Christmas in Animalia was a "wonder not to be missed" as one magazine would put it, and that description certainly fit.
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On Friday, the triple wedding of Martha and Robbie, Richard and Clara, and Tom and Brittany was amazing. Instead of traditional wedding music, music by Enigma was used. When the brides came down the isle, the song "Return to Innocence" was played, for example, and it was later decided to use this song as the official song for Project Phoenix.
The wedding reception was held in the Great Hall, but there weren't any dancing going to take place, because Animalians were still getting used to the concept of dance. There was also the largest wedding cake ever seen in Animalia and Lyre, and it was perfectly safe for Animalians to consume.
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At 4:30 PM on Christmas Eve, the Christmas Program began in the Great Hall's Performance hallwith the Songbird Choir singing several Christmas-themed songs, opening with "We wish you a Merry Christmas" and ending with "Blowing in the wind", which represented the anxiety most Animalians had about future acceptance.
At 9:30 PM, after the Songbird Choir was finished, and after a brief intermission, the children's Christmas pageant/Nativity scene took part, helping Animalians learn more about Christmas. It began with the song "O Little Town of Bethlehem" and ended with "Silent Night". The highlight of the program was a male white dove Animalians who played the part of the Angel of the Lord who brought the good news to the shepards.
At 11:30 PM, after a brief intermission, Mannheim Steamroller played their Christmas music, especially "Carol of the Bells" and "God Rest ye Merry Gentlemen". The music was accompanied by the new Songbird Aerial Acrobatics team performing their own interpretations of the music being performed. It was nearly 1:00 in the morning when everyone went home to await the festivities of Christmas Day.
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The great gift unwrapping of Christmas Day was held in the Great Hall. Everyone brought their Christmas presents there to be distributed by nine reindeer Animalians who had, briefly, taken the names of Santa's own reindeer (the one playing the part of Rudolph having painted his nose with temporary fluorescent red paint, and the fluorescent lights hiding among the other lights to make it look like his nose was glowing), and were dressed in Santa-themed shorts. The young children went into shrieks of delight at this.
The gifts that were awarded for many expectant mothers were thing that would help with the raising of their new offspring. The maternity ward people also learned that those Animalians who were animals that had shorter gestation periods than humans had theirs extended to six months, while those Animalians who had gestation periods that were longer than humans had theirs shortened to nine months. This seemed to help explain why Sarah and Malice's mother was "developing" quicker than she did as a human.
The Great Snow War was temporarily called off on Christmas Day, as it was during WWI, for both the presents and the great feast that was taking place in the evening.
Wat was a particularly surprising, yet somehow not surprising, present for Simon was that his mother had gotten a double dose of Wolf Animalia Virus so she could start dating one of the Wolves at the police station. Ever since his dad died of a rare blood cancer when he was in middle school, and his uncle died in that accident, his mother had been a little out of it, so to speak. He hoped that this would mean that his new stepfather would help stop her from "worrying" about him, but he wished that she didn't do those things that mothers sometimes do to embarrass their children, because her double dose seemed to send her back to her college age, and it seemed that she was pretty "wild" when she was in college.
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The Christmas Day feast was not as big as the Thanksgiving one they had earlier in the year, but it was still an enormous spread. There were a number of hams, each with a different glaze on it, for example. Although some people did have problems with Christmas fruitcakes, Animalia Fruitcakes were unusually delicious, and these were quickly snapped up by both humans and Animalians. There was no alcoholic beverages at the feast, due to Animalians not liking the taste of alcohol in general, but there was a great number of Sparkling grape juices, as well as newly developed non-alcoholic eggnog. There were also many different, non-meat dishes for the herbivores of Animalia, so they did not have to be left out in the festivities.
There were Christmas Carols playing in the background, and there also was a reading of "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus." There was also a table set aside for various Christmas sweetmeats, labled to show which ones were safe for Animalians. Children wanted to eat these immediately, but their parents made sure that they ate a real meal before going to the sweets.
As was the case with every Animalia Holiday Exposition, there was the chance for humans and Animalians to socialize with each other, and there was a special Animalia Ambassadoria episode, which included an interview segment with the newlyweds, as well as a showcase of the great feast.
All in all, the ACE was considered good so far, but it wasn't over yet, because New Years Eve was to include a small fireworks display, though not as big as the one planed for Fourth of July.