the annual christmas specials were an event. when you first. see that advertisements like. frosty the snowman returns tuesday night. this was on once. if you missed it, you were screwed. mom, mom, can you watch that? can we watch that? mom. on sunday, december 4th. burl ives again tells the exciting news story of rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. i was obsessed with claymation and the rudolph the red-nosed reindeer was like the pinnacle. love. that show tells the story of rudolph based on the song rudolph, who was kind of an outsider. burl ives as the snowman, hermie the elf. remember him? he was sort of the the cast off. i want to be a dentist, you know, but it's a lucrative business given that your boss, santa, gets paid in cookies. and then, of course, you have the scariest claymation thing in the history of claymation things. the abominable snowman. he was horrifying. chills. scary to this day when that face first comes on. like rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, it has run every year since 1964, making it the longest running christmas special. the actual inherent message in rudolph the red-nosed reindeer is that bullying works. i mean, really think about it. would rudolph have gotten his life together if it wasn't for all the, you know, name calling behind the scenes? be prepared for cancel culture to come for rudolph. it'll happen. isn't there anyone who knows what christmas is all about? it's charlie brown and the peanuts gang. in 1965, one year after rudolph cbs aired another christmas classic. we love charlie brown christmas. i mean, what's not to love, right? i loved the feel of it. it had that great vince guaraldi soundtrack. someone paired jazz with a christmas special for kids. every time you hear it. he doesn't. he has got to go. charlie brown is a strange hero for kids because he appears to suffer from depression. i mean, he's in therapy even though his therapist is lucy and she charges $0.05. he kind of goes through this awakening, i suppose during the christmas season. he was railing against the commercialism of. christmas. charlie brown wrestles with all of these issues and, you know, eventually linus turns to him. and shocking for the time he cites scripture. for to you is born in the city of david, a savior who is christ the lord. that's what christmas. not about charlie, that these kids put on the nativity scene as a public school play. you know, the school board was probably against it, but no one could understand them anyway because it was just all black. there's no way that charlie brown special gets made today and doesn't end with like the department of justice policing a school board meeting. there's something about the simplicity of children that makes it easier to understand the simplicity of the message of christmas. and that's, i think, what charlie brown nails. it is one of those ones that you just hope is still on till the end of time. there are many christmas. traditions that invoke a sense of joy, happiness. one tradition is met with anger and distaste, and that is the annual fruitcake. i haven't met a soul that likes it like it's the only place americans still have common ground. how did christmas, the greatest holiday ever, get saddled with this ridiculous dessert? i think if i were christmas, i would trade it to easter. fruitcake itself goes back centuries and it makes sense. i mean, when you taste a fruitcake, it tastes like something that was invented before refrigeration. johnny carson said it best when he said he thinks it's just one fruitcake and they pass it around because have you ever bought a fruitcake? i mean, maybe the whole regifting thing started with fruitcake. no one plays hot potato anymore. but you do. it's called fruitcake. and you play it on christmas. people say like, oh, you know, you sent a fruitcake in it for any thought into it. no, no, you put thought into it. you said, honey, wouldn't it be funny if they spent three days in the bathroom? oh, this is. oh, my goodness. what? holy space, food, garbage is this? would you. honestly look. forward to something like this? see? look at that. that's not good. there's an off putting smell to it. oh. i've never had fruitcake before. hmm. it tastes like formaldehyde. it's like people chopped up pieces of fruit roll up and put it in low water. we have water. can i have. wow. there's no reason that we don't have to keep every tradition. we can let fruit pick up. i love caroling. the caroling is a way to prepare the heart for christmas. people think because i've got a voice for television, that i'd have a great singing voice and i don't. no one wants to hear me sing. i'll just say that first thing. is this your ploy to try to get me to sing? because it's working. deck the halls with boughs of holly. fa la la la la. back in the old days, caroling was also called wassail. and like the song, here we come forward selling. it's the original panhandling. it's people knocking on doors like, hey, i know you guys are rich. can you give us any wine, whatever bottom rack swill you can get your hands on? you know, they say we wish you a merry christmas. now bring us some figgy pudding. they're demanding figgy pudding, whatever that is. whatever. charles dickens. figgy pudding. what is that? who has that? they used to be everywhere. you'd find them at, at, at shops and grocery stores. of course, in your neighborhood, from door to door. i mean, at first, when you're a kid and you see carolers come, you're like, oh, this is nice. and there's a little snow outside. they're singing christmas songs. they seem really, really happy. then you realize those neighborhood people are drunk. and they're on the best bar crawl in the neighborhood. is that mr. adam berry stumbling? that's always a good idea, probably to have a drink or two beforehand. there's a social awkwardness with caroling. you see that house down the road that we've never been to and we have no idea who lives inside there. you knock on the door and you see the guy who's just had the worst day of his life. he's like, really? you got to start with the deck, the halls. oh, geez. these are slurred voices of amateurs. and they go on and on, particularly as they do the 12 days of christmas. nothing against the song. it's wonderful. okay. but it's also 9 minutes and 12 seconds long. that's not a festive gesture. that's a hostage situation. but like, at its heart, it is a wonderful thing. it's better than a door to door salesman. what would you rather have? caroling or somebody selling steak knives? and listen, you don't have to open the door. if you had a rough day, you're going to leave it shut. it's time for a christmas pop quiz. what animated christmas special was based on a book that won the book of the year award and a toy that won the best toy award? is it a frosty the snowman? be an elf story. the elf on the shelf or c how the grinch stole christmas. the answer is more christmas classics when we return. fox nation's once a year sale. it's our gift to you. with 50% off all yearly plans for a limited time. now is the best time to start streaming these incredible fox nation shows. when i read what it took for yellowstone. to be here so that we could all enjoy it, i realized that this was. a story that i certainly wanted to share. i say when i'm done. not that they had on boundless, unlimited optimism. the men who shaped the nation. we became politicians get filthy, stinking, rich boys. racketeering fox nation. they give you the power. i want the truth about america and you've come to the right place. our team embedded with tim rock is nobody beholden to you can't cancel. there's only one. thing in my life now that really matters. look, hurry and don't miss out on fox nation's once a year sale for a limited time. sign up and start streaming today. well, we fell in love through gaming. but now the internet lags and it throws the whole thing off. when did you first discover this lag? i signed us up for t- mobile home internet ugh! but, we found other interests. i guess we have. [both] finch! let's go! oh yeah! it's not the same. what could you do to solve the problem? we could get xfinity? that's actually super adult of you to suggest. i can't wait to squad up. i love it when you talk nerdy to me. guy, guys, guys, we're still in session. and i don't know what the heck you're talking about. so what won the book of the year and the best tony award? the answer is b and elf story. the elf on the shelf. legend has it. the elf reports back to santa every night and appears again the next morning. i'm surprised we're as tolerant as we are, because what is the elf? little boys and girls? he's a narc. he's ratting you out. he is a rat. where is the code of elf? omerta. now back to the holiday countdown. thank you. hugs is one of my fondest memories because it was so bizarre. in 1966, wpix in new york started broadcasting a yule log on the tv so people who didn't have a fireplace could have a fireplace on their tv. it was a 17/2 loop that they just played over and over. it ran commercial free, which had the added benefit of having the station employees of wpix be able to go home and spend time with their family. you have to picture this in your head. you're changing channels and all of a sudden there's a fireplace in your living room. there's just a log burning and you're just watching a log burn on tv. it became a christmas tradition. they would show it every christmas eve and christmas day. people loved. it. it's a nice way to turn your tv into something worth watching. that caught fire. you know what i'm saying? and stations across the country did the same thing. it was brilliant. different channels have them. they had you have competing fireplace fire. that is truly an american phenomenon. i think. oh, channel seven is a little better this year. it's terrible. turn off that lame. channel or you log on to channel. seven. goodness. i think the yule log was baby einstein for people who drank too much eggnog because you could sit there and be transfixed by it. you know, what bothers me is when they have one of those gas powered yule logs. look, if i'm going to watch a fake fire, i want it to be a real fake fire. and then in the 1990, shoot actually by video of the yule log on vhs on high definition. blu ray dvd. this is something you need to get to make your apartment be christmas. this is what kept the home video market going in its waning days is right. like you had to have the yule log. the yule log has gone high tech. if you go to youtube and type in yule log, there's a pretty much a video for everyone. yule log i think is full at right. got the traditional yule log. you've got the fireplace burning with the cat and dog. for pet lovers, you can even see a fire burning on the beach in florida as your yule log. 66 million views for that. my god, that's like super bowl numbers. there's even one with nick offerman who's sitting by the fire. you can watch your fire and nick offerman at the same time. i don't know who would want to do that, but probably, i. don't know. maybe a million people. hey, if that's what does it for you, america. god bless you. i'm old fashioned. i like my video fireplace. simple. it all started innocently enough. you know, just a few wides. very tasteful. reminds you of the season. my memories of my dad putting up lights in our house was miserable. you didn't want to be around him. this is what happens, michael. you have to wrap it around an old paper towel thing so that you don't. okay, so that's your job now. it's you have to use every part of your body when you're untangling christmas lights. you got to use your neck. you got to throw it over an arm. hang on. wait a minute. there was always that one house. on the neighborhood block that really did it up for christmas. and what started out as one. house starts to become. more houses and. more houses. i don't know where we made the turn to crazy town on christmas lights. it was somewhere around the time when they started having those inflatable santas. frosty next to a rudolph, next to an abominable snow monster, next to santa's stuff on the roof. what nobody thinks about with these big christmas displays is what the yards look like in the morning. little kids are walking to school and all of these inflatables are just lying dead like there's been a rash of drive by shootings in your neighborhood. hang on. hang on. well, okay, so come back later and i'll have this done. okay. now, the neighborhoods themselves have become tourist attractions. there are houses that put up white displays that you can set your radio to and broadcast the timing of it. you've got lasers. maybe there's a smoke machine. there's six tour busses on your block. it seems less christmas and more like an edm concert. so $7 billion spent on christmas decorations? 7 billion. and my parents couldn't give me that big wheel. i think our obsession with christmas lights and christmas decorations is exactly what charlie brown was trying to warn us about. wait a minute. oh, here's the it. wait a minute. and now who can forget presents? michael loved his own neighborhood. christmas like battles. i'm into it because i'm a kappa west, and when people compete, it makes it better for me. i want everybody on the block to compete. that way i can drive by just like, ooh, look it. look, it's all great. is it tough to have in your neighborhood? yes. is mila's house just a little too darn bright and you're trying to sleep? yes. it'll be over after new year's. just let them have their little christmas like battle. if you don't want to be involved. don't. and then when people are like, hey, jim, why don't you do your house? you know, why don't do my house? because then it would take away from the beauty of that house. that's how i celebrate christmas. the spirit of giving. and i'm giving that guy the attention. so how about you shut your hole. get back in your car. okay. merry christmas. ready for another chance to show off your christmas i.q.? according to tradition. whoever finds this appetizing ornament on the christmas tree will have good luck. is it a good christmas apple? be the christmas banana. or c, the christmas pickle. the answer when we return. the ministry of jesus changed the world forever. it's one thing to read about the life of. jesus, but to make the story of jesus truly come alive. i knew i had to see it for myself. what better place then, to start in bethlehem as we go on this journey? we're joined by. experts along. the way who really know this land. in the crypt is a very specific spot, marking the very spot. where he was born. god loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son. it's here in these waters of the jordan river where jesus christ is baptized and his ministry begins. this is my beloved son, in whom i am will least the greatest story ever told starts right here. the life of jesus god with us streaming now only on fox nation. sign up now and get 50% off all yearly plans. my name is joshua florence, and one thing i learned being a firefighter is plan ahead. you don't know what you're getting into, but at the end of the day, you know you have a team behind you that can help you. not having to worry about the future makes it possible to make the present as best as it can be for everybody. so what? hidden declaration gives the finder good luck. the answer is c the christmas pickle. many claim the tradition comes from germany, though no one is sure where it originated. i think the pickle ornament concept is made up. it is a conspiracy by the people at hallmark, just like valentine's day. now back to the holiday countdown. they say, you know, seeing a kid's face on christmas morning, the appreciation, the love, it makes it all worthwhile. i think it's. a different story if you're. the parent that had to go out and find that toy. star wars figures r2-d2, chewbacca and princess leia. in 1977, no one expected star wars to be the monster hit that it was. this is not going to be the hot toy. oh, this is going to be the only toy. kenner was kind of caught with their pants down because they didn't anticipate how much demand they would have for star wars toys. come christmas time. the action figures are not yet available, but the star wars early bird certificate package viewed in stores. you could pay 799 and then you would get a box which was decorated with the star wars figures on it. you open it up and it opens into a diorama. i can't imagine how unhappy children must have been tearing open the wrapping paper. kids love dioramas. yeah, kids from the eighth century. with. its colorful star wars picture displays then and certificates descending to get a set of figures by mail. they'll be sent to you at home between february 4th and june 1st. congratulations, little timmy. you're going to get your toy in june. this was a punch in the soul, man. oh, i got rock em, sock them robots. would you get an iou? that's the cultural power of this movie. i was jealous of my friends who got an empty box for christmas. if you've got kids, you've probably heard about cabbage patch dolls. maybe you had more than you want to about them. they had an ear riot in north miami beach when the store sold out early. and similar tales are coming in from our area all around the country. i don't think there was a bigger inciter of violence in the history of america's domestic agenda than the battle to get cabbage patch dolls. in 1983, calico came out with a line of pudgy, soft dolls that had their own birth certificates and adoption. papers, and it became the thing that everybody had to have. i remember my mom telling me that my father had to wait in line for hours and hours and hours. i remember my dad going out to the mall because they were getting a shipment of cabbage patch. i swear to god he was patted up like he was playing dallas on sunday. it was like the oil crisis right in the 1970s, except it was a doll. that year my sister got to. which means my dad probably laid somebody out. oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. i think it just hit, too. do you kids even know the trouble you caused? you love the attention, don't you? yes, you do. yes, sir. listen, dude, we got a time machine tonight, and we go back to the right here, which? elmo. tickle me elmo. oh, elmo. oh. you think about the cabbage patch craze. tickle me elmo is like, yeah. oh, my beer. in 1996, tyco came out with tickle me elmo. they had 400,000 units ready to go. rosie o'donnell, who had some of us forget she had an enormously popular daytime talk show. she was the queen of nice. she featured tickle me elmo on her show in october, and the crowd went wild. bryant gumbel on the today show also brought elmo out and made it even more popular. by thanksgiving, you could not find a tickle me elmo on the shelves anywhere. elmo one. elmo. quiet. the adults are talking. tickle me. elmo becomes like a. black market item. people are putting out advertisements saying that they'll sell bears for $1,000. leave me behind a bowling alley, only bring cash. john gotti jr reportedly went into toys r us and bought a whole case of tickle me elmo dolls. we got to make some money, boys. and they're like, fix a basketball game. nah, rob a bat naff elmo dolls. are you worth $7,000? elmo? it's almost like it's taunting you. it's like you spent a fortune on me. ready for another christmas pop quiz? what classic holiday song has been banned from some radio stations due to its content? is it a baby? it's cold outside. b, let it snow. let it snow. let it snow. or c, jingle bell, rock. the answer and more christmas memories when we return. everybody thinks they get that daytona. we started with a three car. garage on third floor. we do a lot with a little. and we've got to maximize that. i want to be in the show and i don't want this thing here. to me, it's more of a family. obviously, there's a lot of men in the sport, but i think women can bring a whole different perspective. i want to be known as daytona 500 winning spirt motorsports team. the sport is a drag. i think that the big drivers of teams, they got to be nervous right now. we saw some things that we didn't expect. can't get it straight. i'll just fire everybody. once the rubber hits the road. february 20th is when it all comes down. daytona the place where magic can happen. road to. daytona. the groundbreaking series streaming now only on fox nation. so which holiday song was banned from some radio stations? the answer is a baby. it's cold outside. the song is about a woman who wants to leave and a man who is begging her to stay. i don't see what the controversy is about. baby, it's cold outside. have you listen to rap lyrics? next to those baby, it's cold. outside is pretty quaint. now back to more of what makes the season memorable. nothing says let's begin the most wonderful time of the year, like sleeping in a target, parking lot. black friday. every thanksgiving day parade ends with santa claus. and he basically says, let the shopping season beget. black friday for many retailers is the first day. think about this. the first day of the year that they're operating in the black. in my household, we call it diversity friday. but sure, whatever you want. it started innocently enough. you know, you get the day. off of work, the day after thanksgiving. the kids are with you. let's all head downtown in the car, see the christmas decorations, take in the sights, maybe do a little shopping. it was common practice for stores to open at 6 a.m. the day after thanksgiving. it was going to be a big shopping day. and then all of a sudden it became 5 a.m. and 4 a.m. and then people were camping out. it's the most innocent way to declare to everyone, you know, that you hate your family. i can't help you with the dishes, honey, because i've got to go shopping. yeah, i'll be back tomorrow. oh, i wish i could stay and help to clean it, myrtle, but i got to go sleep on the sidewalk tonight. maybe these people are just the outdoorsy types. maybe they like camping. nothing makes humans act more responsibly than gathering together in large groups in the freezing cold winter, in the dead of night, to fight for cheap items. that's when people started getting hurt. it became black and blue friday. now you're asking for trouble. you're calling it door buster. so what do you customers do? they bust down your door. spain has the running of the bulls. we have the running of the flat screen. black friday has become not just about the shopping. it's about the spectating. because if you're not participating, you're watching your local news station going, what craziness happened during black friday? that's become as big of a tradition as shopping is. tuning in to see who beat the snot out of each other in a target. black friday has certainly paid off for retailers. 200 million shoppers spending $400 each. around 2012. they started opening these stores at 8 p.m. on thanksgiving, making black friday really black thursday night. we call that beige thursday. like, i don't know the poor people that have to work that night. they need triple pay, in my opinion. triple. everybody's got to be last week of the season. the reason for the season. who can forget, is back with all new episodes 1968. i can finally grow my hair long and treacherous. i'm on a naked acid trip like the lord intended. now i will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president. two assassinations. two major leaders. it felt like the seams of this country were strange. 1979. everybody in my neighborhood had on the shirt disco socks. there's virtually no change at our embassy in tehran, where militant students continue to hold those american hostages. you know, you've made it when you get a pair. of shorts named after you. it's just another example of his presidency being a collection of things nobody expected to go wrong. going wrong? well, 22 states like these and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil. what they found was a sniper's nest on wheels. other than michael jackson. what parent needs to be told. not to dangle a baby over a balcony? new episodes of who can forget. only on fox nation. now back to the countdown restaurant. miss martini. welcome home. this is what i wished for. there are certain movies that become stamped into the season, and definitely it's a wonderful life is one of that. i love it's a wonderful life. it's a classic. no matter how young. or old you are, i feel like it's a wonderful life just plays. for everyone to look at me. that's right. it's a wonderful life is kind of an unusual story for christmas because the main character played by jimmy stewart attempts to commit suicide. and then there's an intercession from heaven. clarence the guardian angel comes down to help him see what his life would be like if he had never existed. what made this movie so powerful is james stewart's performance. mary doggone it. i last saw the moon for you. that's right, mary. it's interesting how it's a wonderful life sort of became part of christmas culture. in the seventies. the copyright was not renewed. so by the early eighties, it was every every tv station in america that had two pennies to rub together, could put it's a wonderful life on. and it became a staple. it always brings a tear to your eye. it always makes you realize what's important in life. you could have a lousy day in the christmas rush. then you come home, you put your feet up and you watch. it's a wonderful life and kind of all is right with the world. and an angel just got its wings. too many people have lost sight of the true meaning of christmas. oh, hush. shot off, ralphie. a christmas story is the greatest christmas movie ever made. yes, it is a must watch every year. jean shepherd basically reached into every single american's head, took out their best christmas memory and threw it on to a script. really does drive home what it's like to be a kid and have that one thing. ralphie wants the red ryder bebe gun. you're going to shoot your eye out. the father gets the ridiculous leg lamp that he insists on putting in the window. oh, you should see what it looks like from on here. not a box arrives on my doorstep that says fragile. that i don't say out loud, even maybe just to myself. right. geely. it must be italian. the bunny suit. the friend sticks his tongue out and it gets stuck to the pole. we all tried that after we saw that scene. and you know what? it actually does freeze to the ball. like the dog dare. i mean, it was a triple dog there. you can't turn that down. you got to do it. i'm an elf. oh, well, technically, i'm human, but i was raised by elves. oh, i love elf. it's probably my favorite christmas carol. this did solidify will ferrell as a movie star, and as well it should. he embraces this character like nothing i've ever seen. does he ever wear real clothes? i don't think so. his just like uncanny excitement about everything that is christmas. santa. i know him. i know him. you sit on a throne of lies. like snot came out of my nose because i was laughing so hard. i mean, the casting in that movie was so great. bob newhart can be con the late, great ed asner. it's funny to think that we have a christmas classic from 2003 that has, in this short amount of time become such a popular film around christmas. and while we're waiting on movies, yes, die hard as a christmas movie. ready for another christmas pop quiz. what classic christmas song was first recorded by the von trapp family? was it a it's beginning to look a lot like christmas. b do you hear what i hear or see the little drummer boy? the answer and the top of our christmas countdown when we return. only by sorting through two centuries of fact and fiction can we remember the men who helped shape the nation. we became monks into the british. we're going to roll right through these guys. we're going to show what we're really made of. americans don't. retreat. they were determined to fight the odds. imagine somebody, your high school band, throwing weapons on, just marching down there to go get into a fight. you got to focus on the threat in front of you or you're going to be down there and blood and guts for your buddies. their sacrifice was extraordinary. war is hell. kelsey grammer. historic battles for america streaming now on fox nation sign up at fox nation dot com. all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future. so we're hard at work, helping them achieve financial freedom. we're investing for our clients in the projects that power our economy. from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive. so what christmas classic was first recorded by the von trapp family? the answer is, see the little drummer boy. this reverent christmas carol is about a boy who performs for baby jesus in the manger. it was originally called carol of the drum. it's so crazy. you remember that song comes on. it's so changes the vibe because you're usually following, like, rockin around the christmas tree, like. and then it's for real. performed well. what just happened? now back to more of what makes the season memorable. so santa claus has more aliases than a secret agent. saint nicholas, kris kringle. father christmas. the big guy in the red suit. jolly old saint nick. santa claus. yeah. how do they do that? how did germany make, like santa? a little spooky. interesting thing about santa claus. he's the most recognizable image around the world yet no one has seen him. some of that one kid who's been dealt with. he sees you when you're sleeping. he knows when you're awake. before alexa, there was santa. as far as having the surveillance on kids, it's facebook. before facebook. his ability to manufacture toys throughout the year, he has a grip on that workforce of his. so it's surprising that they haven't unionized. if jeff bezos could get his hands on santa's elves, i guarantee he'd do it. because you know what? they don't take breaks. they don't have to sit down. and let's not forget about the amazing amount of duplicate santas that he handpicks to go out and sit in malls and on street corners. let's face it, these santa claus, they are the front line workers at christmas, the screaming kids, the beard pullers, the smelly kids with their runny noses. i mean, these guys. we deserve them. a debt of gratitude. santa is magic. how does he get the toys to every kid on christmas eve? the sheer volume of toys that he has to deliver in such a short amount of time, it puts fedex to shame. santa makes it all around the world. in one night he is even tracked by gnaw at. gnaw at is receiving reports from air force base command operated defense support program satellites or dsp that santa has. begun his. journey. nora and santa tracker is my favorite thing about the christmas holiday is seeing where santa is seeing how many people he has delivered toys to. it's important that the federal government make sure that they know where santa claus is at all times. could you imagine the first time this happened during the cuban missile crisis, for example? and santa is tracking up to florida. we don't know. that's a sleigh. i couldn't imagine that santa did what he did and wasn't starving by the time he got to my house. right. my kids, you know, it's the modern world. so we leave cheese and crackers. you think to your little eight year old, seven year old self. i this is the year i will just stay up all night and you wake up and you're all but how do i go to sleep? we never unfortunately caught santa, but there's still hope. we are. as technology gets better and better, we are now upping our game. maybe i have seen him. where do you think i got the suit? if you're friends with santa and you were to call them on december 26, you're going straight to voicemail. after a night of delivering presents and traveling all over the world, he deserves a vacation. he's going to florida. it's going to have a beach cocktail, some with an umbrella in it. off at a spa, getting a massage soaking his feet, getting in a relaxation day. i don't know what santa claus does on december 26, but it probably involves either bourbon or tito's. people talk about christmas traditions, and there is a lot of secular traditions out there. probably the greatest tradition of all, though, is going to church. i think i feel like tens of millions of other people that that's what christmas is to us. i love christmas eve service. there is something very special about getting dressed up and going to church. i love that the church is packed to the gills. it's transformational in a way. the whole community being together and celebrating this one idea. you'd see the nativity scene and you'd hear the stories about what? why are we here now? what brought us to this to this holiday? what was it all about? the kids would just get really quiet and listen. it was really beautiful. it's always a beautiful service. christmas eve night was when the music was the best. like that was when like the a choir came out to sing. this beautiful christmas song. it goes right through your soul. there's something wonderful about the entire congregation singing joy to the world or all holy night. it's just powerful. silent night was always the last song that they sang for the church service on christmas eve, and they would bring the lights down. silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. it's enough to give you goose bumps every single time. there is a time there on christmas eve, particularly where there's a solace that you just can't describe. and it just comes from the true meaning of christmas. as a kid, of course, it's always exciting to get the presents, but looking back, it's really about the family that surrounds you. there is something about the hustle and bustle of christmas that just wears you down, but then when christmas does arrive, you realize it's about family, it's about faith, it's about togetherness. you don't need a lot of fancy stuff or toys or gifts or whatever it is. you don't need a lot of fruitcake, that's for sure. all you need is the christmas spirit. and if you've got the christmas spirit, boy, you feel complete. and that's the meaning of christmas. a very merry christmas, america. you've earned it. that's right. doggone it. merry christmas. merry christmas to everybody. watching wish and everybody a blessed and merry, merry christmas. and to all a good night. have a merry, merry christmas. come on everybody. [♪] >> welcome to fox news chance west point holiday show. i'm sandra smith coming to you from the grounds of the united states it in academy, west point, new york. it's one of our oldest military posts at one of america's most fabled universities. the west