The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow



The First Christmas: The Story of the First Christmas Snow is a 1975 Christmas stop motion animated television special produced by Rankin/Bass Productions which originally premiered on NBC on December 19, 1975. It is narrated by Angela Lansbury and co-stars Cyril Ritchard.

Plot
A young shepherd, Lucas, is blinded by lightning, and some nuns at a nearby abbey take him to a stable. Sister Theresa describes snow to Lucas, who has never seen it. Lucas gets chosen to play an angel in the stable's Christmas pageant, and the Christmas snow that falls during the pageant works a small miracle. The film contains a performance of Irving Berlin's "White Christmas".

Cast

 * Angela Lansbury as Sister Theresa
 * Cyril Ritchard as Father Thomas
 * David Kelley as Lucas
 * Dina Lynn as Louisa
 * Iris Rainer as Sister Catherine
 * Joan Gardener as Sister Jean

Additional cast

 * Greg Thomas
 * Don Messick
 * Sean Manning
 * Hilary Momberger as Octavia
 * Dru Stevens
 * The Wee Winter Singers as the Children Chorus

Songs

 * Christmas Snow is Magic/Save a Little Christmas (opening version) - Children Chorus
 * Save a Little Christmas - Father Thomas, Sister Theresa, Children Chorus
 * Christmas Snow is Magic - Sister Theresa
 * White Christmas - Lucas, Sister Theresa
 * The First White Christmas - Children Chorus
 * The First White Christmas (closing version) - Children Chorus

Crew

 * Produced and Directed by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass
 * Written by Julian P. Gardner
 * Music and Lyrics by Maury Laws and Jules Bass
 * Sound: John Curcio, Don Hahn, Dave Iveland, Tom Clack
 * Post Production Editing: Irwin Goldress
 * "Animagic" Production Supervisors: Akikazu Kono and Ichiro Komuro
 * Design: Lester Abrams
 * Music Arranged and Conducted by Maury Laws