Remember when we used to let our imaginations paint the pictures...
A nostalgic look back at the Christmas of our youth with the:
AMOS 'n' ANDY CHRISTMAS SHOW ON RADIO


Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll 
.

Listen

Patty Marie Ellis (Arbadella) and Alvin Childress (Amos) 
recreated "The Lord's Prayer" on television in 1951. 
Amos' recitation of "The Lord's Prayer" became an American institution,
introduced in 1940 and broadcast annually on radio through 1954.

Here is an excerpt from the script of traditional the Amos ‘n’ Andy
Christmas radio show when Freeman Gosden, enacting the role of Amos,
lovingly explained the Lord’s Prayer to his daughter, Arbadella.
It was Christmas Eve and Arbadella had requested the radio be
turned on and was asking questions before going to bed.
Hear the entire show HERE
Amos 'n' Andy Xmas Show

 * *  *  *  *
Announcer:  The Christmas Choir continues with the Lord’s Prayer.
Arbadella:  Daddy, could you get some Christmas music on the radio?
Amos:  Why, darling, this is the very best Christmas music you could get. They’re going to sing the Lord’s Prayer.
Arbadella:  Oh, I can say the Lord’s Prayer with Mommy.  She’s been teaching it to me.
Amos: Yes, I know.
Arbadella:  What does the Lord’s Prayer mean, Daddy?
Amos:  Well, it means an awful lot and with the world like it is today, it seems to have a bigger meaning than ever before.
Arbadella:  But, what does the Lord’s Prayer really mean, Daddy?
Amos:  The Lord’s Prayer...well, darling, I’ll explain it to you.
Arbadella:  Oh, will you, Daddy?

Amos:  Yeah.  Now, you lay down and you listen.  Now, the first line of the Lord’s Prayer is this...
Our Father which art in Heaven...
now, that means father of all that is good where no wrong can ever dwell.  And then it says...
Hallowed be thy name.
Now, that means, darling, that we should love and respect all that is good.  And then it says after that...
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in Heaven....
and that means, darling, as we clean our hearts of all hate and selfishness and fill our hearts with the love, the good, the true and the beautiful, then earth where we are now will be just like Heaven.

Arbadella:  That would be wonderful, Daddy.

Amos: Then it says...
Give us this day our daily bread.
Now, that means to feed our hearts and minds with kindness, with love and with courage, which will make us strong for our daily tasks.  And then, after that, the next line of the Lord’s Prayer is...
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Do you remember the Golden Rule?

Arbadella:   Yes, Daddy.

Amos:   Well, that means that we must keep the Golden Rule and do unto others as we would want them to do unto us.  And then it says...
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
Now, that means, my darling, to ask God to help us do and to see and to think right so that we will neither be led or
tempted by anything that is bad.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever.  Amen.
That means, darling, that all the world and everything in it belongs to God’s kingdom...everything...your mommy, your daddy, your little brother, your sister, your grandma, you and everybody.  And, as we know that and act as if we know it, that, my darling daughter, is the real spirit of Christmas.

Arbadella:  That’s good, Daddy.

              And, so it was...

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