Secularised Christmas

Clickbait article from the Daily Mail Australia about Carols by Candlelight, held in Melbourne, Australia, on Christmas Eve. This is lazily written. All the writer needs to do is collate some social media activity, with anonymous attribution for legal reasons, and the article writes itself.

As for the event itself, it was well done as a television production. Unlike in recent years, none of the performers forgot the stage etiquette of appearing in an ensemble setting, by upstaging other performers.

This is what did not sit well with me. Why did it take almost an hour of running time before an actual Christmas carol was sung? And why was not Jesus mentioned, even once? 

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-15411465/Nine-Carols-Candlelight-viewers-slam-Sammy-J.html

It's too cold to go out

This is what millions of Brits were doing on Christmas Day back in 1984, if they had some spare time after catching up with loved ones, going to church, partaking of a Christmas meal, and the like. The idea of a man wearing a dress being comedy fodder might be considered offensive to the venerable BBC these days. 

Christmas is not pagan

 A self identified atheist and sceptic gets it. Why don't some Christians, then? 

Pagan Christmas, Again. - History for Atheists

Now that's what I call music

This is way more catchy than any of the traditional, European Christmas songs. Why has it not caught on? Pondering this question has caused me many a sleepless night. 

 

Musical appreciation

I have vague memories of singing this in church services in the years spanning the late 1970s and early 1980s, probably with organ accompaniment. 

Catchy, isn't it?

It's the Australian Christmas earworm. 

Tis the season to be nitpicky

Some random thoughts about Carols by Candlelight, a Christmas Eve tradition in Melbourne, Australia, that dates from 1938. It was originally the brainchild of radio broadcaster, Norman Banks, who was walking home on Christmas Eve, 1937, and saw an elderly woman sitting in her window, holding a candle, and singing Christmas carols alone. What began as a community carols singalong has grown into a nationally televised event, with a viewing audience of millions. 

The performers donate their services in support of the event, which is an important fundraiser for Vision Australia, a charity that assists vision impaired children. One would have to be cold hearted to object to that. Its being on television definitely has a downside. It bears little resemblance to a community carols event that towns all over Australia hold near Christmas, usually organised by churches and other community groups. Some of these artists are musical theatre actors, and use the event to promote their upcoming stage productions. This means singing show tunes that have nothing to do with Christmas. Surely there is scope to cut these back slightly. 

At least one artist needs to be taken aside by the producers, and politely reminded that he is performing in an ensemble production, rein himself in slightly, and choose a more conservative wardrobe. It detracts from the occassion. A cursory search of some performing arts websites makes it clear that in ensemble productions, it is rude to upstage other artists, or to be perceived to be doing so. It's not all about you. 

Another problem is that the children's segment, usually scheduled early in the night so that parents can put the littlies to bed at a convenient time, was at least 10 minutes too long. It was also cringeworthy and pantomimical. Before the pandemic, Christmas pantomimes were a cherished tradition in the UK. They have never caught on in Australia.

The production needs a refresh. Get in a new musical director, and encourage the performers to sing different songs, with new arrangements. Two singers do the same song every year, without fail, and always with the same arrangement. For me, the event seemed flat and uninspiring, and definitely an anticlimax after a challenging year. 

Unpatriotic

Australian Christmas carols are naff, particularly Christmas Where the Gum Trees Grow. With lyrics and melodies of this calibre, it's easy to see why they have never caught on, and why Australians persist in singing northern hemisphere Christmas songs such as White Christmas and Frosty the Snowman at the height of summer. I have never experienced a white Christmas, because Christmas Day hailstorms don't count.

Get to the point

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull used to take thinly veiled swipes at his predecessor, Tony Abbott, for using snappy three word slogans, such as "stop the boats." Turnbull has been justifiably criticised for his waffling communication style. Changing it will help him engage people more effectively.

Christian evangelists don't have the luxury of waffling. They need to reach people as effectively as they can. Glen Scrivener gets it. He's presented the gospel in ninety seconds. During the Christmas season, churches often erect signs with this slogan: "Jesus is the reason for the season." This is a snappy seven word slogan, simple, profound, memorable, and thought provoking. Unlike Prime Minister Turnbull, it cuts through.

One sunken heart

Myer Christmas windows nativity display

Myer Melbourne's Christmas windows have been an annual ficture since 1955. This year's display was based on the children's book, Little Dog and the Christmas Wish, by Corrine Fenton. This book is set in Melbourne, and all of the window displays were based on various Melbourne locations. John Deeks, Channel 7's venerable voice over announcer, provided a recorded narration. As a parochial Melbournian, I liked all of those touches.

As a nod to the true meaning of Christmas, Myer always puts a nativity scene at the end of the display. Marshalls were required to provide crowd control so that people queued up and filed past the windows in an orderly manner.

My heart sank when I saw that the nativity display seemed to be the only window that didn't have a crowd around it. I wonder how many families skipped looking at that window altogether. Now that the singing of Christmas carols has been banned in government schools, it's going to become more difficult for kids to hear about the true meaning of Christmas.

A class act

Clodagh Rodgers is one of Northern Ireland's most beloved entertainers. In this 1973 television appearance, she performed a medley of Christmas songs. Back in her day, one needed actual talent to have a musical career. She never had to resort to shock tactics and flaunting her body.

The Hi-Fi Club

Compact discs were meant to replace vinyl records, but vinyl has made a comeback. Old vinyl records are highly collectable, and current artists are releasing their albums on vinyl. Some people may now be regretting throwing out their vinyl records collections. Other people have kept them, not because they knew they would become fashionable again, but simply because they have an aversion to throwing things out.

In Christmas 1981 Bert Newton teamed up with the Debney Park High School band to release the spoken word single, Bring Back the Spirit of Christmas. I distinctly remember my mother buying this single for herself and for a couple of friends and relatives. She still has it today. A few thousand people bought it, helping it to become a minor hit around Australia. 

I won't be deleting this from my iPod

Around this time of year, commercial radio playlists often feature Christmas songs, some of which have little to no relevance to the experience of a summer Christmas in Australia, such as White Christmas or Winter Wonderland, to name but two.

When a Child is Born, which was a big hit for Johnny Mathis in 1976, has global relevance, irrespective of which hemisphere you live in.

The spoken word portion of the song speaks of hope and yearning for the birth of a child who will end sadness, war, hate, misery and suffering, but this is "all a dream, an illusion now." This child has yet to be born.

I never realised this until my pastor mentioned it in a recent sermon. The birth of a child is usually a joyous event, but this song is actually quite sad. To paraphrase him, why is the world yearning for such a child, a Messianic figure that carries the hopes of the world for things to be better than they are? Jesus was born 2000 years ago. Far from being an illusion, in his time on earth, he did all of those very things, but most people failed to realise who he was.

Even during this Christmas season, when un-churched or secular people may be thinking about the true meaning of Christmas, how many really understand that only Jesus is the fulfillment of these hopes (Revelation 21:1-8)?

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/b/boney+m/when+a+child+is+born_20022479.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGMky4tVN7c

Warbling in the park

Beginning in 1938, Carols by Candlelight at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Christmas Eve remains one of Melbourne's most venerable Christmas traditions. Not so venerable is Sydney's Carols in the Domain, which started in 1982. My family likes to think that we know a little about music and singing, and as proud Melbournians, our unbiased opinion is that Melbourne's carols are superior to Sydney's. Both events started as traditional carol services, but have gradually become family Christmas concerts. You get to hear some great singers who generously give their time to support the event. Both events are great charity fundraisers.

On the downside, both events are affiliated with the rival Nine and Seven television networks, who often use the events to cross promote their network personalities, such as popular soapie stars. This means also enjoying or enduring their singing prowess, or lack thereof, as the case may be. For a couple of years a cable television company sponsored the childrens' segment, so this meant sitting through costumed cartoon characters performing a song and dance routine. My brother and I share a sarcastic sense of humour. Without wanting to come across as mean spirited for bagging out charity events, if we were home watching the Domain carols, we used to have fun nitpicking at off key singing, bad dancing, or failed attempts at witty banter between the presenters.

Grass-stained clothes

If you're not among those who are there in person, Christmas Eve in Melbourne usually means watching Carols by Candlelight on television. This has certainly become something of a tradition in my family. While I usually enjoy live music, I have mixed feelings about Carols by Candlelight. It's an important charity event for Vision Australia, and it's great that all of the performers generously give their time to support it. On the other hand, very few carols are sung, and this means that the night could be better described as more of a Christmas concert than a carols service. Whose idea was it to have two of the cast members from the musical Mamma Mia to perform an ABBA song? Why do Hi-5 perform the same song every year? There's a good reason why Aussie carols have never caught on; they're naff. Can the presenters cut back on their scripted 'witty' banter as well? It doesn't work. As far as I know, only some of the performers were Christians. For those who weren't, I pray that they think about the words of the songs they sung that night, and that through this, they might grasp something of the true meaning of Christmas.

Chortle

My cousin Brad sent me this joke SMS on Christmas Day. For some reason, I haven't deleted it from my mobile phone yet. I don't wish to make light of the tragedy of marital infidelity, but hope you appreciate the humour in this.