The “War on Christmas” may be real, but the “happiest place on Earth” is apparently not in on it. It sounds like a relic of the past, a tradition that has somehow survived the onslaught of political correctness; whatever the reason for its mainstay, once a year Disneyland actually holds a Candlelight Ceremony where choirs sing classic Christmas carols and — this truly is shocking — someone reads the Nativity story from Luke’s gospel.
Even more shocking, this past Saturday’s ceremony featured none other than “Thor” actor Chris Hemsworth in the role of lector for said gospel.
According to SGV Tribune, “the annual ceremony tells the story of the first Christmas in song and story, and has been a part of the holiday season at Disneyland since the earliest days of the theme park in the 1950s.”
Accompanied by a live, 50-piece orchestra, nearly 600 voices sang to the tune of such classic Christmas carols as “Silent Night.” The on-hand talent came from visiting schools and churches as well as an all-volunteer Disneyland Cast Choir and the Walt Disney Studios Cast Choir.
“The ceremony started with the choir, holding battery-powered candles, hence the name, walking down Main Street U.S.A. while singing Christmas carols,” reports the outlet. “When they reached Town Square, they climbed the steps in front of the Main Street train station for the Disneyland Railroad and up onto a variety of risers, including a section where they formed a ‘Living Christmas Tree.'”
When the voices quieted down, Chris Hemsworth took the stage to narrate from Luke’s gospel. Regular visitors were invited to stand around Town Square while guests from local charities were given special seats.
The tradition, which has miraculously survived this long, features just two performances on both Saturday and Sunday night in the first weekend of December.
Past narrators include Darth Vader’s alter-ego James Earl Jones, Dick Van Dyke and Ginnifer Goodwin, whose vocal talents could be heard in “Zootopia.”
Good on Disney for avoiding the “Top 10 ‘War On Christmas’ Fails Of All Time.”
