Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises! Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody! With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

Psalm 98:4-6 (ESV)

I was on a nostalgia kick at the beginning of this Christmas break, so I pulled out my entire collection of Animaniacs DVDs from my video closet and began watching them, from the very beginning of the series.

One short that appropriately came up was called Little Drummer Warners, and in it the Warner siblings play poor shepherds who are guided by the Christmas star to the stable where baby Jesus lays in the manger, with Mary and Joseph nearby. 

They are soon joined by the Three Wise Men, who lay their gifts down before the newborn King. The Warners suddenly realize they don’t have a gift to give baby Jesus…at least, not a physical gift.

With Mary’s permission, they whip out their drums and soon break into song – a jazzy rendition of Little Drummer Boy, done in the way that only the Warners could have pulled off. The Wise Men snap their fingers in tempo, while the oxen and sheep beat their hooves in rhythm…soon, a drum set appears, along with saxophones and trumpets. 

Joseph and Mary look baffled momentarily (as I’m sure the audience is as well)…until they break into a smile. They enjoy the Warners’ festive spirits, and Mary applauds them when the song ends. 

The Warners creep back around baby Jesus…who opens His eyes for the first time in the entire segment, and smiles gently at them. The Warners can’t help but smile and sing back to Him as the short concludes.

In this season of giving and joy, it can be easy to get wrapped up in the traditions of it all. I don’t know about you, but I’m tempted to want to do everything to try to check off the list of making the Christmas season feel like the Christmas season.

I want to buy all my loved ones the perfect Christmas gifts (and just the right ones, so that they know that I care). I want to watch all of the Christmas holiday specials (just how many are there nowadays, anyway?). I want to make gingerbread cookies, drink hot chocolate, sing Christmas carols…the list just goes on and on. And that’s all Christmas becomes really – one big list to check off.

We don’t want Christmas to become just another holiday to check off, because that takes away the meaning (the magic, if you will) of the season. And just what is the meaning of the season? We spend so much of our time in December shopping for one another or watching corny holiday specials, that the meaning of it all kind of slips to the wayside.

I think Little Drummer Warners encapsulates the true meaning of Christmas in a rather simple way – which makes it especially profound, as it does come from an animated children’s program.

So does another Christmas segment, albeit one far more well-known than the Animaniacs one.

In A Charlie Brown Christmas, Linus explains to the Charlie Brown the real meaning of Christmas. He quotes, word for word, Luke 2:8-14 from the Bible:

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Luke 2:8-14 (KJV)

This is enough to encourage Charlie Brown and lift his spirits up, after he had spent the entire special being depressed, and not finding any real meaning to the Christmas season before.

Let’s celebrate the birth of Christ, not as a quiet and somber event, or as another day just to get through (albeit with a lot more color and spark), but with dancing, singing, drums, and horns!

The birth of Jesus Christ, after all, is the greatest Christmas present ever received. With His birth came a promise, guaranteed, that reconciliation between Man and God would become a reality, and there is certainly great joy behind that promise.

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Thank you for taking the time to read this article! Please let me know what you think and share your thoughts – I would love to read them!