Sigh… If you want to know how far our society has fallen, watch a 70s era Christmas special
Celebrations of Christ on now godless networks?
The list is long: Andy Williams, Perry Como, Johnny Cash, Julie Andrews… Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, John Denver, the WALTONS… On YouTube, it’s there, time redeemed, Christmas as once we knew it, divine and wholesome.
It shocks the senses to see it again. You stare, watching, as in a time-warp, pining to return, to REBOOT, yet grateful (to God) that the era existed. Celebs admirable and dignified - shockingly moral! - reflect a culture unencumbered by politics, a country united in matters of soul. Sure, they had issues - they were human - but God, a remedy for sin, is their guide, and the specials, joyously, unapologetically, feature love.
Focus on Jesus? Yes, to view it on ABC, a network hostile to Christians, a place, Disney-owned, that champions evil, sexualizes programming - especially youth programming - beggars reason. Compared to now - Christian carols banned, no Christ in “Christmas” - it forces inquiry—What went wrong? How did we get here? Well, they call it The Long March for a reason. Relentless co-opting of institutions - entertainment, education, and journalism - bore fruit, and, though it’s rotten, the orchards, the fields and platforms, are theirs.
And they’re wide—they stretch. The march is uniform. This month, on NBC, “Christmas At Graceland,” an hour long special, featured NO carol, zero mention of Christ, and almost, given Elvis’s roots, heresy. Every song, sung by Music Row rakes, had nothing to do with Christmas—the point, of course, but one Elvis would loath.
The gall of these creeps, the rot! Elvis’s Christmas Album, the number one selling holiday record of all time, featured “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “Silent Night,” “There’ll Be Peace in the Valley,” “I Believe,” “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” and “It Is No Secret (What God Can Do).”
That was 1957… In 2023, self-worshippers silenced God, cancelled Jesus, and held Christmas without Him.
Which brings me to Julie Andrews. (Yes, I know… Sigh.) Recently, I caught her 1972 Christmas special and was floored by both the ABC affiliation and the fact that, possibly, it was produced by King David. Good Lord!
From a set in the English countryside, they opened with “We Need a Little Christmas,” followed by “O’ Come All Ye Faithful,” “Christmas Bells Are Ringing,” and “I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day,” the latter based on a Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem:
I heard the bells on Christmas Day, their old, familiar carols play,
and mild and sweet, the words repeat, of peace on Earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come, the belfries of all Christendom
had rolled along the unbroken song, of peace on Earth, good-will to men!
ABC? It was hard to grasp, but it got better, more devout, when Cass Elliot, of the Mamas and Papas, emerged in a hoop dress, sang “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear,” and was followed by Andrews singing it TWICE. Next, joined by Dickensian extras, they launched “God Bless Ye Merry Gentleman” (God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay… Remember, Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day…), “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” and “Christmas Bells Are Ringing.”
And her guest star/co-host? Jimmy Stewart. She, in the first half, was to show him an English Christmas, Olde School, and in the second half, Jimmy, from small-town America, would host her. This, as carolers passed, they explained, then, dusted by “snow,” he sang “Away In the Manger” and she “The Rocking Carol” (Jesus, Jesus, little one, little one, Gift of heaven, Mary’s son… We will rock you, rock you, rock you…).
Ooh, boy… ‘Twas a dream. ‘Twas, for an hour, an alternative universe injected with values, good cheer, and reverence. Here They Came A-Wassailing (Love and joy come to you, and to you your wassail too… And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year… And God bless you and send you a Happy New Year…), before Decking The Halls (fa-la-la-la-la), and, arm in arm, going to feast.
Yes, feast!
Jimmy, the guest of honor, was introduced, families gathered to host—and host they did! “We Wish You a Merry Christmas,” they roared, then “Consider Yourself Part of the Family,” as Stewart guffawed and, well, Jimmy Stewarted.
Finally, though (Tupperware commercial 3… 2… 1), they settled in, gathered, and Jimmy, in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington timbre, prayed, giving thanks for friends, blessed bounty, and JESUS… Yes, on ABC, they prayed to Him, Christ, spoke His name, pronouncing it, unaware that, in a world unrecognizable, it would, to our shame, become a mark of the past.
That’s where we were—and not where we are. Like seeing a sun no longer present, a sea drained, it sparked emotions: gratitude and nostalgia, lament and worry. The small-town segment, flowing with joie de vivre - Zest! Cheer! Ebullience! - painted America as devout. “Jingle Bells,” “It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” (Chestnuts roasting over an open fire)… What gaiety! Show-biz, sure, but the smiles weren’t fake. Stars, having a hoot, made merry, and, of course, more bread—a second feast, another prayer… Then, break to commercial, they covered bills, and upon return, we see Julie alone. Julie before glass, sanctuary style, angels flanking the Child and Mary.
What a sight—literally, a Christian set… A CATHEDRAL!!
And cathedral songs. Julie, solo , sings “The Wexford Carol” (Good people all, this Christmas time, consider well and bear in mind… What good God for us has done, in sending His belovèd Son… With Mary holy we should pray to God with love this Christmas Day… In Bethlehem upon the morn, there was a blessed Messiah born…), adds “The First Noel,” and concludes, gracefully, with “O’ Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Silent Night.”
Whew… I fell silent. Fifty years had passed, and with each trip around the sun, each turn of the calendar, joy had faded. The contrast, plain to see, was amazing.
But there was (is) no grace. Only a warning, a wake-up, to Christians that we, lights in the darkness, must shine, mirror the Light of Christ in the world. Dimly we cycle, but do not despair… Instead, take heart, go tell it on the mountain—and, in procession, joyfully PRAY. 🙏
Merry CHRISTMAS!!
~ Greg Halvorson
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