Christmas

Transcript (Download)

Hello! Thank you! Welcome! Thank you for your welcome! Hello! Thank you! And for the organizations that held their own food drive, because all over town people were holding food drives and collecting food for the drive.

Very wonderful.

One was at American Hospital Association held their own food drive.

I'd like to thank Ms.

Margaret Bryant.

And the American Indian Center collected 20 boxes of food.

I'd like to thank Mr.

Hank the American Indian Center.

20 boxes, that's great.

And Armand Menetti's had a food drive.

Angel SNH was awesome.

This is the true nature of the...

Smile kindly on this special tree, as it combines your gift and our human handiwork.

May these lights bring joy to all who are young in heart, no matter how old or young they may be, in this season of light, in this time of Christmas.

May this tree, made up of many trees, be a symbol of unity in our city, a sign of what can be done when people work together to care for others and to bring joy into their lives.

Finally, may we always use our talents, abilities and energy in a way that enhances and enriches your work of creation.

We're gathered about this tree.

Thank you very much, Bob, and your families.

Archbishop Bernadine, so many elected officials, appointed officials.

I guess it's safe to say that Chicago's governmental family is here, my family is here, and I greet all of you with all of your families, which truly is the mark of the city of Chicago.

I'm not going to take up all...

There were a lot of crowds around, but it was beautiful.

And we sort of got the idea, wouldn't it be lovely if we lit the mall, the tree, Wacker Drive, Michigan Avenue, and everything at one time so that there was a spirit, as the Archbishop said, of lights in the city of Chicago.

And lights always send forth a beam, and I would hope that the beam this year, the spirit of Christmas, would be a beam of love.

This is one of the largest crowds we've ever had down here for the tree lighting, and I'm very grateful to all of you for coming and joining in this with us.

We also want you to know that we're going to have horse -drawn carriages throughout the holidays down the mall.

There'll be 14 available after we light the tree.

I want to say that this is the season of love, and from all of us to all of you, all kinds of love, happiness, hope, peace, and religion for this holiday season.

Thank you all for coming.

Kelly, if you're waiting for him, he's still over there.

We'll spend $800 million on Christmas cards, and we'll spend $200 million to mail them.

You say, well, if it isn't the cards, maybe Christmas is the spirit of giving.

Well, I'm afraid it isn't the spirit of giving anymore.

It's the spirit of indulgence.

Have you been to Toys R Us lately? $10 billion will be spent on 1 ,500 ,000 ,000 gifts.

Incidentally, that'll all be wrapped in $150 million worth of paper.

You say, well, maybe it's the tree, you know.

The tree didn't arrive until the 16th century, and the first person to have a lighted tree was Martin Luther.

You say, well, what about Christmas as Christian? None of it.

None of it's Christian.

None of it's biblical.

Not a bit of it's commanded by the Lord.

None of it is scriptural.

None of it is apostolic, and none of it was ever observed by the early church.

In fact, the Puritans, even in early America, called Christmas, Romish rags.

They deliberately worked on the 1st December 25th in order to show disdain for the pagan holiday.

And in 1644, and this is an interesting note, in 1644, English Puritans passed a law making Christmas Day a working day.

And it became illegal to cook plum pudding and mince pie.

You say, John, that's a little much.

Sure, it's a little much.

But what is Christmas? Strip off the date, the name, Santa Claus, the cards, the presents, the tree, and the food.

What do you got? Nothing.

And that's precisely what Christmas is.

It's absolutely nothing.

It isn't historical.

It isn't biblical.

It isn't Christian.

It isn't anything.

You say, well, John, what about the birth of Christ? That's something.

Sure, that's something.

Yeah, but that's not something to be celebrated once.

That's something to be celebrated every day.

Well, you say, if Christmas is nothing, then are we wrong to recognize it? Not necessarily, if we recognize that it is nothing.

Repeat the sounding joy.

Repeat the sounding joy.

Repeat, repeat the sounding joy.

The red -bellied, white -lipped tamarin would like to hear.

No, come on, let's go outside.

Well, we'll go outside, too.

I want to sing.

What should they sing? What do you want? Our God hears the cry of the poor.

Bergen, here for the parade.

There's nothing here.

That has been really the hallmark of the family.

And I think it's very fitting and very timely that as we are here in Heald Square, at this statue given to us by the Jewish community, practically on the shores of Fort Dearborn, we can all have great pride in this.

We can have great pride in the religious value, the governmental value, the family value, and certainly the tale of the lights burning without oil is one that every ethnic group loves and respects.

I've said many times, I am grateful to you as a Christian for having a Jerusalem that served as a receptacle of the faiths of all humanity.

And I think it's very fitting that even though it's cold, we be here today and have a little child like the menorah and let the lights burn like the eyes of a child with hope and love and caring for the future.

In conclusion, and being redundant, the city of the big shoulders has to be the city of the big heart.

Thank you very much.

The fourth words in this committee.

I never meant that a fourth word out of it.

Shouting for food.

And the Pepsi Cola Bottlers of Illinois.

I'd like to thank them very much for a very generous contribution.

Paul and the couple of us, director of government affairs, Pepsi Cola, General Bottlers.

Thank you very much to Pepsi Cola.

And want to thank very much on behalf of the craft company from the craft company for a contribution of 5000 cases of macaroni and cheese.

Ron Conan of the craft, Dartencraft.

Thank you very much.

For the teamsters.

Yeah, the teamsters.

Thank you very much.

But if anybody didn't get anybody's let us know we'll do it.

We'll send you a thing in the mail.

Have a very Merry Christmas.

Identifier

F.2005-08-0152

Date Of Production

circa 1970 – 1989

Abstract

Loosely assembled footage shot over a several year period documents an appreciation event held inside the Daley Center to thank donors for contributing to the city’s holiday food drive; protestors as they display their banner’s message: “Down with Soviet-Ethiopian Offensive Against the Eritrean People”; the Chicago Park District’s holiday street decorations; Archbishop Joseph Bernardin and Mayor Jane Byrne as they deliver speeches at the city’s “Beginning to Look Like Christmas” opening ceremony at State Street and Wacker Drive on November 26, 1982; the audio of pastor Roger Barrier’s sermon on materialism during the Christmas season partially synced with footage of downtown Christmas parade floats, marching bands, the vagabond clown troupe and other walking units, and Mayor Michael Bilandic as he watches the parade from a reviewing stand; Mayor Byrne as she delivers a speech next to the Heald Square Monument; Mayor Harold Washington as he declares that, “the city of big shoulders has to be the city of the big heart”; City of Chicago firefighters as they erect a Christmas tree in Daley Center Plaza; concluding footage of the city’s holiday food drive appreciation event. Footage also includes Chicago newspaper reporter and Mayor Byrne’s husband Jay McMullen and the Chicago Tribune’s Tower Ticker columnist Aaron Gold.

Format

Super 8

Extent

200 feet

Color

Color

Sound

Mag Stripe

Reel/Tape Number

1/1

Has Been Digitized?

Yes

Language Of Materials

English

Element

Reversal Positives

Subject

Christmas
Clowns
Demonstrations
Government officials
Holidays
Marching bands
Parades and processions
Political Activists
Politicians

Preservation Sponsor

Related Collections

Subseries II: Footage

Related Places

North America ➜ United States ➜ Illinois ➜ Chicago ➜ Loop

Main Credits

Stamets, Bill (is filmmaker)

Participants And Performers

Bernardin, Joseph L. (is participant)

Gold, Aaron (is participant)

Byrne, Jane (is participant)

Washington, Harold (is participant)

Bilandic, Michael Anthony (is participant)

McMullen, Jay (is participant)

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