Watch "Frosty the Snowman" Online

Frosty The Snowman (Rankin Bass) by theperminator

Watch the Original "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" Online

Click on the graphic to go to the website:

"A Christmas Carol - Marley's Ghost" (George C. Scott, 1984)

"The Holly and The Ivy"- George Winston

Trans-Siberian Orchestra: Christmas Canon

I saw on TV recently that the famed Trans-Siberian Orchestra will be performing at Key Arena in Seattle on Nov. 21.  This called to mind what is probably their most famous piece:  "Christmas Canon," based on Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major." My mind returns to a certain moment, years ago, when this played on the radio at work, and a young woman sighed and said, dreamily, "this is the nicest song in the world."

She may have been right.

 

Welcome Christmas

"The Snowman"

Aliens mistake a snowman for an Earthling--

I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (1953)

Not only was ten-year-old Gayla Peevey unexpectedly vaulted to fame in 1953 after recording "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," but she actually got a hippo for Christmas that year. In a 2007 radio interview, Peevey related how "...a local [Oklahoma City] promoter picked up on the popularity of the song and Peevey's local roots, and launched a campaign to present her with an actual hippopotamus on Christmas. The campaign succeeded, and she was presented with an actual hippopotamus, which she donated to the Oklahoma City zoo. The hippopotamus lived for nearly 50 years." (source)

Here's Gayla, from way back in the day, on the Ed Sullivan Show--

"The Insects' Christmas" (1913)

"The Insect's Christmas" (Rozhdestvo obitateley lesa) was an early foray into stop-motion animation by the pioneering Russian filmmaker, Wladyslaw Starewicz. Starewicz began his experiments with animation a decade before Walt Disney, working virtually alone, filling the roles of writer, director, cameraman, designer, and animator.

Queen Elizabeth's first-televised Christmas message, 1957

I saw this morning that Queen Elizabeth's Christmas message will be airing on YouTube this year, as it did last year. This year marks the 50th Christmas that the Queen's greetings have been broadcast.

Let's jump back in time 50 years (five years before I was born) and have a look at the Queen's first televised Christmas message, from the land that gave us Victorian Santas and figgy pudding

Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, 1948

Directed by Max Fleischer who brought us Popeye, and the first animated incarnation of "Superman," among other delights--

Classic Christmas Cartoon: Little Audrey in "Santa's Surprise"

A Classic Disney Silly Symphony: "The Night Before Christmas" (1936)

Classic Christmas Cartoon: "Hector's Hectic Life"

Tom and Jerry: "The Night Before Christmas"

"Christmas Comes But Once a Year," 1936

A Max and Dave Fleischer cartoon, in which "Grampy" (a Betty Boop character) saves Christmas for a group of orphans.

Bing Crosby and Marjorie Reynolds Sing "White Christmas"

From Paramount Pictures 1942 hit, Holiday Inn. This marked the motion picture debut of the now immortal "White Christmas."

 

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Cheech and Chong: "Santa Claus and his Old Lady"

Jingle Bell ROCK: Aly & AJ

Here's a rather less "sedate" version of Jingle Bell rock than Brenda Lee, from teen pop duo Aly & AJ - who, incidentally, spent part of their childhood in Seattle--

"The Night Before Christmas" (1905)

The Night Before Christmas is a 1905 American silent short film directed by Edwin S. Porter for the Charles Edison. It is based on Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 poem, "T'was the Night Before Christmas" (originally "A Visit from Saint Nicholas") and was the first film production of the poem(1903).