning, you ring this until you wake everyone in the house. They love that. Only on Christmas morning, sweetheart. You don't want to end up on that other list. One more round for Emily. Nicely done. Hello, everyone. Welcome to Canada. Welcome, everyone, to the Epcot International Festival of Ages. Happy holidays, everyone.