The Red 78

As Tim poured over the internet in search of Christmas gifts, he discovered my last blog about Burl Ives.  A comment on my Facebook page spoke of someone who had Ives' Christmas music at one time on a “red 78.”  Puzzled, he asked me what sort of device a “red 78” would be.  I explained records were an ancient technology he had never seen.  I told him of the wonders of vinyl pressed into 78s, 45s, and 33s.  James, the youngest, listened with careful ears to my explanation to Tim, then announced he knew what the numbers meant. “They are how much memory each record disc could hold.”  There is a mystery to Christmas, which is unwrapped in its own wonder, just as my boys wondered about records.  

The whole story is mysterious.  Visitations by angels, magi from the East, a wicked King who hates babies, and a Virgin holding her own child.  Today we sing carols, put up trees, and gives gifts while the mystery of the holiday remains in the background.  We know the external trappings, but the heart of Christmas eludes our celebration.

Most 78 records had a single song to a side.  There wasn't much memory, but to grasp the core of Christmas doesn't take much.  C.S. Lewis summed up the mystery of Christmas this way: “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the sons of God.”

A Burl Ives Christmas

            He’s the voice of Christmas.  When I hear the lyrical tenor of Burl Ives, I know the season has arrived.  Now some of you, who are younger than me, read this and have no idea who Ives was or what his voice sounds like.  But if I told you he is the narrator of the Christmas classic, “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and the character of the snowman in the special, his voice will arise in your memory.

            People like Ives have a distinctive gift, they can give their talents in solo.  Given an instrument and an audience, Ives could entrance an audience with his folksy, operatic voice and accomplish a work of art, which defines a season.  The Rudolph special contains part of his legacy.  The story revolves around a reindeer who doesn’t fit in the world and misfit toys which don’t fit anywhere either.  As Ives character, Sam the Snowman says, “Well, time passed slowly. Rudolph existed the best he could.”

            Rudolph chooses a solo life.  Unlike the life of a singer, solos in a life lived alone are frustrating.  Christmas is a hard season for people who are by themselves.  The first Christmas is a story of misfits who don’t fit well in their world.  A couple, newlyweds, whose child belongs to another father.  Shepherds, whose only job is watching other people’s flocks because it’s the only job they can hold.  A tyrant, who wants to be loved but is hated and a child, who comes to walk a road to a cross.

            The story of Rudolph ends on the upswing.  The misfits find homes, the odd reindeer becomes the lead of the sleigh team.  The Christmas story ends up on the upswing also, as it continues to unfold in history.  The cross leads to a resurrection and all the misfits and soloists of the world await for the child who is returning as their king.

            I always remember this every time I heard Ives sing, “Oh by golly have a holly, jolly Christmas this year.”