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Christmas Carol Lyrics
Wednesday, December 21, 2016 – 10:14
There is no shortage of great pop culture coloring books to choose from these days, with more on the way. The latest installment is likely to be treasured by the whole family: The classic 1987 movie The Princess Bride can now found in colorable form. You can add bursts of flames to the Fire Swamps and give young Fred Savage a creatively hued bedspread, as you color your way through 80 pages of illustrations by Rachel Curtis.
The new book is slated to come out December 27, so you won’t be able to snag it before Christmas, but you’ll probably want to keep it for yourself anyway.
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December 22, 2016 – 6:30am
With Christmas just around the corner, it can feel like a time to celebrate togetherness and put aside our differences. But what about the differences in the way we celebrate Christmas? When you’ve been celebrating a holiday one way your entire life, it’s easy to assume that’s the way it’s celebrated everywhere—but just ask someone who celebrates Christmas across the pond, and you’ll see some subtle but strange differences. Here are just a few of them.
No, we’re not talking crispy snacks here. These are a series of three cardboard tubes connected by a wrapping of colored foil. They are a British Christmas institution and you’ll see them on dinner tables right next to the cutlery. What are they for? Well, they’re somewhere between pulling the wishbone on a turkey and a fortune cookie. The idea is that you and the person next to you each grab an end and pull.
The tubes pull apart with a small bang (or crack) thanks to the tiny explosive inside. The winner of the game is the person with the lion’s share of cardboard tubes (i.e. two) and their prizes sit inside that middle tube. Now, unless you spend serious money on luxury crackers (which are totally a thing), don’t expect an incredible prize. Usually you’re looking at a small plastic toy or magic trick that barely works, a terrible Christmas joke on a small scroll of paper, and the most important thing of all: the paper crown—multi-colored, deeply embarrassing, and begrudgingly worn for about five minutes before being relegated to the trash.
Crackers stem from a Victorian confectioner named Tom Smith, who was on a visit to Paris in 1840 when he noticed how the French wrapped bon-bons in colored tissue paper and decided to try selling a similar product in Britain. After middling sales, inspiration hit him one evening by the fireplace when the crackling sounds caused him to imagine opening bon-bons with a bang (he was really into bon-bons). After finding the perfect mix of chemicals for his explosive new packaging, their popularity grew and grew.
The humble mince pie has been a part of British cuisine since the 13th century, when crusading knights returned home with exciting new ingredients from the wider world: cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon. There were quickly added to pies with dried fruit, suet, and minced meat.
After the puritan ban on Christmas and all things deemed unholy, the mince pie (like all Christmas traditions) went away for a while before coming back in a slightly altered form. By the 19th century the recipe had become sweeter, and the pies themselves much more bitesize.
While spiked eggnog may very well be the booze of choice for the month of December in the good old US of A, the United Kingdom tends to prefer their festive tipple to be of the mulled variety.
“Wassail” in Anglo-Saxon means “Be Well” and was traditionally a greeting made at the start of the New Year. The act of Wassailing—going door-to-door with a bowl of spiced alcoholic beverage—was performed on the “Twelfth Night,” (January 5, 6, or 17, depending on which calendar you go by) and met with replies of “Drink well.”
The drink in question, depending on where you lived, was likely either a wine or a cider which would be heated up and mixed with various fruits and spices. More common nowadays is simply “mulled wine,” which follows much of the wassail recipe at heart, but without having to wait until the New Year.
A classic festive dish that dates back to the medieval era, the Christmas pudding is a sort of boiled fruit cake that’s heavily spiced, doused in brandy, and briefly set on fire. Traditionally, coins are hidden inside as an extra gift (or an unpleasant mouthful of metal).
The pudding’s medieval origin comes complete with some very specific instructions from the Roman Catholic Church, which say that “pudding should be made on the 25th Sunday after Trinity, that it be prepared with 13 ingredients to represent Christ and the 12 apostles, and that every family member stir it in turn from east to west to honor the Magi and their supposed journey in that direction.”
While he’s known in the U.S. as Santa Claus (an evolution of the Dutch settlers’ term “Sinter Klaas,” which is itself a shorthand for Sint Nikolaas), the UK refers to him almost exclusively as Father Christmas.
Although they’re generally thought of as the same person today, Santa and Father Christmas have very different origins. The modern-day Santa Claus owes a large debt to Clement Clarke Moore’s legendary 1823 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” although he’s also inspired by a 4th-century Bishop of Myra (a.k.a. St. Nicholas) and, some say, the Norse God Odin.
Father Christmas, however was more of a winter presence than a gift-giver. He’s been traced back as far as the 5th or 6th century, appearing first as a Saxon “King Winter” who promised a milder winter climate if people were kind to him. When Normans invaded, the St. Nicholas story was mixed in with the Saxon mythology to create something that started to resemble Father Christmas. The first recorded mention of Father Christmas by name (well, almost) comes from a line in a 15th century carol, which says “Welcome, my lord Christëmas.” Lord Christëmas morphed into Sir Christmas and then Captain Christmas (which, frankly, should be brought back) before Father Christmas took its place in the 1600s.
Notably, while Mr. and Mrs. Claus famously reside in the North Pole, Father Christmas lives in Lapland, the northernmost region of Finland. There’s a huge Christmas-based tourism industry up there, with UK and Nordic travel agents selling all kinds of “meet Santa Claus” packages featuring reindeer rides, snowmobile adventures and, of course, an audience with the big man with the white beard himself.
The British are seemingly notorious for their colloquialisms, so why should the holiday season be any exception? Christmas in the UK very often gets shortened to “Chrimbo” (or Crimble if you’re of the John Lennon school of phrasing). Meanwhile, the phrase “Happy Christmas” is just as socially acceptable as “Merry Christmas.”
Do you like campy theatrical productions of popular fairytales with a cast made up of minor celebrities and men in drag? Do you ever watch horror movies and have the sudden urge to scream “He’s behind you!” at the doomed protagonists? If so, pantomime may well be for you.
Pantomime, or panto if we’re continuing with the colloquialisms, is a type of musical comedy that’s a big deal in the UK. In 2012, during the throes of a national recession, the largest panto production company in the UK made more than $30 million during the Christmas period alone.
Pantomime is something that has to be experienced to fully appreciate it, so perhaps it’s best to be bewildered by this star-studded (by British standards) televised panto from 1998 seen above and wonder how it’s so profitable.
In the U.S., the commercial holy grail is the Super Bowl ad, with a 30-second slot costing $5 million at the 2016 game. As the UK isn’t exactly a hotbed of (American) football fanatics, the big commercial events appear around Christmastime. It used to be that the classic Coca-Cola ad served as a signpost for the start of the festive season proper, but for the past few years, adoration has shifted toward the always-anticipated John Lewis Christmas ad.
John Lewis is a high-end UK department store chain that has made a name for itself in the last 10 years with increasingly more saccharine short films that seem scientifically engineered to tug at your heartstrings. With a campaign this year costing an estimated $8.7 million, it’s clear that this is a Christmas tradition they take very seriously. But they’re not even the biggest spenders—Burberry’s star-studded, cinematic 2016 Christmas ad “The Tale of Thomas Burberry’” is rumored to have cost $12.5 million.
December 26 is more than simply “The Day after Christmas” to the Brits—it’s Boxing Day! Boxing Day is not only a public holiday (which means it’s an extra day off work), it’s also the starting flag for the post-Christmas sales. Much like Black Friday in the U.S., the Boxing Day sales aren’t for the faint-hearted. With shoppers flush with cash from the distant relatives who didn’t know them well enough to get them a meaningful gift, the bargain-hunting can be riotous.
The origins of the name Boxing Day are dubious, but it has nothing to do with a prize fight. Depending on who you believe, it’s either named for the Church of England’s practice of breaking open donation boxes to distribute among the poor, or for the aristocracy giving boxes full of presents to their servants on the day after Christmas.
Whatever its charitable origins may have been, most Brits who don’t spend it shopping or visiting relatives just tend to eat leftovers and watch TV. Something we can all agree on.
A true British institution, the Christmas broadcast by the reigning monarch has been an almost yearly mainstay in one form or another since 1932. Originally starting as a radio broadcast by George V, the broadcast evolved as the monarchy did, and 1957 saw Queen Elizabeth II deliver the first broadcast televised live to the nation. However, due to radio interference, some viewers apparently heard U.S. police radio transmissions mixed in with the Queen’s speech, including the phrase “Joe, I’m gonna grab a quick coffee.”
Since 1959, the broadcast has been pre-recorded, but is still faithfully beamed into homes across the country at 3 p.m. on Christmas day. The exception occurred in 1969, when there was no speech because the Queen decided that after a documentary about the royal family had aired earlier that year, there’d been enough of her on TV already.
The subject matter tends to be similar every year: a reflection on the events of the previous 365 days and overall message of togetherness. Since the ‘90s its popularity has dwindled, with TV station Channel 4 broadcasting their ‘”Alternative Christmas Message” at the same time since 1993. Their subject matter varies from the humorous (Marge Simpson delivered the speech in 2012) to the more serious and controversial—in 2006, a Muslim woman known only as Khadijah spoke about Islam and conflict in the Middle East, while in 2013 Edward Snowden was the chosen speaker.
All images via iStock unless otherwise noted.
December 22, 2016 – 6:00am
White Christmas: The Movie. It took forever to get off the ground, but the result was a smash.
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The year that broke: 16 ways 2016 let us down. The good news is that we have a chance for a better year ahead.
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Stop what you’re doing and watch this man rap about giving his cat a bath. Moshow loves his four cats and isn’t ashamed to show it.
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How free college transformed this Rust Belt town in Michigan. Investing in young people pays off long-term, if we have the patience.
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Why does a frozen lake sound like a Star Wars blaster? Or maybe it’s the other way round -that sound had to come from somewhere.
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Texas is trying to defund Planned Parenthood. History shows us why that would be a nightmare.
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19 Jokes About Christmas Guaranteed To Make You Laugh. Because you need a good laugh.
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25 Facts About Famous Christmas Movies. The more you know, the more you can show off while your family watches them.
December 22, 2016 – 5:00am
Sure, you could just buy another bottle of vino. But if you really want to impress that friend known for their Pinterest-worthy fetes, scan this list for a unique gift they’ll want to put on display.
Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we only get commission on items you buy and don’t return, so we’re only happy if you’re happy. Thanks for helping us pay the bills!
Help your pal raise a glass to their beloved hometown or adopted ‘hood! Representing 14 major cities across the U.S. (plus a few in Europe), each cedar coaster in the set of four is etched with a different section of town and serves as a great conversation starter.
Find It: Uncommon Goods
Consider it a head start on the morning after breakfast. The organic syrup is aged in barrels normally used for rum or bourbon. And while it likely won’t work in a hair-of-the-dog situation, it does make for a delicious pancake topper.
Find It: Uncommon Goods
Fill the three slots of this decorative box with a mix of your BFF’s preferred candies—anything from champagne-infused gummy bears to chocolate bacon toffee.
Find It: Sugarfina
They’ll need a way to fire up all the gingerbread- and Christmas tree-scented candles they’re sure to receive. Help them find the light with this glass, apothecary-style jar filled with 120 four-inch matches (there’s a piece of flint on the side for striking) and printed with an inspiring phrase.
Find it: Uncommon Goods
Give ‘em a treat they won’t feel compelled to share with their guests. Made with Ecuadorian dark chocolate and a sprinkle of sea salt, these truffles are the perfect salty-sweet combo.
Find It: Thrive Market
Slaving over homemade Christmas cookies not your thing? Save yourself some time and snag a mason jar of these whole grain, high fiber confections. (Read: They’re slightly healthier.) Choose from flavors such as vanilla bean or coconut and caramel.
Find It: Jane Bakes
Your bestie will make room for this one on the coffee table. The 408-page tome is packed with thousands of artworks Jason Polan sketched during his mission to draw every person in New York. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Kristen Wiig provides the foreword.
Find It: Amazon
Provide a scent-sational reminder of their hometown. These soy wax candles (burn time: 60-80 hours) are packed with fragrances reminiscent of each state. New York’s candle has hints of the Adirondack forest, apple orchards, and pumpkin, while Michigan’s has notes of cherries and chocolate.
Find It: Homesick Candles
A great buzz: This java is roasted, packaged and shipped from Nicaragua, where climate conditions are ideal for coffee growing. The direct-from-the-farm-to-your-cup setup keeps costs down and helps farmers earn more.
Find It: Vega Coffee
Let them serve up that triple crème brie with a side of state pride. You can buy these slate boards—naturally cool to keep the fromage fresh—in the shape of any state or Washington D.C. Or take a stab at unity and buy one shaped like the whole U.S.
Find It: Uncommon Goods
Perfect for your book club host—or just your most verbose pal—this vintage Scrabble game board folds to be stored inside a linen-wrapped book.
Find It: Amazon
December 22, 2016 – 4:00am
New Year’s resolutions are a mixed bag: Some are easy to achieve, but most are doomed to fail from the very first day of January. This year, resolve to get your finances in order by tackling one of the below money-related goals—and see things through by following a few simple tips.
Sure, that’s far easier said than done, but it’s actually something most people don’t actively seek on their own, instead waiting for their corporate superiors to make the first move with a performance review. Consider it a New Year’s resolution to earn more money through a pay increase, either by developing new skills or taking on new responsibilities.
It might sound extreme, but consider getting rid of your debit card, or at least only carrying it in your wallet when you are traveling. By removing ATMs from the equation, you’ll have to work harder to get cash to spend. Plus, with banks only open during work hours, you’ll surely make fewer rash, late-night spending decisions.
The daily expenditure of buying, say, two cups of coffee adds up. In fact, at $1.85 per cup, that’s roughly $1350 out of your pocket each year. Brewing your own coffee at home, which costs roughly a quarter a cup, will save you a whopping $1170! That’s the value of a nice vacation, and you aren’t even cutting out caffeine!
If you’ve spent year after year resolving to “get healthy,” maybe you’ll be more apt to keep it if you knew such a lifestyle could save you money. In the long run, being healthier means fewer doctor appointment copays, prescription fees, and costly treatments.
Net worth—the combination of your accumulated assets and debts over your lifetime—is the single most important financial metric one can record. More than your salary or monthly budget, this easy-to-track number shows you your progress, or digression, in a very tangible way. By keeping an eye on this figure, it will no doubt inspire you to do whatever you can to keep it ticking in the upward direction.
Every Sunday, make it a ritual to plan out your meals for the week. In doing so, you’ll create a very clear shopping list that avoids waste and mid-week impulse purchases at the nearby convenience store. Better yet, select meals that use in-season produce to save a few extra dollars every week.
If you never considered living without cable television or resisting the urge to hail a cab, try going three months without. You might be surprised at how little you really needed it—or impressed enough at how much you saved that you’ll be inspired to cut the expense permanently.
This might very well be considered the most vital rule in personal finance. You most likely already prioritize monthly bills like rent, cell phone payments, and utilities, so make a point of adding yourself to the mix. With every paycheck, set aside a specific amount of money to “pay” to your savings account, to your retirement fund, and to bigger expenditures, like a new TV. This way, you’re never making excuses for why you’ll skip a payment, just as you wouldn’t with your internet provider.
Tempted to dip into your savings account to remove the dent in your car door? Try a little dry ice first. About to buy expensive night cream or overpriced laundry detergent? You might not know it, but you can find do-it-yourself recipes for both those products that work as well as the name-brand variety. The lesson: Always research cost-effective ways to do even the most basic tasks, and you’ll likely find some clever alternatives.
For the tools and resources you need to stick to your financial resolutions this new year, head to Allstate.com.
December 22, 2016 – 12:00am
Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
At the end of the 19th century, the illustrator Thomas Nast popularized our current version of Santa Claus: a fat, jolly man with a white beard and a red suit who lives at the North Pole. Nast’s cartoons in publications like Harper’s Weekly also helped spread the idea of sending St. Nick mail. By the late 1870s, American children had begun mailing their Christmas wish lists to Santa, but the Post Office considered these letters undeliverable. Around this time, newspapers started prompting children to send wish lists to them, which would then be published so that Santa (and parents, and philanthropists looking to offer gifts to needy children) could read the letters all in one place. We’ve collected 23 funny historical letters from children to Santa Claus, as printed in newspapers across the U.S.
Conrad tries to mask his violent tendencies by interspersing the weapons between non-threatening gifts, but he shows his hand with that threat at the end.
Clifford sounds … intense.
“As I can not have it I will not ask for it, but just in case, I will mention it…”
“I smashed everything you sent me last year. I won’t tell you what I want this year, but you better not mess up.”
This 4-year-old is very concerned about his infant brother’s lack of teeth. Since the local doctor has proved useless to rectify the situation, Paul hopes Santa might be able to lend a hand. He is magical, after all.
Who knew keeping your feet dry was such an important part of staying off the Naughty List?
Clarence doesn’t sound very nice.
Poor Opal and Mildred. They’re just girls. Do girls even have preferences?
Virginia understands that sometimes Santa needs to delegate.
Old people get lonely.
Sure, an axe sounds like an age-appropriate gift for a 5-year-old.
“Bring both if possible.”
This transplant from Maine would really like a basketball, but he’s doesn’t quite believe that a Santa Claus can exist in Florida, where there isn’t even any snow.
Good choice not to act a pig, Walter.
Now listen good, Santa: Merla will not be ignored!
A doll dressed in a cowboy suit could not be called Raymond. A lack of sailor suit is a dealbreaker.
Ways to improve your chances of getting a pony from Santa, according to Maxwell Hudson: 1. Admit right off it’s expensive. 2. Say you will use it to take your sisters to school. 3. Promise to be grateful for anything Santa brings, so as not to seem greedy. 4. Make yourself seem extra kind-hearted (and thus deserving of a pony) by showing concern for your fatherless neighbors. Did it work? We will never know.
Perhaps a kid known for being mean shouldn’t be given a firearm.
No, Santa certainly wouldn’t want to get “fastened in” the chimney.
World War I devastated Western Europe, decimating a generation of young men—and apparently killing the French Santa Claus.
Come on, Mary, Santa’s not a mindreader.
No apology for the door-slamming incident. That might have helped your cause, Jewel.
R.B. is very thoughtful to provide such specific instructions; otherwise, Santa might get confused.
December 21, 2016 – 10:00pm
It can be tough to devote time to a full yoga class or rejuvenating barre session any time of year—but especially during the chaos of the holidays and the rush into the new year. The good news is, you really don’t have to spend an hour unwinding on a mat to calm and center yourself. A few minutes is all you need to clear your mind and banish stress. Use these tips from zen-loving yoga and barre instructors to get a little R&R and stay focused when your nerves feel frayed.
“I ground and center myself with a meditation practice to start my day, particularly during the stress of the busy holiday season! Yoga and meditation can be done any time, anywhere, even if you can’t fit in a studio class or are traveling for the holidays. I use the stress release blend [essential oil] from Saje Natural Wellness and do four-by-four breathing: Inhale four counts, hold four counts, exhale four counts, hold four counts. It moves you from your sympathetic to parasympathetic nervous system to calm yourself on your mat or in the middle of a stressful situation.”
—Ashley Turner, MA, MFTI, founder of Yoga. Psyche. Soul.: Advanced Yoga Psychology Training
“My routine yoga practice is the key to de-stressing because it moves the body and allows for deeper breathing. However, when times get really rough, I like to add grounding essential oils—like lavender and earthy scents such as vetiver and patchouli—to my wrists during practice or right before bed.
—Chelsea Jasin, senior instructor at CorePower Yoga, Denver
“Consistency during the holiday rush is your best friend. I stick religiously to my workout schedule because it grounds me. It’s easy to waste an hour doing something useless, so I commit to a barre class instead. That rush of endorphins gives me the energy to mail all the holiday cards, conquer the gift list, and gear up for travel.”
—Kiesha Ramey-Presner, VP of teacher development and master instructor at The Bar Method
“Set a jingle belling alarm for bedtime! With so much to do this time of year, it’s easy to allow the hours to slip away at night—and then all of a sudden, it’s 1 a.m. For full power, sleep is a necessity.”
—Bethany Lyons, founder of Lyons Den Power Yoga in New York City
“I do one minute of deep breathing along with a mantra. For example, on the inhale you can say ‘open heart’ and then say ‘open mind’ on the exhale. From there I do a practice with one to three sun salutations and three flowing cobras or locusts—to keep an open heart and open mind and get out of the problem thinking and into creative-solution mode. Then I end with one to three minutes lying with my legs up the wall (or office chair).”
—Heather Peterson, Chief Yoga Officer at CorePower Yoga, Orange County, California
“While it’s tempting to want to rest in child’s pose all day, when I’m really stressed out, I know what my body most needs are heart-opening poses, poses that will get me out of my head and in tune with my body. Cobras, camels, and wheels are perfect for this. That said, my advice in general would be to listen to your own body and figure out what you specifically crave. At the end of the day, there’s never any judgment around going straight for savasana!”
—Amanda Murdock, director of content and trainer for the app Aaptiv
December 21, 2016 – 8:00pm
Siberian huskies are known for their wolfish good looks, but deep down, they’re all dog.
When the semi-nomadic Chukchi people of Siberia had to expand their hunting grounds some 3000 years ago, they sought to breed the ideal sled dog. These dogs had to have endurance, a high tolerance to cold, and the ability to survive on very little food. The resulting pups could carry loads over long distances without food or warmth. While there is controversy as to how pure the lineage is, Siberian huskies are widely believed to be the closest to the original Chukchi dogs.
Huskies made their American debut at the second year of the All Alaska Sweepstakes Race in 1909. Rumor had it that these canines were superior sled dogs; they proved the gossip true by dominating the racing competitions in Alaska for the following decade.
Huskies have a thick double coat that keeps them well insulated. Their undercoat is short and warm, while the overcoat is long and water-resistant. Their almond-shaped eyes allow them to squint to keep out snow. Huskies will wrap their tails around their faces while they sleep; their breath warms the tail and keeps the nose and face protected from the cold.
In 1925, the children of Nome came down with the widely feared disease called diphtheria. The closest anti-toxin was 1000 miles away in a hospital in Anchorage. The train could only take the medicine so far, and it was up to mushers with teams of sled dogs to transport the package the remaining 674 miles.
Twenty mushers and their sled dogs battled the bitter cold in a relay to get the medicine there safely. It took 127.5 hours to complete the mission, but the medicine made it to the village. The final leg was completed by a black Siberian husky and his team. When finally reaching their destination, the dogs were hailed as heroes and appeared in newspapers across the country.
If this story sounds familiar, you might remember it from the animated movie, Balto. You can see a statue of Balto in New York’s Central Park (the real Balto is stuffed and mounted at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History).
Huskies are not one-person dogs—they’re unsuspicious and friendly to strangers. This can be charming, but it’s not very helpful when you’re looking for a canine sentry. Of course, their fierce wolf-like features might be enough to deter any intruders.
Huskies often run long distances on very little food. When humans attempt this, we start to use our body’s glycogen and fat and eventually get fatigued. But huskies burn a lot of calories without ever tapping into these other energy stores—and they do this by regulating their metabolism.
“Before the race, the dogs’ metabolic makeup is similar to humans. Then suddenly they throw a switch—we don’t know what it is yet—that reverses all of that,” animal exercise researcher Dr. Michael S. Davis told the New York Times. “In a 24-hour period, they go back to the same type of metabolic baseline you see in resting subjects. But it’s while they are running 100 miles a day.”
These pups love to run and explore. They’re known to be escape artists and are capable of digging under fences and slipping out of leashes.
During WWII, the army employed the pups as search and rescue dogs. They were also used for transportation, freighting, and communication.
Studies say that the shiba inu and the chow chow share the most DNA with the grey wolf. Coming in near the top is the Siberian husky. That said, huskies are domesticated dogs and have evolved separately from their wild cousins for thousands of years.
Not many dog breeds can boast piercing blue eyes. Some dogs—like the Australian shepherd or Weimaraner—have them thanks to the merle gene, which results in the loss of pigmentation. But huskies can have bright eyes without that gene.
December 21, 2016 – 1:00pm
Good luck finding another show with Fiddler’s universal appeal. Audiences of just about every race, religion, and nationality have applauded the timeless, bittersweet musical since it debuted in 1964.
Like Samuel Clemens, Sholem Rabinovich was better known by his pen name. In Hebrew, Sholem Aleichem—an alias that this Eastern European writer adopted during the early 1880s—means “peace be unto you.” Inevitably, his knowing voice and relatable characters drew comparisons with Tom Sawyer’s famous author. Clemens didn’t mind: When the pair were introduced in 1906, Twain was told that he was addressing “The Jewish Mark Twain.” Honored, he quipped, “Please tell him that I am the American Sholem Aleichem.”
Tevye the dairyman is easily his most famous creation. A father who meets tragedy with humor, he narrated eight short tales published between 1894 and 1914.
Simply titled Tevye, it’s a more somber take on the hero’s struggle to accept a rapidly-changing world while his beloved daughters leave home one by one. In 1990, this became the first non-English language movie to be selected for preservation by the National Film Registry (the actors use Yiddish).
Lyricist Sheldon Harnick and composer Jerry Bock weighed several possible titles for the show during the writing stage. In the end, an oil painting probably helped make up their minds. The Fiddler (1912-1913) is a famous piece by French-Russian painter Marc Chagall in which a green-faced violinist makes music on a rooftop. Though Broadway historians aren’t 100 percent sure about what inspired the show’s current name, consensus implicates The Fiddler.
The writers conceived around 50 individual numbers, though all but 15 wound up on the cutting room floor. “A Butcher’s Soul” and “Dear Sweet Sewing Machine” were among those discarded.
Harnick had second thoughts regarding the last verse, in which Tevye dreams of being rich enough to spend seven hours at the synagogue every day. “I wondered if it were too serious,” the lyricist said. “I suggested that we cut it and end on a funnier note. Zero screamed. ‘No! These lines—they are this man. You must leave them, you must!’ He was so forceful about it that we decided to go with his instincts.”
The two often butted heads during the original 1964 production—and Mostel usually won. Case in point: During one rehearsal, Fiddler’s lead man kissed the mezuzah (a parchment inscribed with Hebrew verses that hangs near the doorway of Jewish homes) before exiting Tevye’s home. Robbins testily ordered Mostel to stop. Though the actor explained that, as an Orthodox Jew, Tevye would never neglect this traditional custom, Robbins was adamant. So, on the next run-through, Mostel crossed himself instead. Upon seeing this simple act of defiance, Robbins backed down.
Long before Dorothy Zbornak came along, Arthur landed a spot in Fiddler’s maiden cast as Yente the matchmaker. Two years later, she’d snag another big role as the sharp-tongued, melodramatic Vera Charles of Mame.
Fiddler claimed Best Musical, Actor (Mostel), Book, Choreographer, Costume Designer, Director, Producers, Score, and Featured Actress (Maria Karnilova, who played Tevye’s wife, Golde). However, the show’s Boris Aronson lost out on Best Scenic Designer. But don’t feel too badly for him—he did win six other Tonys.
As if this feat didn’t say enough about the show’s enduring popularity, theatergoers have also been treated to four Broadway revivals—with a fifth coming this December.
Two years after Star Trek, Mr. Spock executed this very different gig for a few months in 1971. Molina’s portrayal during the fourth revival sparked a minor outcry, with some critics condemning the decision to place an iconic Jewish role in the hands of a Gentile (insiders began calling his version “Goyim on the Roof“).
This helps give Fiddler a period-friendly vibe. Speaking of the movie, it came in 82nd on the American Film Institute’s “100 Most Inspiring Films of All Time” list and has been seen by an estimated one billion people (at least, according to Chaim Topol—the picture’s very memorable Tevye).
Since 1967, the musical’s seen hundreds of Japanese revivals. Joseph Stein, who penned the book to Fiddler, was once approached by a Japanese producer who asked, “Do they understand this show in America?”
“Yes, of course,” replied Stein, “we wrote it for America. Why do you ask?”
“Because,” the producer said, “it’s so Japanese.”
December 21, 2016 – 3:00pm
