Is Mickey's Christmas a Ho, Ho, Ho or Holy Event?

[Lorelai]

Just curious about Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party -

Is it themed towards Santa Claus, or the birth of Jesus or is it mostly the characters in Christmas attire with snow & lights etc?

Also, do they carroll at all? And if so, are they songs about the birth of Jesus or mostly about Santa? We've never been, and I am really curious about how it is themed. Thanks!

 

[CarolA]

It's a Ho Ho Ho EVENT!
I don't recall carolling except some at Liberty Square. THey do tradational carols but it's' not a sing a long event.

 

[ducklite]

It's more general holiday/winter theming than anything. Very secular. There is a tree and a menorah, but in general it's more about candy canes and snow flakes. I don't recall any display of traditional Christian Christmas--manger, wisemen, Baby Jesus, anything like that.

It's very festive and fun, like I said, a generic festive type celebration.

Anne

 

[liamandcaili]

It's definitely not a holy event. It is fun. It is magical. At times it is moving...all three adults in my party had tears in their eyes during Holiday Wishes. But I would not say it is religious. If you want the religious aspect, head over to Epcot for the CP.

 

[DrTomorrow]

Not sure about MVMCP, but we were at WDW a year ago and saw three separate performances of the a capella carolers inside the American Adventure at EPCOT - they are great. One set was pretty "holy": "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlement", "Joy to the World", etc. One was secular: "Santa Clause is coming to Town", "Rudolph", etc. What was neat is that they did a Jewish set; didn't know any of the songs (duh) but they explained the meaning behind each one. Very talented folks, very enjoyable moments.

 

[Deb & Bill]

The Candlelight Processional in Epcot is the opposite of MVMCP. It's very religious in nature with hymns and readings from the Gospels.

 

[cleo]

It's MICKEY'S Very Merry Christmas Party. The name of the host probably tells you most of what you need to know about secular vs holy.

 

[HugsForEeyore]

Defintely secular, not overbearing of the Christian story at all. The Candlelight Processional at Epcot is where to hear the story of Jesus. Though I did witness something very "non-Christian" at MVMCP -- In the performace of "The Night Before Christmas" in Tomorrowland, they show Mickey and Minnie IN BED together!!! They never married, did they???????

(OK OK! Just kidding! I believe they were suppose to be young children in that show!) For some reason, my family thought it was a odd sight!

 

[Lorelai]

Cleo -
The very fact that the word CHRISTmas is used, actually does imply something. Unless one believes that Christmas truly originated from a fat guy in a red suit driving a sleigh. Maybe a more generic "Mickey's Very Happy Holiday Party" would allay any questions. By the way, I wasn't making a judgement here nor there - just looking for some info.
Lorelai

 

[UrsulasShadow]

Cleo -
The very fact that the word CHRISTmas is used, actually does imply something. Unless one believes that Christmas truly originated from a fat guy in a red suit driving a sleigh. Maybe a more generic "Mickey's Very Happy Holiday Party" would allay any questions. By the way, I wasn't making a judgement here nor there - just looking for some info.
Lorelai

Actually, that may imply a HOLYday party, if you want to get into it. But I don't, just pointing out that you can't win on PC points on the holiday thing.

 

[Madi100]

I thought Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party was very secular. It was very nice, though, and I thought it focused on family and togetherness and the spirit of Christmas, which I think is what Christmas is to a lot of people. While we are Christians and celebrate Christmas for that reason too, the spirit of Christmas and the good feelings are also a very big part of Christmas for us. A very beautiful scene at the Osborne Lights at MGM was the Peace On Earth lights. Off to the side they have a nativity. It was all very beautiful, and I would hate to have to see it change to be PC.

 

[Lorelai]

Actually, that may imply a HOLYday party, if you want to get into it. But I don't, just pointing out that you can't win on PC points on the holiday thing.

Hey UrsulasShadow -

Yeah, in the spirit of Christmas - let's not get into it.

Maybe Mickey's Party in December??

By the way - I think the Epcot party in the World Showcase sounds like a good fit. I'm glad that they sing some carols related to the birth of Christ - it's Christmas. I also like that they include traditonal Chanukah songs.

 

[fwm]

Virtually all of the park decorations and theming for MVMCP are associated with Christmas. There is no reason to call it anything but a Christmas party.

 

[cleo]

Lorelai, I didn't mean to sound flippant. My apologies if I did.

I think we can probably agree that CHRISTmas, HOLYday, etc have a much less Christ-centered meaning in todays culture, and are used as general terms rather than Christian terms, regardless of their original intent.

Mickey just isn't likely to be doing a whole lot of baby Jesus stuff, that's all. It's more like Mickey is throwing a party, not offering mass, hence the name Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

 

[Simba's Mom]

The Candlelight Processional in Epcot is the opposite of MVMCP. It's very religious in nature with hymns and readings from the Gospels.

I agree, and although I love it, I'm worried about the PC crowds getting ahold of it and forcing Disney to change it. I don't know if PC is the correct word, but you know who I mean-the people who don't want any reference to "Merry CHRISTMAS." Is anyone else concerned about that happening?

 

[Sunkissed]

We're an interfaith couple and find that celebrating at WDW creates a wonderful balance of our two backgrounds. It is a tradition that we plan on continuing when our children decide to make their debut.

As a non-Christian, I'm not a huge fan of CP, but I do enjoy the music and spectacle. It, as well as MVMCP, has become a tradition.

 

[Madi100]

I agree, and although I love it, I'm worried about the PC crowds getting ahold of it and forcing Disney to change it. I don't know if PC is the correct word, but you know who I mean-the people who don't want any reference to "Merry CHRISTMAS." Is anyone else concerned about that happening?

I certainly hope not. While we were walking around Epcot and listening to the different Santa figures talk about tradition in their country I did wonder at one point if any of their beliefs would offend mine. I thought that especially in Morocco. But I decided that I think that it's fascinating for my children to listen to and to learn what other people believe and how they celebrate. It's very educational for them to see in a very non threatening way how other people practice tradition. Disney has done a beautiful job. It's shown in their Christmas lights at MGM. They have even got an area in DTD that shows some of the different ways of celebrating. This is in a display case by World of Disney. I hope they are never forced to change. Next it would have to change to Mickey's Not So Scary Fall Festival.

 

[Talking Hands]

definitely HO HO HO
For Jesus you need to go to Candlelight Processional at EPCOT

 

[Lorelai]

Hi Cleo -

I see what you are saying. I really just wanted a little description, because we always go in April (2 weeks post-Easter).

I wouldn't be offended if there was no true meaning of Christmas involved - I know it's Disney. But by putting the word Christmas in the name of the party, I was hopeful for a little Faith. I also think they should include a little Festival of Lights too, and the traditional Santa theming for kids who are non- Christian/Jewish. But as a Catholic, I like some "true meaning" where Christmas is involved. No harm - it's all very merry Mickey love here on the DIS boards. Thanks for the reply.

 

[Madi100]

Hi Cleo -

I see what you are saying. I really just wanted a little description, because we always go in April (2 weeks post-Easter).

I wouldn't be offended if there was no true meaning of Christmas involved - I know it's Disney. But by putting the word Christmas in the name of the party, I was hopeful for a little Faith. I also think they should include a little Festival of Lights too, and the traditional Santa theming for kids who are non- Christian/Jewish. But as a Catholic, I like some "true meaning" where Christmas is involved. No harm - it's all very merry Mickey love here on the DIS boards. Thanks for the reply.

They do have Christian things at Disney World. at the Osbourne lights they have an area with a large nativity. There are angels and something else in the sky that made me think that all that was missing was the nativity. I was pleasantly surprised to see it at the end of the street.