This page contains only SITE NEWS, updates, alerts & bulletins about the WORLDWIDE SLEIGH RIDE. Click here for the WorldwideSleighRide.com main page.
I can hardly believe it myself. But it is a question of "worldwide" credibility.
OK, this will sound like a Twilight Zone episode for many folks who don't do much global travel. But here's the deal: there are still many countries in the world that use the old Julian calendar and not the new modernized Gregorian calendar of the western world.
The good news is the calendars are nearly identical, but the tricky news is that the Julian calendar lags the Gregorian calendar by 12-13 days depending on the country.
I know. This is really hard to believe. Can I get a gigantic WTF? Yeah. WTF.
Any, this weird calendar phenomenon has forced the extension of the WSR project. See the detailed post on this issue at the Telegram Channel feed.
The bottom line is the new end date is January 19.
Holy moly. I thought the previous extension to cover the Twelve Days of Christmas was a big deal (end date would be January 5-6). But now we are going deep into January in order to accomodate the great Christian communities of the so-called Old World.
This moment in time is like those bobsled competitions in the winter olympics where the whole team is pushing to get the best start possible at top of the course. THAT'S WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. Oh, yeah. Holiday Season 2021 is the inaugural year of this sleigh ride. The first year of our Holiday Christmas Music Special Presentation.
The 2021 Worldwide Sleighride might be mostly a stripped down virtual affair with internet videos only. But this is only the beginning. Oh yes, this Worldwide Sleigh Ride thing will keep coming around on the calendar with a bigger head of steam each time -- thereby creating a massive snowball effect. This thing is going to snowball like no other snowball in the history of snowballs!
I can't even begin to describe how awesome the future 2025 Sleighride will be. Probably at least two hours of jam-packed entertainment.
And can you imagine the greatness of a future 2031 Sleighride! I don't think anyone can. It's beyond all comprehension right now. It might be a multi-day extravaganza by then. Like those tenacious bikers in Dakota -- only way huge-er than even that. Bigger than even "coast to coast"... yes, think "hemisphere to hemisphere"...
There are certain goals to be kept in mind for this project. One is to never lose sight of the "reason for the season". The model to follow is the balance struck by... wait for it... wait for it...
The Peanuts Gang.
Yes. The classic cartoon. In the famous Christmas Special it is the character Linus who tires of the relentless cheeseballing of the Birthday of Jesus Christ. And he eventually makes the big speech toward the end of the show which is the dramatic re-anchoring of the story. The re-connecting to biblical roots, the re-discovery of our moorings.
The reality is that 100% secular Christmas traditions inevitably devolve into cheesy, mindless, sexed up consumerism. They go off the rails. This sleigh ride is not going off the rails. It won't slide off the track.
We all know this to be true: Many, many non-Christians celebrate Christmas to one extent or another in places around the globe. This is a good thing. Not a bad thing.
It's also a good thing to, for example, listen and watch the annual Christmas Eve ceremony from the Vatican. To get re-acquainted with some ancient tradition, some Old Time religion, and some time honored music that is so great it never fades away.
(No, I'm not a Catholic. I am non-denominational and maybe a little Eastern Orthodox curious. Haha.)
Anyway: This production will endeavor to strike an appealing balance between the secular and spiritual elements of Christmas.
As the entire planet has become increasingly networked through digital technologies there has emerged a new pan-religion of the earth -- so-called Globalism. This pseudo religion "re-imagines" the various regions and nationalities as a patchwork of economic zones infused with a flattened, homogenized, universal consumer culture.
Let's just say it: The Globalism concept SUCKS. It's creepy and spiritually barren. It's a cynical and hollow view of humanity's place in the universe -- and the project of re-orienting the Christmas holiday season to dovetail with this global-culture of consumerism does nothing to fill that emptiness.
The Worldwide Sleigh Ride will offer something different. Something with an atmosphere of four-corners-of-the-earth Christian fellowship. Something slightly more spiritual within the context of an overall fun-filled celebration of the season.
And, yes, there's a place for tinsel, and tacky gifts, and a few entertaining Christmas songs lacking any specific mention of Jesus Christ in the lyrics. That's all part of the fun, of course. That's part of the mix, part of the aforementioned balance.
The tone of this show will be, if nothing else, festive. I, personally, am not a puritan. I believe the Pips & Peoples are loaded up with worries and stress all year long and they should let it rip over the holidays.
Relax. Have a little too much eggnog. Celebrate.
Make no mistake: A lot of the fun of this Worldwide Sleigh Ride will be in the exposure to the merrymaking that various local cultures engage in.
Learning new words can be fun. (OK, maybe not so much in a classroom.) But out there in the real world, on the street, it is true. Everyone's interest is piqued by new words and expressions.
After doing some research, and digging my shovel into the yuletide greeting translation snowbanks, I was shocked by just how many Merry Christmas phrase variations there are out there -- and just how exotic many of them are.
So welcome to the learning experience aspect of the Worldwide Sleigh Ride!
But, remember, the learning is just one aspect. We're not talking about goin' to school here...Coming Soon
This page is primarily for site news only. See the WSR social media feeds for local/national/world news discussions related to this project.
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