This evening I saw Screen Junkies News‘ quite excellent “The Good, the Bad and the Weird: Rudolph Holiday Specials”. It’s an informative and entertaining (of course) review of Rankin Bass stop-motion features from yesteryear, plus a shout-out to the classic cartoon of The Hobbit. It even referenced the so-odd-it’s-oddly-enjoyable-in-a-way-that-makes-you-question-your-sanity “Year Without a Santa Claus“—based on the story by the talented* yet strangely little known Phyllis McGinley. If you have any taste at all for poetry that is witty, unpretentious, and nuanced, check out her collection, The Love Letters of Phyllis McGinley.
But I digress. Let me highlight rather the moment that SJN‘s Joe Starr (not to be confused with the Joestars) points out that the “Rudolph” cartoon “introduces a talking lion with wings into the Christmas mythology. Finally!”
To which I say, “Actually, that’s fudging brilliant!” Let me explain:
In the biblical book of Revelations, there is a reference to four creatures who dwell before the throne of God: These have the appearances of a winged man, a winged lion, a winged bull, and an eagle. In the middle ages, these four creatures came to symbolize the four Evangelists, the men who traditionally wrote the Gospels (accounts of the life of Jesus).
The winged lion in particular represented St. Mark, because his gospel emphasizes Jesus as the “Lion of Judah” (or heir to the throne of Israel). Christmas is a celebration of Jesus, so it would make perfect sense to include the winged lion in Christmas decorations and Nativity scenes.
But not as much sense as the winged bull, representing St. Luke, since Luke’s gospel is the only one of the four to actually include the Christmas story. However, I will submit to an impartial jury of my peers that, with the hyper-commercialization of Christmas in recent years,** this holiday already includes too much bull.
You’re welcome.
PS: Looking for the perfect stocking stuffer this year? Look no further.
Notes:
* Where “talented” = “Pulitzer Prize-winning”.
** My source for this information is the very reliable Charlie Brown.