Christmas time at EPCOT is full of magic
and world traditions. Every year, EPCOT celebrates
Holidays Around the World with Storytellers from each of the World
Showcase Pavilions.
Throughout the day, Storytellers arrive in their native pavilion to tell
of a winter holiday tradition from their homeland. The stories are
varied and fascinating. It's a great opportunity to learn about how
Christmas and other holidays are celebrated outside the United States.
Feliz Navidad! We'll begin our tour in
Mexico. The history of the
Mexican Christmas tradition is told by Los Tres Reyes Magos, or Three
Wise Men. They tell of their journey, or Posada, to find the Christ
child and the gifts they brought to him. This tradition of giving gifts
in honor of his birth is continued throughout Mexico today on January
6th, Three Kings Day.
God Jul! We're now in
Norway, where Sigrid tells a story about a
mischievous Christmas Gnome named Julenissen, who appears to help tell
the story. Julenissen, who live in a family's barn, is the guardian of
that family's welfare. Children leave porridge for him in thanks for his
protection. On Second Christmas, December 26th, the children don
costumes and go door to door asking for goodies.
Gung Hay Fat Choy, and welcome to
China. The Storyteller in China is the
Monkey King, who is very funny and happy. He tells a story of
redemption and enlightenment, or how Monkey became King by defeating a
monster and stealing a magic stick from the Dragon King. He was punished
by Buddha for his pride, and eventually learned that the journey is
more important than the destination.
Fröhliche Weihnachten! In
Germany,
there are two different Storytellers who appear: Saint Nicholas or
Helga. Saint Nicholas tells of traditions such as the Tannenbaum, or
Christmas Tree, the first Christmas, while Helga tells of the history of
Advent Calendars and the Nutcracker, as well as how children celebrate
Christmas in Germany. At the end of her story, a 7' tall Nutcracker appears and stays to take photos with Helga and the children in the audience.
Buone Feste Natalizie!
Italy's Storyteller is La Befana, the Christmas
witch, who tells how she came to bring gifts to all the children on
January 5th, Epiphany. La Befana, who was once a simple woman who lived
alone, when she met the Three Wise Men on their journey to Bethlehem.
They asked her to join them and bring gifts to the Christ Child, but she
was to busy. Later, she decided to make the journey after all, but
didn't know where to look, so whenever she found a child, she gave them a
gift instead, often leaving them in their shoes to find the next
morning.
Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, and Happy Hanukkah! The
American Adventure celebrates three different American traditions: Christmas,
Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Children can meet both Santa and Mrs. Claus and
tell them their Christmas wishes. Then listen to the story of Hanukkah,
the Jewish festival of lights that celebrates the miracle of the lamp
that burned for 8 nights with only one night's oil. And the final
presentation tells about the history of Kwanzaa, the African-American
harvest celebration.
Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu and welcome to
Japan, where a Storyteller
tells about the O'Shogatsu, or New Years, customs and the legend of the
Daruma doll. The Daruma doll is sold without the eyes being painted in.
At the New Year, children make a wish and paint the left eye. If the
wish comes true before the end of the year, the other eye is painted.
Plum blossoms are used to decorate homes and to symbolize hope in the
New Year.
Eid Mubarak! In
Morocco, they celebrate Eid-al-fitr each winter by
wearing their best clothes, and with feasting, dancing, and music. The
Storyteller, Taarji, which means drummer, tells of the customs of
Ramadan and Ashura. These celebrations are religious in origin and are
celebrations of love and remembrance, with gifts to the poor playing an
important role. Children often receive gifts of clothing, toys, and even
drums at this time to celebrate the New Year.
Joyeux
Noel! In
France, Pere Noel, or Father Christmas, tells the story of a
letter he received from a little girl named Babette. He tells of
Christmas through her eyes and of many of the traditions she enjoyed.
One of these traditions is a great feast, called le revellion, that is
eaten after Midnight Mass. Another is the Buche de Noel, or Yule Log
cake.
Happy Christmas! In the
United Kingdom, Father Christmas arrives singing
and ringing a bell. He is very jolly and tells how many modern
traditions have their roots in the England. He encourages the audience
to sing Deck the Halls with him, a good Welsh carol and invites a child
to help him by ringing bells. He also tells of the Druids and their us
of mistletoe, which he has carries on the end of his staff and uses to
make a couple in the audience kiss.
Joyeux
Noel and Happy Christmas! We have now arrived in
Canada and reached the
end of our tour through the world's traditions. Nowell, a lumberjack
who bears a striking resemblance to Father Christmas, tells about
Christmas celebrations in different parts of Canada. As he tells his
story, he changes pieces of his clothing, until suddenly, he appears to
be Papa Noel.
The stories told by these Storytellers are wonderful to listen to, but
it can easily take an entire day, or even two to hear all of them. Each
story lasts approximately 9-12 minutes. The presentations occur several
times a day and a schedule of appearances can be found in the Times
Guide that you pick up with your map. I would recommend that you pick three to four stories from pavilions that aren't located right next to each other and stop to see them as you move through the World Showcase.
Many
of the Storytellers invite one or more children from the audience to
help them tell the story. Bean was chosen to help La Befana by
holding her broom. However, once she got up there, she decided to be shy
and forgot what to say, but La Befana was great at working around it
and putting her at ease.
