EPCOT has welcomed back the holiday storytellers across World Showcase for the 2024 International Festival of the Holidays. The storytellers invite guests to join them in the traditions of their cultures.
2024 Holiday Storytellers
The vast majority of holiday storytellers appear throughout the park until the end of the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, which runs through December 30, 2024.
Mexico Pavilion – Las Posadas Celebration
Mariachi Cobre joins the storytellers in the celebration of Las Posadas. The dancers act out the story of Mary and Joseph searching for a place to stay.
In Mexico, Navidad, or Christmas, is celebrated with a tradition called las posadas, meaning “shelter.” Beginning December 16th, Mexican children dress as the holy family and go door-to-door in a candlelight procession to honor Mary and Joseph seeking shelter in Bethlehem. Each night, after the children are welcomed inside, the prayers and festivities begin!
Families across Mexico decorate for Navidad using poinsettias, also called la flor de Noche Buena, or the Christmas Eve flower. Legend has it the poinsettia originated one night long ago, when a little girl had no means to give a gift in Jesus’ name. An angel came to her and said to gather the weeds from the garden. When the little girl placed the weeds on the altar, they bloomed into the gorgeous red blossoms that we call poinsettias today.
The Las Posadas celebration is performed at the following times:
- 11:05 a.m.
- 11:55 a.m.
- 12:45 p.m.
- 2:45 p.m.
- 3:50 p.m.
- 4:55 p.m.
Check out our video of a past performance here:
Norway Pavilion – A Mischievous Magical Barn Santa
Over at the Norway Pavilion, Sigrid talks about her holiday traditions growing up on a farm.
Even though Sigrid is skeptical that the Barn Santa exists, he shows up to the performance to work his magic and help her through her presentation.
The holidays in Norway are a time for gratitutde and goodwill to all living things, including farm animals, pets, crops, and plants. Children all across the Norwegian countryside give thanks to their Fjønissen, who is said to guard the well-being of every family’s farm, by leaving the gnome a steaming bowl of porridge topped with a pat of butter in the hayloft on Christmas Eve. If he doesn’t get his porridge, children can be prepared for this mysterious “Barn Santa” to serve up a bit of holiday mischief!
The mischievous Santa appears daily throughout the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays. Listed showtimes are:
- 11:40 a.m.
- 12:30 p.m.
- 1:35 p.m.
- 2:30 p.m.
- 4:20 p.m.
- 5:20 p.m.
- 6:10 p.m.
- 7:00 p.m.
Check out our video of a past year’s performance here:
China Pavilion – Si-Zhu Trio & Chinese Lion Dancer
In China, the winter season culminates with the arrival of Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival. For more than 2,000 years, the end of the Lunar calendar has been observed and celebrated with many time-honored traditions. These holiday rituals may include a top-to-bottom house cleaning, family reunions, remembering ancestors, festive meals, and sharing stories. Businesses and homes also welcome traditional lion dancers, who ward off the negative spirits of the past and spread the prospects of vitality, health, and prosperity.
The Chinese New Year is also celebrated with an abundance of the color red. In Chinese culture, red is believed to be a lucky symbol of strength and good fortune. Families may dress in festive red clothing, hang red lanterns, and create red jianzhi—or paper cutouts—to decorate their living areas. They even offer hong bao, red paper envelopes that often contain lucky money or small gifts.
Si-Zhu Trio
Celebrate the Lunar New Year with traditional Chinese folk music.
This act did not perform on the first day of the festival. According to My Disney Experience, they will perform on “select days.” Stay tuned for our video of the Si-Zhu Trio.
Chinese Lion Dancer
To celebrate Lunar New Year, a traditional lion dance is performed as a narrator tells the story of the lion. The lion is red, which symbolizes good fortune in Chinese culture. Last year’s lion was yellow, which represents freedom from worldly cares.
The Chinese Lion Dancer performs at the following showtimes:
- 12:00 p.m.
- 1:00 p.m.
- 2:00 p.m.
- 3:00 p.m.
- 4:00 p.m.
Check out our video of a past year’s performance here:
Italy Pavilion – La Befana
Visitors to the Italy Pavilion can encounter La Befana, a good witch who brings gifts on the Eve of the Epiphany in January.
She energetically tells her story of how she came to deliver gifts, and her own small role in the Nativity.
Instead of awaiting the arrival of Santa Claus on Christmas Eve, the children of Italy wait for the eve of the Epiphany. This night brings a visit from La Befana, the good-natured witch who climbs down the chimney to fill their socks with handmade gifts and treats. Naughty children may find a lump of coal instead!
It is said that, year after year, La Befana wanders the countryside in search of the Gesu Bambino, or baby Jesus, leaving handmade gifts for good children in his honor.
La Befana can be found daily throughout the 2023 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays at the following showtimes:
- 11:15 a.m.
- 12:15 p.m.
- 1:00 p.m.
- 1:55 p.m.
- 3:30 p.m.
- 4:15 p.m.
- 5:00 p.m.
- 5:40 p.m.
Check out our video of a past year’s performance here:
Japan Pavilion – Daruma Storyteller
The Japan Pavilion plays host to a presentation about the Daruma doll and how the nation traditionally welcomes the new year.
To welcome the arrival of O-Shogatsu, or the Japanese New Year, families put a kadomatsu in the entrance of their homes. This customary decoration is made up of three elements that symbolize hope, everlasting strength, and rapid growth for the year: the plum blossom, the pine branch, and the straight bamboo.
A symbol of longevity often associated with O-Shogatsu is the crane. Found in many forms throughout seasonal décor, the most common cranes are made from washi, a form of Japanese paper, and folded in the tradition of origami. Folding a thousand paper cranes is said to grant a person’s wish.
Families often prepare a cold and colorful delicacy called O-Sechi-ryori to enjoy over the first few days of O-Shogatsu. It consists of ingredients such as sweet omelet and fish egg, kelp roll and black beans, each of which symbolizes a token of good fortune for the coming year.
The rounded, white-eyed figure of the Daruma doll also plays an important role in the Japanese New Year, representing good luck, patience, and persistence in the new year.
The Daruma Storyteller performs daily at the following showtimes, between Matsuriza performances:
- 10:45 a.m.
- 11:45 a.m.
- 12:45 p.m.
- 1:35 p.m.
- 2:35 p.m.
- 4:15 p.m.
- 5:00 p.m.
- 5:45 p.m.
Check out our video of a past year’s performance here:
Between Morocco and France Pavilions – Hanukkah Storyteller
Learn about the Jewish festival of lights by hearing about Hanukkah from a musical Storyteller.
The Storyteller shares the story and symbols of the holiday — including the hanukiah, or menorah, and the game of dreidel — punctuated by several songs.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day celebration honoring the trials and tribulations faced by the Maccabees in Israel between 160 and 166 B.C.E. Named for their leader, Judah Maccabee, this small band of Jews stood up against a large army to reclaim the Second Temple from the Seleucid Empire.
Following the battle, Judah led the Maccabees in cleansing the temple. They rebuilt the altar and lit the menorah, a seven-branched candelabra. However, they found only enough oil to last one night. Miraculously, the central light of the menorah remained lit for 8 days, allowing the Maccabees to cleanse the temple and find more oil.
Today, Jews around the world celebrate the miracle of Hanukkah with family, food, and fun. At sundown on each night of Hanukkah, families and communities light the Hanukkiah, a nine-branched menorah that represents the 8 days of light, with a central branch, called the shamash, that is used to light the others. People share a feast of foods cooked in oil, such as fried potato latkes, and exchange presents. They also play games with the dreidel, a four-sided top with Hebrew letters on it that come together to represent the phrase “a great miracle happened there.”
You can find the Hanukkah Storyteller between the France and Morocco Pavilions. They perform daily throughout the festival at the following times:
- 12:00 p.m.
- 1:00 p.m.
- 1:50 p.m.
- 2:50 p.m.
- 3:45 p.m.
- 5:05 p.m.
- 5:50 p.m.
- 6:30 p.m.
Check out our video of a past year’s performance here:
France Pavilion – Père Noël
Père Noël visits the France Pavilion to explain some French traditions through a letter from a young child, and how she celebrates Christmas Eve with her family.
Here in the France pavilion, Père Noël—or in English, Father Christmas—shares the story of Babette, a little girl who enjoys the gift of wonderful traditions with her family. Babette decorates the Christmas crèche with santons, figurines representing nativity scene characters and people from her Provençal village.
After midnight mass on Christmas Eve, many families across France enjoy a great meal together, called le réveillon. As the night brims with magic, a traditional Yule log crackles on the fire while children of all ages anticipate the visit of Père Noël, who will leave presents and fill their shoes with delightful treats.
Père Noël performs daily at these times:
- 10 a.m.
- 11:05 a.m.
- 12:10 p.m.
- 12:50 p.m.
- 2:20 p.m.
- 3:25 p.m.
- 4:30 p.m.
- 5:15 p.m.
Check out our video of a past year’s performance here:
United Kingdom Pavilion – Father Christmas
Clad in a green suit and a wreath of holly on his head, Father Christmas gives a spirited lecture, highlighting many of the holiday traditions we celebrate today that originated in the United Kingdom, like Christmas cards, mistletoe, and the song “Deck the Halls.”
Many beloved Christmas traditions originated in the countries of the United Kingdom. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales gifted the world some of the most revered Christmas songs and carols including “Deck the Halls,” “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” “Here We Come A-Wassailing,” and many more!
Throughout the United Kingdom, children await the arrival of Father Christmas—dressed in green robes, with a long white beard and a crown of holly—to deliver gifts and holiday cheer to children everywhere.
Father Christmas can be found each day throughout the 2023 EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays at these times:
- 11:45 a.m.
- 12:35 p.m.
- 1:30 p.m.
- 2:20 p.m.
- 3:50 p.m.
- 4:50 p.m.
- 5:35 p.m.
- 6:40 p.m.
Check out our video of a past year’s performance here:
Canada Pavilion – Canadian Holiday Voyageurs
Last but not least, head over to The Mill Stage to take a jolly musical tour of Canada with the Canadian Holiday Voyageurs, who sing holiday songs from across the country, including a few you might know!
These holiday storytellers perform daily throughout the festival at these times:
- 2:20 p.m.
- 3:30 p.m.
- 4:35 p.m.
- 5:35 p.m.
- 6:25 p.m.
- 7:30 p.m.
Check out our video of a past year’s performance here:
Santa Claus Meet and Greet at the Odyssey Pavilion
Santa Claus is the most unique of the advertised ‘holiday storytellers,’ as not only does he not appear in the World Showcase neighborhood of the park, but he also doesn’t share a story or celebrate cultural traditions. He instead appears as a meet-and-greet character inside the Odyssey Pavilion.
Santa meets guests from inside his ‘sleigh,’ which is actually a series of spaced pieces that look like a grand sled from a head-on view. The sleigh is situated in front of a cartoonish winter wonderland backdrop. Santa wears his iconic fur-lined red coat, thick brown belt, and classic hat.
Guests can write a wish for Santa on a card. Cast Members hand out and collect the cards.
The Santa Claus meet and greet is available through December 24 (we hear he has plans that night). It takes place daily at the following times:
- 11:00 a.m. – 12 p.m.
- 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
- 2:00 p.m. – 3 p.m.
- 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
- 5:00 p.m. – 6 p.m.
Which holiday storyteller is your favorite for this year’s EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays? Let us know in the comments.
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