Disneyland Candlelight

When one mentions Disneyland, it conjures up many things for many people. Some see it as the ultimate family fun center, while others see it as the ultimate example of runaway consumerism. But many if not most people, when asked to speak about Disneyland, do not mention the story of the birth of Jesus Christ.

I've never been like many if not most people.

Last night, I attended the First Church of Disneyland to worship Jesus Christ. So did hundreds of other people. Decades ago, the folks at Disney created a show of sorts, its intended audience to be the major stockholders and other powerful people within the company. Every December, on Main Street's Town Square, a volunteer choir of hundreds joins forces with an army of talented musicians. Nobody wears mouse ears, and there is no hint of Santa. Make no mistake, this show is a tribute to one man: Jesus Christ. Since the event was for company big-wigs, it was never advertised, but word of mouth among the locals spread. Before long, Southern California residents, annual passholders, "cast members," and their families began making an annual pilgrimage to Disneyland to experience the Candlelight processional and ceremony. Traditionally, the event occurred over a single weekend each year, and one celebrity narrator would be chosen to read the story of the birth of Jesus. However, this year, the folks at Disneyland finally conceded that this event has grown beyond its originally intended audience. Disneyland's Candlelight expanded into a multiweek affair, now including several celebrities, each wanting to associate themselves with this event.

My family has attended Candlelight several times over the last 15 years. I've heard the choirs as they formed a human Christmas tree and sang out the good news, and I felt the chills as Disneyland's Fanfare Trumpeters stood atop the Main Street train station and ignited the air with music. Among the celebs who have told of the coming of Jesus Christ were Robert Urich, Edward James Olmos, Dick Van Dyke, and James Earl Jones (alas, I was out of state when one of my favorites, Julie Andrews, narrated). Last night, Van Dyke made a return appearance, the day before his 87th birthday, and I was there with my mother and a few friends. The 5:30pm ceremony was cancelled due to drizzle, but the 7:30pm show went on as scheduled, with only a momentary interuption towards the end. And a theme park best known as a place where 7-foot-tall mice roam the streets became a house of worship.

The ceremony begins as the individual choir members make their way down Main Street USA holding candles and singing Christmas carols (the non-Santa variety). They form up in front of the train station, where over 100 musicians perform with them. Then the narrator, in this case Mr. Van Dyke, joins them at a podium to read, mostly, passages from the Bible. Between each passage, a song is performed. It is a beautiful community moment, and since Disneyland attracts guests from around the world, it truly is a global community moment. Near the end, the narrator reads the words of "One Solitary Life" by James Allan:

He was born in an obscure village. The child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another obscure village, where he worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never went to college. He never visited a big city. He never travelled more than 200 miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things usually associated with greatness. He had no credentials but himself.

He was only thirty three. His friends ran away; one of them denied him. He was turned over to his enemies, and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing, the only property he had on earth. When he was dead, he was laid in a borrowed grave, through the pity of a friend. 

[More than 20] centuries have come and gone. And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race. And the leader of mankind's progress. All the armies that have ever marched, all the navies that have ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned -- put together -- have not affected the life of mankind on earth as powerfully as that one solitary life.

As the choir sings "Hallelujah," the show concludes, and the crowd goes in peace to serve the Lord. It is, in every way, a worship service, despite being held in capitalism's playground. And, by the by, they do the same thing in Florida, too (last year's narrator was Neil Patrick Harris).

A few years ago, I smuggled in some semi-decent audio gear and resultingly got some semi-decent recordings of Candlelight. As was the case this year, Dick Van Dyke served as narrator. As a Christmas gift of sorts, I'll post links to the individual tracks here. But Candlelight is a ceremony that truly must be experienced in person. Shows continue this year through the 20th. If you are able to attend, you will be amazed.

Amen, and Merry Christmas.

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1 Introduction
2 No Room In The Inn
3 I Bring You Good Tidings
4 Glory To God In The Highest
5 Let Us Go Now To Bethlehem
6 He Who Is Born King Of The Jews
7 They Presented Gifts To Him
8 We Pause To Remember The Child
9 Goodness And Light
10 One Solitary Life
11 For Unto Us A Child Is Born
12 Conclusion

Bonus Tracks

13 Fanfare
14 Introduction - trumpet version
15 One Solitary Life - Edward James Olmos
16 For Unto Us A Child Is Born - Edward James Olmos