When and Where to Hear Storytellers at Epcot’s Festival of the Holidays

Not every kid gets to grow up with Santa as their grandpa. My grandpa’s snow-white hair and beard and jolly tummy would make it hard to deny that he wasn’t Santa Claus. He spent his free time building whimsical dollhouses and rocking horses for his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. And when he wasn’t in his wood shop, he’d spend his time in the kitchen carefully measuring ingredients and baking sweets connected to his Scandinavian heritage. I cannot think of him without being instantly enveloped in the smell of wood chips and sweet cardamom bread baking in the oven. He was quiet and reserved, and it always caught him a bit off guard when a random child would come up to him to tell him what she wanted for Christmas.

My grandma, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. She loved the attention and making Italian meals that required no measuring, only theatrical improvisation. One Christmas Eve, she decided that Santa Claus got too much attention. She barged into the living room wearing a long blue silk robe, a white lace tablecloth on top of her head and a broom in hand. We all stopped in utter confusion as my grandma called on everyone to gather around her. She was no longer my grandma, but La Befana (the Italian Santa Claus) as she told us how Christmas is celebrated in Italy…I’m pretty sure she might have visited EPCOT before this memorable performance.

My favorite activity at EPCOT’s Festival of the Holidays is listening to the various storytellers around the World Showcase pavilion. It’s fun to hear about how other countries celebrate the holidays through traditions and lore. Here are times and places where you can hear these storytellers: