Pray for Peace People Everywhere

One of my favourite acts of the late great Chris Farley is his “Chris Farley Show” skit on Saturday Night Live. He would interview popular celebrities like Jeff Daniels and Paul McCartney awkwardly pointing out obvious highlights from there career, then following up with, “Remember that?” He would almost always ask if they’d seen Die Hard, then follow that up with, “Remember that part where…”

Yes, Chris, I did see Die Hard, and yes it was awesome. And I have to say: action movies set at Christmastime are pretty cool in their own right. But I think their very existence may hold a deeper meaning of sorts. Their subject matter and high octane scenes stand in contrast to the peaceful holiday that forms the backdrop. Once the carols, holly, bells, and lights are unleashed in the late fall, it is easy for us to forget that violence still carries on in our world regardless. It doesn’t take a break.

A bomb goes off on a tourist bus in Egypt. A tsunami hits Indonesia. A child dies of a curable illness at an international border. Thousands of “Rohingya” (a minority Muslim group in Myanmar) flee for a neighbouring country to escape the destruction of their homes, oppression, rape, and ethnic cleansing. The kind of violence that none of us really want to talk about.

But one of the beauties of Christmas that is good to recognize and acknowledge this season is its glimmer of hope in the midst of such violence. This brings to my mind one of my favourite Christmas songs, “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

It surprised me to learn that this song was recorded when my parents were teenagers. They were the same age I was when George Michael released “Last Christmas.” It also surprised me to learn that the words were put to paper in the middle of the Cuban Missile Crisis. People were listening to their radios shaking in fear, wondering if they were going to be hit with a nuclear bomb. The lyricist, Noël Regney, was amoung such people. The WWII vet was fearful, but was also inspired during this difficult time seeing two mothers walking their babies in strollers in NYC. “Said the night wind to the little lamb…Pray for peace people everywhere.”

His song described the great star that shone for the “child sleeping in the night” who would “bring us goodness and light.” But that star was described in such a way that also mirrored the horror of a nuclear missile hurling towards its target (“with a tail as big as a kite,” “ringing through the sky… with a voice as big as the sea”). The contrast is chilling. But the hope in the song pierces through. Negney and the song’s composer, Gloria Shayne Baker, could not perform the song together at that time without getting overcome with emotion.

There is always hope. Always a light. So please pray for peace people, everywhere.

And no, that light isn’t John McClane jumping from an explosion in a hijacked hotel. Yippee-ki-yay…

Congratulations Die Hard. This is your week.

And the Oscar goes to…

BEST ACTRESS: Michelle Pfeiffer as Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) in Batman Returns.

BEST ACTOR: Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard.

BEST QUOTE: “What did one shepherd say to the other shepherd? Let’s get the flock out of here!” — Mel Gibson as Martin Riggs in Lethal Weapon.

Knowing violence doesn’t take a break at Christmastime, it’s pretty refreshing to hear stories about those rare times when it did. If you haven’t done it yet, please check out Joyeux Noel (2005). It’s in my top ten favourite Christmas movies. Based on true stories, too.