Happy birthday, Nick!

MARY REICHARD, HOST: It’s Tuesday the 24th of December, 2019. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. So, I learned today a little bit of Norwegian language and culture.

REICHARD: That’s … random.

EICHER: No, no, it’s not. Remember our discussion of Christmas Eve Eve, and how you’re trying to spark a movement? You need to know: Christmas Eve Eve is a thing. 

In Norway, it’s a thing. Lille Julaften. Little Christmas Eve, December 23rd. Important day and a real holiday. 

As a good lawyer, Mary, you want precedent to cite for your rulings: You have precedent. Have a listen…

CORTINA: Hi, my name’s Cortina. I’m an American living in Norway. And I was listening to your podcast this morning on the 23rd of December and you were calling it Christmas Eve Eve. And you said something like, “Is that even a thing?” And I was just calling to let you know that it is a thing here in Norway. They say Lille Julaften, which is mini Christmas Eve—and it really is a thing. So I decided to share that with you guys and Merry Christmas and God Jul from Norway.

God Jul, she says. Basically Merry Christmas. 

So, I think you’re on to something. And while we’re on the subject, one more. This is good.

CASEY: Yes, this is Casey, from Walker, Iowa. My family has had a tradition of calling it “Christmas Adam.” Get it? Adam. And Eve.

REICHARD: I do get it! Clever! And listener Derick Dickens tweeted that info to me as well.

EICHER: But back to Norway—yes, yesterday was Lille Julaften. Today is Julaften, Christmas Eve.

REICHARD: And that’s not all today is, Nick! I happen to know it’s YOUR BIRTHDAY!

EICHER: Yes, my brother’s taking me to lunch today!

REICHARD: What a nice brother! And I’ve gotta ask: just how many years are you now, Nick?

EICHER: 30.

REICHARD: Um. How to put this delicately? You’re the numbers guy around here, but a recalculation might be in order….

EICHER: Here’s how I get there. When I first came to WORLD, I was 26. And this is my 30th WORLD birthday.

REICHARD: 26 plus 30 is how many years you are!? Why, let me just say you are just now hitting your prime.

EICHER: I keep telling myself that!

REICHARD: Now, I have a little surprise for you, Nick. In honor of your 30th WORLD birthday, some of us got together and got you something. Here it is:

AUDIO: Everybody singing….

EICHER: Ah, y’all are so great! Yes, for my 30th!

REICHARD: And I had an idea, Nick. How about for our December giving drive, we think of your 30 years with WORLD and give a little something in honor of that?

EICHER: I’m really not vain about age. I can say it, 56 years old. But my 30th birthday with WORLD. I’ve been here that long, and I’m praying for 20 more. 

I’ve seen so many changes in journalism over those years and I think we’re in a significant historical transition time with the media in absolute crisis. To me, that’s just opportunity for our brand of journalism, where we’re trying to recapture the original American idea.

At my age, you know I’m likely to start telling stories, and I’ll resist that, and just say: I love what we do here and I’m happy to have basically given my professional life to this great work and all my wonderful colleagues at WORLD. I love all of you.

And I love our listeners and readers. If you honor me with a birthday wish, let it be to help advance the work of WORLD.

REICHARD: So be it, then! It’s easy to give in honor of my co-host who thought up the idea for this program, a kind of NPR from a Christian perspective, all those years ago. It took decades to get to what we hear today, but I want to tell you myself what a difference it’s made to me personally and to all our lives. Your 30 year WORLD birthday has meaning for all of us here. Just go to wng.org/donate. And happy birthday, Nick!

(Photo/Creative Commons, Flickr)

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