Who remembers being told the legend of how animals speak on Christmas Eve?
 

Who remembers being told the legend of how animals could talk on Christmas Eve?

This website has a nice reminiscence..........


Keep scrolling downward to read in its entirety.....


http://mulewings.blogspot.com/2011/1...mals-talk.html

I'll have to check it out. Seriously I can't remember how long it's been since i've heard anyone bring that up!

We were never told this legend, but one of my first memories of a T.V. show had this theme for Christmas eve. It mesmerized me as a youngster.

Trivia question - What show and what were the childrens' names?

Anyone know it?

Don't you ever reminisce about what your parents would tell you as a child?
I still recall mine telling me when I was about 4 years old that the animals could speak "only on Christmas Eve".....
I believed them, of course.
The innocence of childhood !

It was on TV. I remember it too! Was it on I Remember Mama?

Quite possible
 

Quite possible. We did watch that. My mom loved that show as "Mama" reminded her of her own mother.

I found this on the web. I'm sure that's where I first heard the legend.

"The subject of animals talking at midnight on Christmas Eve is passed down from a Norwegian belief and was told in a program of ''I Remember Mama'' years ago. There was PaPa, Kathryn, her big brother Nells, little sister Dagmar,and of course MaMa. The weekly program appeared on Friday nights back in the early 50's and the holiday segment was the story of the animals speaking in the barn at midnight."

I should have said "No looking it up! :jester:

It was "I remember Mama, with Dagmar & Nels!"

Now to make us feel real old, young Nels was played by Dick Van Patten of "Eight is Enough" fame.

Mama - Season 5, Episode 15: The Night the Animals Talked (1953) - TV.com

Mama - Season 5, Episode 15: The night the animals talked


I do remember watching this several times, however, my parents told me this legend when I was younger......so prior to the "I Remember Mama Show".


I was about 4. That would be 1949.

Hey, I remembered it on my own! See my first post above. I actually remember watching it. Can't believe Dagmar was dick Van Patten, now selling dog food! That was a great family show.

There is a folk story passed down through my family from the Isle of Man; at midnight on Christmas Eve, all of the animals in the barn kneel.

I had a horse farm for many years. On Christmas Eve at midnight, I always visited the barn to see if the horses would kneel down. I thought that would be the most magical thing in the whole world. Of course they didn't kneel down, but they got a Christmas apple anyway.

Maybe that's why they talked--their knees hurt!

But it's a lovely story, and thanks to the OP for reminding us of it.

I believe the last I heard this folk story when I was little was from my grandfather who had a diary farm in Virginia. Most of my favorite childhood memories was from spending summer weeks there on the farm.

I remember my mother telling me that story mainly so I'd lay down and go to sleep myself. The animals deserved to have their time to speak and they couldn't if I was awake. (Strangely, the logic actually worked on me.)