The Glory of Christmas
Encyclopedia
The Glory of Christmas was an annual musical performance of the story of the birth of Jesus
performed between 1981 and 2009 at Christmas
time in the Crystal Cathedral
in Garden Grove, California
. The show was cancelled from 2010 on after the church filed for bankruptcy, following the cancellation earlier that year of a related show, The Glory of Easter.
The Cathedral seats 2,736 for church services-2,508 when holding the enormous Glory of Christmas set.
Installing the production set takes a month of preparation-including lighting load-in, angel track installation and rigging, as well as set construction.
Eight angels fly throughout both productions. Some fly as high as 80-feet and can travel as fast as 25 miles per hour.
The Cathedral's pipe organ has 287 ranks of pipes, 16,000 individual, 549 horizontal trumpet pipes in the East and West Balconies and 5,000 additional pipes in the South Balcony division, making it the largest collection of such pipes in the world.
More than 300 volunteers dedicate over 160 hours each to The Glory of Christmas as both cast members and volunteer ushers.
Animals play an integral role in the production's recreation of the ancient land. In The Glory of Christmas you will see three adult camels and a baby, six horses, a yak, a llama, a baby water buffalo and many sheep and goats.
show. The elaborate costumes such as those of Roman centurion
s or the Three Wise Men are professionally designed and produced. The musical numbers include popular Christmas music such as "O Holy Night
", "Silent Night
", and "Mary Did You Know?", and feature elaborate orchestral accompaniment. The vocal style of the performances range from operatic to gospel.
Perhaps the most impressive effect is the departure of the angels. In each scene that involves angels, they exit in a rapid flight to the farthest and highest points in the Crystal Cathedral (each some 150 ft. from the center of the audience and roughy 90 ft. above the floor)
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
performed between 1981 and 2009 at Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
time in the Crystal Cathedral
Crystal Cathedral
The Crystal Cathedral is a Protestant Christian church building in the city of Garden Grove, in Orange County, California, United States. It is the headquarters and principal place of worship for Crystal Cathedral Ministries, a church founded in 1955 by Robert H. Schuller and affiliated with the...
in Garden Grove, California
Garden Grove, California
Garden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California. The population was 170,883 at the 2010 census. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. The city is known outside the Southern California area for being the home of Robert H...
. The show was cancelled from 2010 on after the church filed for bankruptcy, following the cancellation earlier that year of a related show, The Glory of Easter.
History
In 1980 the Crystal Cathedral was dedicated. In 1981 the beautiful living nativity, The Glory of Christmas premiered inside the first all-glass church.The Cathedral seats 2,736 for church services-2,508 when holding the enormous Glory of Christmas set.
Installing the production set takes a month of preparation-including lighting load-in, angel track installation and rigging, as well as set construction.
Eight angels fly throughout both productions. Some fly as high as 80-feet and can travel as fast as 25 miles per hour.
The Cathedral's pipe organ has 287 ranks of pipes, 16,000 individual, 549 horizontal trumpet pipes in the East and West Balconies and 5,000 additional pipes in the South Balcony division, making it the largest collection of such pipes in the world.
More than 300 volunteers dedicate over 160 hours each to The Glory of Christmas as both cast members and volunteer ushers.
Animals play an integral role in the production's recreation of the ancient land. In The Glory of Christmas you will see three adult camels and a baby, six horses, a yak, a llama, a baby water buffalo and many sheep and goats.
Performance style
The performance is done in the style of traditional Christmas pageants done each year at many churches, but on a grand scale that straddles the quality and feel of a BroadwayBroadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
show. The elaborate costumes such as those of Roman centurion
Centurion
A centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army .Centurion may also refer to:-Military:* Centurion tank, British battle tank* HMS Centurion, name of several ships and a shore base of the British Royal Navy...
s or the Three Wise Men are professionally designed and produced. The musical numbers include popular Christmas music such as "O Holy Night
O Holy Night
"O Holy Night" is a well-known Christmas carol composed by Adolphe Adam in 1847 to the French poem "Minuit, chrétiens" by Placide Cappeau , a wine merchant and poet, who had been asked by a parish priest to write a Christmas poem...
", "Silent Night
Silent Night
"Silent Night" is a popular Christmas carol. The original lyrics of the song "Stille Nacht" were written in Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria, by the priest Father Joseph Mohr and the melody was composed by the Austrian headmaster Franz Xaver Gruber...
", and "Mary Did You Know?", and feature elaborate orchestral accompaniment. The vocal style of the performances range from operatic to gospel.
Special effects
The performance features live animals, such as camels, horses, sheep, and goats. Angels, as many as seven at once, "fly" on a high-speed flying gantry and a high-volume smoke-machine (used to generate a notably convincing storm-cloud twenty feet above the audience).Perhaps the most impressive effect is the departure of the angels. In each scene that involves angels, they exit in a rapid flight to the farthest and highest points in the Crystal Cathedral (each some 150 ft. from the center of the audience and roughy 90 ft. above the floor)