0:00:06 > 0:00:12For more than half a century the BBC have captured the changing face of life in Northern Ireland.
0:00:14 > 0:00:19It all seems so innocent today, but without these moments,
0:00:19 > 0:00:21something of who we are now would be lost forever.
0:00:23 > 0:00:27These are the Christmas archives and those were the days.
0:00:30 > 0:00:35I think to look back at Christmas archive, there is nostalgia to it and it's also very informative
0:00:35 > 0:00:38because you see how far things have moved on.
0:00:40 > 0:00:45Watching people enjoying themselves and watching back to old times,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47watching pieces of archive about Christmas.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52It's just...you know, you could sit in summertime and watch it.
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Just watching it at Christmas itself, it's so fabulous.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01There may only be a few short moments on film
0:01:01 > 0:01:03but they're magical moments.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08To see the smiles on the faces and to see the laughs and the fun
0:01:08 > 0:01:13the kids had back in the day. It's very important and I just wish there was more of it.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28# Oh, the weather outside is frightful
0:01:28 > 0:01:32# But the fire is so delightful
0:01:32 > 0:01:36# And since we've no place to go
0:01:36 > 0:01:39# Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. #
0:01:39 > 0:01:41Seasonal scenes of sleighs and snowball fights
0:01:41 > 0:01:45evoke the very essence of Christmas,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50and it was no different in 1955 Northern Ireland.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53# Let it snow, let it snow. #
0:01:54 > 0:02:00From White Christmases in black and white, to sepia-tinted memories of magical moments,
0:02:00 > 0:02:03the festive season makes children of us all.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09I love Christmas, and since I've had kids I love it doubly, triply,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12and more, in fact, because it is a magical time.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Christmas Eve is my favourite day of the year.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18# All the way home I'll be warm. #
0:02:18 > 0:02:19That moment at which
0:02:19 > 0:02:21you arrive back in the house.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25You close the door, you look to see if It's A Wonderful Life is on.
0:02:25 > 0:02:26I loved all the decorations
0:02:26 > 0:02:28and I remember all the colour,
0:02:28 > 0:02:30all the smells of Christmas.
0:02:30 > 0:02:32I enjoyed them every bit as much
0:02:32 > 0:02:35as I enjoy Christmas now with my own children.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39The whole thing for me
0:02:39 > 0:02:43is buying things that I know are going to give pleasure to people.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45I love giving people gifts.
0:02:45 > 0:02:51I love shopping, even though it gets crowded and noisy and hectic.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55'At the weekend they were still clearing the road
0:02:55 > 0:02:58'between Ballymena and Cushendall.
0:02:58 > 0:03:04'Our car was the first ordinary vehicle to make the through journey since Wednesday.'
0:03:04 > 0:03:07Before I had kids I might have been slightly cynical about Christmas.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09It was really just a chance to get a bit of time of work
0:03:09 > 0:03:12and maybe have a few drinks with friends or something.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15But if you look at a kid in the run up to Christmas
0:03:15 > 0:03:19and the sheer buzz, the sheer excitement and the sheer, you know,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23love of everything to do with the Yuletide period.
0:03:23 > 0:03:24You can see it in kids' eyes.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27I think it's brilliant and it's my favourite time of the year.
0:03:27 > 0:03:30And I'm looking forward to it.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Da-di-da.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37Stepping into our living rooms in 1970 were the happy feet of dancer Tommy Gunn.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Joining him around the hearth, to celebrate a traditional rural Christmas,
0:03:43 > 0:03:49was poet and presenter Seamus Heaney and an audience of wide-eyed schoolchildren.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57You're welcome to this house where we're celebrating Christmas in our own way.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Of course, there are all kinds of ways of celebrating Christmas.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Seamus Heaney's Christmas Garland, it is magical.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06It is a beautiful piece of television.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Seamus Heaney, you could watch reading the back of a cornflakes box.
0:04:10 > 0:04:15Like the man has this incredible ability to make the most eloquent language
0:04:15 > 0:04:17seem the most natural language.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24My father played the melodeon outside at our gate,
0:04:24 > 0:04:29there were stars in the morning east and they danced to his music.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34Inevitably, when you put somebody like Seamus Heaney in a space like that,
0:04:34 > 0:04:36that is steeped in history, and you can clearly see
0:04:36 > 0:04:42it's a very old stone-thatched Irish cottage that has the open hearth.
0:04:42 > 0:04:47There are so many small touch's within it that reminds us of history, reminds us of tradition.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52Outside in the cow house my mother made the music of milking,
0:04:52 > 0:04:56the light of her stable lamp was a star and the frost of Bethlehem made it twinkle.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01And then the whole thing builds up to The Mummers coming in
0:05:01 > 0:05:07and doing there kind of mumming story of King George
0:05:07 > 0:05:11having the kind of sword fight with the Turkish champion from Turkeyland.
0:05:13 > 0:05:19Knocking on the door and making a dramatic entrance into the Yuletide celebrations were The Mummers.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22ALL: Hurray.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26# Christmas is coming and the geese are getting fat. #
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Long before television took over our living rooms,
0:05:29 > 0:05:31these travelling bands of players
0:05:31 > 0:05:35were warmly welcomed across the country to provide home entertainment.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38# Please put a penny in the old man's hat. #
0:05:38 > 0:05:43I was surprised, when The Mummers were coming I was expecting big people.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46So, when the doors opened and we get more kids
0:05:46 > 0:05:49and they come in and they perform.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54I've never seen that. I've never seen that done.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56So that, in itself, was interesting.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00So, you're watching it in the same way as those kids present.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04You have no chance, Turkish.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Turkey man's down, he's dead.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09Aaah.
0:06:09 > 0:06:15Here come's I, old Doctor Brown, the best old doctor in the town, and if this man...
0:06:15 > 0:06:17'I was Dr Brown.'
0:06:19 > 0:06:23They were calling for a doctor, a doctor, and I just came in and,
0:06:23 > 0:06:26"Here come I, old Doctor Brown, the best old doctor in the town.
0:06:26 > 0:06:30"If this man's life must be saved, full 50 guineas I must be paid."
0:06:30 > 0:06:33- 50 guineas?- 50 guineas, no less.
0:06:33 > 0:06:35- What can you cure?- I can cure... - What can you cure?
0:06:35 > 0:06:39I can cure the plague within, the plague without, the palsy, ague, the gout.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42For nine devils in I can knock ten out.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Moreover, bring me an old woman of three score years and ten
0:06:45 > 0:06:48and if she's very bendy I'll make her straight again.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51- He's coming to life.- He's alive again.
0:06:51 > 0:06:55Once I was dead and now I'm alive, God bless the old Doctor who made me revive.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58BOTH: We'll shake hands and fight no more,
0:06:58 > 0:07:02brothers be as we were before and if you don't believe what we say
0:07:02 > 0:07:06call in Big Head and he'll clear the way.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09They are times past and I don't think can ever come back.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13I think the world and technology now, things have just moved that much.
0:07:13 > 0:07:18Kids just wouldn't be interested, I don't think in doing stuff like that now.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21That's a shame, I wish they would. See a lot more of them.
0:07:23 > 0:07:28# Just hear those sleigh bells jingling, ring, ting, tingling too. #
0:07:28 > 0:07:33At Christmas, it is normally only Santa's sleigh that is seen soaring across the sky.
0:07:34 > 0:07:39But in 1972, the BBC News reported on an extraordinary Christmas gift
0:07:39 > 0:07:43for a group of underprivileged children.
0:07:43 > 0:07:45Christmas is very exciting for kids anyway.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47If you add to it that you are going up in an aeroplane
0:07:47 > 0:07:51that's really exciting, that's a double whammy of excitement.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54# Giddy up, giddy up, its grand. #
0:07:54 > 0:07:56What a great idea.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58Because to those children, although it was only a very short flight,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01that would be an entirely out of their experience.
0:08:01 > 0:08:06They would never have had that kind of thing in their life before.
0:08:09 > 0:08:15These orphaned boys and girls were given the treat of a lifetime in Santa's spectacular skyride.
0:08:17 > 0:08:22As well as receiving presents, they flew above the clouds for the very first time.
0:08:25 > 0:08:29- Christine, are you enjoying yourself? - Yes, I am, very well.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33- Is this the first time you have been in an aeroplane?- Yes, it is.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35- What do you think of it? - I think it's beautiful.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And to see the clouds like snow.
0:08:38 > 0:08:43I think the lovely thing is they are all so innocent and wide-eyed
0:08:43 > 0:08:46about everything that they've seen.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48What do you like about it?
0:08:48 > 0:08:51I like watching the clouds
0:08:51 > 0:08:54and all the cars are like a matchbox motorway.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58That thing of things being tiny on the ground,
0:08:58 > 0:09:05I still will kind of elbow the person next to me and say, "Look at that wee car down there."
0:09:05 > 0:09:09I know that I am doing it, I know that I'm turning into my mother
0:09:09 > 0:09:11saying, "Would you ever believe that those of full-size?"
0:09:11 > 0:09:13They just look like miniatures.
0:09:17 > 0:09:22- And what did you get from Santa Claus?- A watch.- Did you? Let's see.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26Oh, lovely. And you went up front, didn't you, to the pilot?
0:09:26 > 0:09:27What did you see up there?
0:09:27 > 0:09:31I seen that there were all kinds of knobs
0:09:31 > 0:09:35and the pilot let me talk to the people down on the ground.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- I hope you weren't flying it, were you?- No.
0:09:40 > 0:09:43What else could be better than that experience?
0:09:43 > 0:09:47To not only go up in a plane, but go in and meet the pilot.
0:09:47 > 0:09:51Then, interviewer asks silly question, "Did you fly the plane?" "No".
0:09:51 > 0:09:54I hope he is an airline pilot to this day.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I would happily get on a plane with him,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59he's clearly got a very strong sense of the technical know-how.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Just a load of knobs and they let me talk to the boys on the ground.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04That's all you need to know.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07# So this is Christmas
0:10:07 > 0:10:10# And what have you done. #
0:10:11 > 0:10:14The Troubles may have taken hold,
0:10:14 > 0:10:19but that didn't stop crowds of young people celebrating Christmas in 1970s downtown Belfast.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25# And so this is Christmas. #
0:10:27 > 0:10:32And joining them was Geraldine Kelly, an intrepid reporter from Down Under
0:10:32 > 0:10:35looking to shine a light on our troubled Christmases.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40It's not quite like Christmas at home.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45Two days ago sunbaking in Sydney along with a few hundred thousand Irish migrants.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49Now I'm freezing to death having been poked and searched
0:10:49 > 0:10:52and battered with the crowds to the town.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54Belfast's a nice place
0:10:54 > 0:10:57but it's a big shock coming from sunny Australia.
0:10:57 > 0:11:00# So this is Christmas. #
0:11:02 > 0:11:06I think it was a huge culture shock for somebody coming from Australia
0:11:06 > 0:11:09to be parachuted into Belfast
0:11:09 > 0:11:13and for this to be a normality.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17For an outsider to come in and to be put in that position.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20You can see in her face she just looks really, well,
0:11:20 > 0:11:25as you would I suppose, really uneasy and on edge and very uncomfortable.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35Swapping barbecues and beaches for Saracens and searches
0:11:35 > 0:11:39proved an eye-opening experience for this Christmas visitor
0:11:39 > 0:11:43who would take home some decidedly bittersweet memories.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49And when Geraldine asked shoppers to share their wishes,
0:11:49 > 0:11:54she was met with one single, simple abiding answer.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57- What is your Christmas wish for Belfast?- Peace.- And yours?
0:11:57 > 0:12:02- I'm the same, peace.- I hope you get it.- I sure hope so, too.- So do we.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06When Geraldine goes round towards the end of the piece
0:12:06 > 0:12:08she does some vox pops around the city centre.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10What's your Christmas wish for Belfast this year?
0:12:10 > 0:12:15Every single person, all they really want is peace.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16I think a little bit of peace,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18I think we deserve it after all these years.
0:12:18 > 0:12:24- Peace.- Thank you.- Well, peace, of course. Everybody would like peace.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27- Is there anything else?- Mmm.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I think that's the most important thing here, I think.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Peace and everybody just get on with their normal lives.
0:12:37 > 0:12:41At that stage people were weary completely and utterly weary
0:12:41 > 0:12:44and desperate and desolate with what was going on.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50You know, it was a heartfelt, really deep heartfelt wish, I think,
0:12:50 > 0:12:52from all of those people.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Just for things to calm, for people to stop it.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Well, Christmas in Belfast, with a few obvious exceptions,
0:13:01 > 0:13:07is probably like Christmas anywhere else but an awful lot colder.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Belfast, it's a beautiful city.
0:13:09 > 0:13:14It can make you laugh but unfortunately, for me especially, it can make you cry too.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Belfast, Happy Christmas, I wish you happiness,
0:13:17 > 0:13:22peace and next year may be just a little bit different for us all.
0:13:22 > 0:13:26# They said there'll be snow at Christmas
0:13:26 > 0:13:30# They said there'll be peace on earth. #
0:13:30 > 0:13:36As Geraldine jetted home, peace remained a far-off dream for Northern Ireland.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38So, in 1978,
0:13:38 > 0:13:45one group of local women decided to leave the tensions behind and go seasonal shopping London-style.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51And BBC Northern Ireland was there to capture their big city bonanza.
0:13:56 > 0:13:58The ladies who went to London
0:13:58 > 0:14:01they were releasing themselves from a very dark time here.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06They were going for what, literally, were the bright lights of London.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10# They sold me a dream of Christmas. #
0:14:10 > 0:14:14And among the seasoned shoppers
0:14:14 > 0:14:17was one retail rookie with her eyes on the prize,
0:14:17 > 0:14:22five-year-old Lorna Treacy from Templepatrick.
0:14:23 > 0:14:28Well, because it was December and, of course, all children get very excited about Christmas.
0:14:28 > 0:14:31I was five, my younger brother, Richard, was only two at the time
0:14:31 > 0:14:34so he didn't come on that trip. He stayed at home with our father.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38But I knew that when we went to London, we would see lots of Christmas decorations,
0:14:38 > 0:14:43lots of Christmas lights, and possibly a visit to the big man himself, going to see Santa.
0:14:43 > 0:14:47# I wish you were home for Christmas
0:14:47 > 0:14:52# I wish you a brave New Year. #
0:14:52 > 0:14:56My mother was familiar with London, she knew where to take me to see the sights.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59So, I did go to the likes of the Tower of London,
0:14:59 > 0:15:01I did see Tower Bridge, going along the River Thames,
0:15:01 > 0:15:04seeing Buckingham Palace, seeing the London buses.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07That was very exciting and as exciting, really,
0:15:07 > 0:15:11as seeing all the Christmas decorations in the city at the time.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16But there was one VIP who topped Lorna's list
0:15:16 > 0:15:19on this jam-packed Christmas jaunt.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23And, once again, the BBC was there to record this auspicious meeting.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27I remember queuing up and having these lights on me,
0:15:27 > 0:15:30which is a very unusual experience for a five-year-old.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33I wasn't overawed by it, particularly,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37but I was a little bit mesmerised by being the focus of so much attention.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39She was not only there for herself
0:15:39 > 0:15:43but she was there for her brother as well, on behalf of her brother.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47You know, and knowing what he would want for Christmas
0:15:47 > 0:15:50and making sure that she would tell Santa,
0:15:50 > 0:15:54because she's obviously left home saying, "Don't worry, I'll let Santa know what you want."
0:15:54 > 0:15:56Which was lovely that she did that.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00My young brother would like a toy train.
0:16:00 > 0:16:03Now, let me go through this and make sure I've got it right.
0:16:03 > 0:16:09You want an emu, right? And a walkie-talkie doll.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11What is it your brother would like?
0:16:11 > 0:16:14I asked for a train for my brother.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18I can't be sure if he got that. He probably did though.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22And I asked for Emu, a walkie-talkie doll and Tiny Tears.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26I'll see about your emu and your walkie-talkie doll.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30- All right, my darling.- What do you say?- Thank you.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Have a lovely Christmas.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36- A kiss for Santa.- And lots and lots of lovely presents, my darling.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Thank you, Happy Christmas.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41It was lovely to see the footage again after so long,
0:16:41 > 0:16:44really nice to see how we looked 30-odd years ago.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48I've got two children of my own now, who are four and seven,
0:16:48 > 0:16:52so they found it really funny to see their mum as a little girl.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56And what my voice sounded like, as well, that was lovely to see.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59- Have you enjoyed yourself? - Yes, thank you.
0:16:59 > 0:17:04Belfast has really come into its own in the last ten years, really.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06We're definitely not where we were in 1978.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08Belfast is a great place to go shopping in.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10It's a great place to be,
0:17:10 > 0:17:12and we don't need to go to London for shopping.
0:17:12 > 0:17:16If we want to, we can, but we don't need to do it to have that great experience,
0:17:16 > 0:17:18we have it on our doorstep.
0:17:24 > 0:17:26Throughout the 1980s,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30popular BBC Northern Ireland programmes celebrated the season with Christmas specials.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35And top of the tree was Ye Tell Me That,
0:17:35 > 0:17:39an eclectic mix of tall tales and unusual events.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46The idea to make a Christmas special was, in a way, sort of obvious.
0:17:46 > 0:17:51We done three years worth of serious and it seemed sort of obvious
0:17:51 > 0:17:55to do a Christmas special of Ye Tell Me That.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Great fun. The very last show I ever did.
0:18:02 > 0:18:07So, great fun tinged with sadness, but I enjoyed it.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13Santa look-alike Brian Willis was joined by sidekick,
0:18:13 > 0:18:15and elf, Joe McKee,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19who were both determined that this final show would be a Christmas Cracker.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23I remember this series on transmission.
0:18:25 > 0:18:31I knew that television had moved on a great deal within the first 30, 40 seconds of the programme.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35The style of it, the style of presentation,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39all of that just seemed such a long, long way ago.
0:18:39 > 0:18:41This is Ken Stewart from Dungannon.
0:18:41 > 0:18:44Christmas is a time to feast, and there's nothing we enjoy more
0:18:44 > 0:18:48than sitting down for a Christmas dinner.
0:18:48 > 0:18:49But how can one tell
0:18:49 > 0:18:52if the food you are about to eat is good or bad for you?
0:18:52 > 0:18:57My favourite part of the programme was the food divining thing with Ken.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00Ken told me about this trick.
0:19:00 > 0:19:06And what he does, he has a ring on the end of the string and he would hold it over food.
0:19:06 > 0:19:11If it was good food it would go up and down and if it was nasty food, not suitable for him to eat,
0:19:11 > 0:19:16it would go round and round.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18So, that's the best of stuff, on that plate.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21That's the best of good food on the plate? Yes.
0:19:21 > 0:19:23The chicken salad was good for Ken
0:19:23 > 0:19:27and then, when it went over the chocolatey gateau, it went in a circle.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31It was bad for Ken.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35Then when it went to the bananas and apples, they were great. They were OK.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38You can see a massive swing on that, it is very good for you.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41I think grapes, maybe, didn't agree with Ken.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45So, it went across the Kiwis but it's circled his grapes.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47And do you know...
0:19:47 > 0:19:54Again, if I go to the grapes, they wouldn't agree with me.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Let's talk about Match Of The Day or something.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16If you check the rest of this food.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19I obviously have got to go to the kitchen and do some washing up.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22- You carry on here.- Right.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28Of course there's absolutely no scientific grounds for this,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31it's all nonsense, really, do you know.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35But what I loved was Ken's confidence,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37when asked by Joe how foolproof this was he says, "Oh, 100%."
0:20:37 > 0:20:41It was very, very funny, it was very funny.
0:20:41 > 0:20:46Needless to say, food divining hasn't really taken off, has it?
0:20:46 > 0:20:49# Here comes Santa Claus Here comes Santa Claus
0:20:49 > 0:20:51# Right down Santa Claus Lane. #
0:20:51 > 0:20:56One job that will always be in demand is that of Mr Claus himself.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01And in 1984, snowed under with a heavy sleighload of deliveries,
0:21:01 > 0:21:06the recruitment campaign began to find back-up for Father Christmas.
0:21:06 > 0:21:08Santa can't be everywhere at once,
0:21:08 > 0:21:15therefore helpers are needed in shops and the streets of the town.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20To take orders.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Obviously if anything has been left off lists it needs to be passed on.
0:21:24 > 0:21:30To perhaps to give out a present, just to keep you going until Christmas.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Competition was high, but despite a lack of white whiskers and advancing years,
0:21:36 > 0:21:4020-year-old Padraig Mackel from West Belfast
0:21:40 > 0:21:44was convinced he would make a swell Noel.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48I saw the advertisement in the local job market.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51I was 20, I think it said you had to be at least 40,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54and I just thought, "Well, I'll go for it and see."
0:21:54 > 0:21:58It was a job, I had a lot of respect for Santa, I like Santa,
0:21:58 > 0:22:01always did as a kid, so I thought it would be interesting to see if I could put my skills to work.
0:22:01 > 0:22:07Padraig, I'm still not quite convinced that you're the type of man for the job.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10After all, you are only 20 years of age.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14That was tremendous pressure to be interviewed by Santa
0:22:14 > 0:22:18and to know that he had the power to give you the job or not to give you the job.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22So, I was excited, but at the same time there was a bit of trepidation there.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25I had to concentrate very hard to make sure I said the right things
0:22:25 > 0:22:27and convince Santa I was the best person for the job.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Well, Santa, there are many things I can do.
0:22:30 > 0:22:34I can feed reindeers, I can trim beards, I could go on all day.
0:22:36 > 0:22:41Padraig, aged 20, who said that he would be Buttons or an Ugly Sister,
0:22:41 > 0:22:45he'd do anything, and he got the job.
0:22:45 > 0:22:4913 men had failed the interviews and two jobs went unfilled.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52It wasn't easy to recruit the right people.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56I was, in fact, a Santa's helper, myself.
0:22:56 > 0:23:02No amount of pillows could disguise the fact that I really hadn't been built for this.
0:23:02 > 0:23:07I can't say there were too many three-year-olds, who came in, were particularly convinced by me.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10I have to say Santa was really good, really nice.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13He was very friendly, as you would expect.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16He made sure we got our breaks on time, he made sure we got our pay.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18He made sure we did the right things for the children
0:23:18 > 0:23:21to make sure they had wonderful time in the lead up to Christmas.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25I have to say Santa was one of my better employers over the years.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28# Joy to the world
0:23:28 > 0:23:30# The Lord is come
0:23:31 > 0:23:34# Let Earth receive her King. #
0:23:37 > 0:23:42In 1984, BBC cameras witnessed the inspirational work of a local legend,
0:23:42 > 0:23:47Saint Anne's Cathedral's Dean Sammy Crooks.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Since 1976, this extraordinary clergyman had braved the elements
0:23:51 > 0:23:54for his annual charity Christmas sit-out.
0:23:54 > 0:23:57Dean Crooks had begun this
0:23:57 > 0:24:01and it was really an inspirational thing for him to do.
0:24:03 > 0:24:08He was very determined and he was able to drive this thing forward,
0:24:08 > 0:24:12in a sense, by the force of his own personality.
0:24:14 > 0:24:19The way he interacted with everybody who came by, with the children who were bringing money,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22I thought that really came across in the film.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27It is rare that someone's personality shines through to such an extent, like that.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31It didn't matter who you were or where you came from.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34People knew that there was this particular sit-out
0:24:34 > 0:24:38and they were going to come round, regardless of their own personal denominations.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41So, there was no sense that this was a Protestant thing.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45It was just a sense that this was the right thing to do, to give money to charity.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50It was a clear message, people got the idea and they reacted so well.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53Thank you, darling. Thank you very much.
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Such was the chord that the dark-robed Dean had struck with the generous public,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01that the press had labelled him Black Santa.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08The people of Belfast are so entirely different from all other people.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10They've got a heart, they've got a lung,
0:25:10 > 0:25:15they have a warmth, and if they get a good cause they'll support it to the hilt,
0:25:15 > 0:25:17that's exactly what has happened here.
0:25:22 > 0:25:27And support it to the hilt they did, as people of all ages and backgrounds
0:25:27 > 0:25:31came from far and wide to donate everything from a few simple pennies
0:25:31 > 0:25:33to hundreds of pounds,
0:25:33 > 0:25:36all for Black Santa.
0:25:40 > 0:25:47To set in 1984, a target of £50,000 to raise in a matter of days,
0:25:47 > 0:25:52and doing it, just is staggering.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55It's quite incredible to think
0:25:55 > 0:25:59that he was able to just to pull that amount of charity
0:25:59 > 0:26:02in from ordinary people in the street.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Again, I was very struck, very moved by the fact that this was all happening
0:26:06 > 0:26:08in the darkest days of the Troubles.
0:26:08 > 0:26:12I can't raise my hat to you.
0:26:12 > 0:26:17No-one embodied the true spirit of Christmas more than Dean Sammy Crooks.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21Tragically, just two years later,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25this unassuming hero would die in a car accident.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27But his remarkable charitable legacy,
0:26:27 > 0:26:31which has raised over £7 million, lives on to this day.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39Seeing this footage at the time that I viewed it was very important for me
0:26:39 > 0:26:46because from the very day that I was appointed Dean
0:26:46 > 0:26:50the media were asking me, "Will you be Black Santa this year?"
0:26:54 > 0:26:58Seeing Dean Crooks doing this
0:26:58 > 0:27:04and looking at archive footage generally, I think one of the things is it tells us,
0:27:04 > 0:27:09"Yes, I'd forgotten that," and, "Really was it like that?"
0:27:10 > 0:27:14And those sort of things, I think, are very inspirational
0:27:14 > 0:27:21and I found it a great help in considering the whole thing that, here was somebody, you know,
0:27:21 > 0:27:2730 years ago doing this and I'm going to be part of this now.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30# Those were the days my friend. #
0:27:30 > 0:27:35The story of our Christmas past is also the story of how we used to live.
0:27:35 > 0:27:43Thanks to a rich archive, and the magic of film, we can bring those bygone days back to life.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47# We'd fight and never lose For we were young
0:27:47 > 0:27:50# And sure to have our way
0:27:50 > 0:27:52# La-la-la-la-la
0:27:52 > 0:27:55# La-la-la-la-la
0:27:55 > 0:27:57# Those were the days
0:27:57 > 0:28:00# Oh, yes, those were the days
0:28:00 > 0:28:02# La-la-la-la-la
0:28:02 > 0:28:05# La-la-la-la-la
0:28:05 > 0:28:08# Those were the days
0:28:08 > 0:28:11# Ah yes, those were the days
0:28:11 > 0:28:13# La-la-la-la-la. #