-Three!

Two!

One!

[ Cheering ] -It's said, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Welcome to "Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out."

Today we're steppin' out into a traditional Southern Christmas of fun, food, and family.

-Merry Christmas!

-Merry Christmas!

-♪ Steppin' out ♪ -"Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out" is made possible by... -Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel in the United States and in more than 100 countries.

From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.

We are Road Scholar.

We make the world our classroom.

♪♪ -There's a reason people call Myrtle Beach "The Beach."

There are 60 miles of wide sandy beaches along South Carolina's Grand Strand coast.

This vacation destination has golf courses, attractions, food, wine, and Southern sun.

♪♪ -My soul search for a South Carolina Southern Christmas begins on Sandy Island, where Gullah Geechee traditions run long and true.

I take a short cruise on the bayou to Wilma's Cottage for a come-together with Laura Herriott.

Hi, Laura.

-Hey.

Good morning.

How are you doing?

-Beautifully.

-Yes.

Welcome to Wilma's Cottage and Sandy Island.

Come on in.

-Laura, this is a great little island house.

How long has it been here?

-Since 1951 this house was built.

-1951!

Whoa!

I saw it's called Wilma's Cottage, and I was trying to figure out -- your name is Laura.

Why is it called Wilma's Cottage?

-My grandfather had named William, and my grandmother had named Mary.

So to keep the house and give it honor their memory, I decided to call it Wilma Cottage.

-And you've kept it like pretty much the way it was when they were here.

-This is almost just like it was when they were.

-This is what you want when you come to a place like this, is to have an authentic experience.

And it just has that sense of being here for a long time and having a lot of wonderful things that have happened here.

-And lots of love.

-And isn't that pretty much what the holidays and Christmas and Hanukkah and Kwanzaa and all those are about?

-Bringing it all together.

-Right?

All the love.

Yeah, this reminds me a lot of the house I grew up in.

-Yes.

-Really... -It's maybe not Christmas food, but it's the food that we have served while living here on Sandy Island.

-Well, that's what's important.

-Yes.

It's food that's indigenous to the island and indigenous to your community.

-Yes.

-Wow, this is so great.

Thank you so much.

It's so wonderful.

Fried chicken.

You got to have southern-fried chicken.

Thank you so much for sharing this with me.

-You're welcome.

Okay.

-Great.

This is fabulous.

Well, Laura, it's great that you've been able to keep this house as an homage to your grandparents.

-Yeah, I think they would appreciate me not letting the house just go down.

Instead of trying to make a big old tombstone to the graveyard or something, but just to keep the house going, that would instill their life, to let them know that their hard work didn't go in vain.

-Hey, you know, they didn't live in that graveyard.

They lived here.

-Yes.

-So by you keeping this house up, you're keeping the spirit up and honoring it by keeping it going and bringing people in to share it with you.

I think that's what's wonderful.

That's what we get from, you know, travel is when we share experiences like this.

-That's it.

-What would you say from your ancestors has really stayed with you?

-I think the love.

-The love.

-And the spirit.

And I know how hard they worked.

And I didn't want to feel like I'm gonna fail them in what I do.

-Your relatives, they actually -- were they slaves here on -- growing rice here?

-Yeah.

-And then they were able to come back and buy the property.

-Yes.

-It's so wonderful that happened because now you're able to hang on to it.

-I'm trying to keep it as long as I can.

-Absolutely.

-Trust and pray that my kids would take it over when I die and go.

-Oh, that would be wonderful if they would continue it.

So people, when they come here to visit... -Yes.

-...and you get to people who are staying here, what do they come for, would you say?

-Most of the time they just come to relax and they might just walk around.

-Well, it's very quiet and peaceful here.

It's crazy peaceful.

-That's it.

And I think the fresh air.

-Of course.

You know, you come here and you breathe deeply.

You're right.

I felt it myself.

-Relax your mind.

Take it from all the other things that are going on in the world out there.

-My pursuit of the Gullah Geechee culture continues at Brookgreen Gardens, the site of a former rice plantation worked by one of the South's largest slave holdings.

The tale is picked up by Ron and Natalie Daise, who on Nickelodeon's "Gullah Gullah Island" created a family show devoted to cultural preservation.

-So for the rice production, there are hundreds of thousands of these enslaved West Africans and only 100 or fewer white people.

So the heritage, the foodways, the speechways, the beliefs and customs they brought over from West Africa were able to be maintained and continues to this day.

-How did the name Gullah -- Gullah and Gullah Geechee -- where did that come from?

-Africans were enslaved from countries along the western coast of Africa, the "Rice Coast."

There were some tribal groups known as the Gola and well as the Gizi people.

And maybe that's how the term Gullah or Geechee came from.

-We're here for a Southern Christmas.

And what would be some of the traditions or customs that would be celebrated, still celebrated, and originally celebrated by the Gullah Geechee people for the holidays?

-Well, the foodways was one of the traditions, wintertime being the time of harvest.

So there was a sharing of the food for the holidays.

There's also the music of the holidays.

♪ Dey turn Mary and Joseph ♪ ♪ Away from de inn ♪ -♪ Dey turn Mary and Joseph ♪ ♪ Away from de inn ♪ ♪ Dey turn Mary and Joseph ♪ ♪ Away from de inn ♪ ♪ And that what make the glory manger ♪ -♪ And the hallelujah ♪ ♪ And the hallelujah ♪ ♪ And that what make the glory manger ♪ -And that's exactly what you should have done.

-Oh, good!

-Because it's a community thing.

It's not a performance.

-I can see that, like you say, back and forth.

Thank you for sharing that with me.

-Oona welcome.

-[ Laughs ] -For true.

[ Laughs ] -Kaela, what are you doing here?

How many of these candles are you gonna light tonight?

-Over 3,000.

-Well, thank you for doing that for us.

This is such a wonderful event for Christmastime.

All the gardens have their own little theme of candles, and lights hanging from the tree.

-It's fabulous they do that here.

-It's beautiful.

-Can I light one?

-Sure!

-There we go.

-Perfect.

-Fabulous.

I can say I participated in the Night of a Thousand Candles.

Thank you so much, Kaela.

-No problem.

Thank you.

[ Bagpipe music playing ] -The annual holiday Night of a Thousand Candles lights up the botanical and cultural riches of Brookgreen Gardens.

Oh, wow.

The home of 2,000 species of native plants and the works of more than 400 artists becomes a twinkling, magical feast for the senses.

♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ ♪♪ While cold ocean breezes and seabirds in flight clear the mind and feed the spirit, the nearby Milk and Honey Coffee Cafe satisfies other hungers.

Thank you so much.

-Of course.

Thank you.

-Tell me about this one.

-This is actually new today.

We just released this for Christmastime.

This is a cranberry cinnamon roll.

Everything at our pastry bar is baked fresh every single day.

-Fabulous.

And you have another little special dish here for Christmas.

-Yeah.

So this is a aebleskiver.

-Aebleskiver is a Swedish or a Scandinavian pancake.

-Exactly.

I flavored one with a lemon curd.

And then the other one is a wild Maine blueberry.

I spent a lot of time in the countryside.

We flavored it with a little bit of rosemary.

It reminds me of being in the pine forests of Vermont.

-We have a theme here, this Southern Christmas.

So what are you doing to kind of help me satisfy this?

I'm on the search of a southern Christmas here.

-I loved a cranberry glazed ham when I was a kid.

So for Christmastime, we actually have a spin off of prosciutto toast.

It screams Christmas to me.

That ham, that cranberry.

It's just something that was always served at our dining room table.

Dig in.

-I've got to try this.

It's going to be maybe a little bit funny and difficult to eat, but maybe not.

Mm!

My philosophy is, if you don't get messy eating, you're not really getting into it.

-It's like being a kid again, getting messy with the food.

It's about creating an experience more than just filling your belly.

[ Indistinct conversations ] -I'm doing a show on Southern Christmas and I normally ask, you know, "What about what's happening here is Christmas?"

I don't have to worry about that here.

Everything here is Christmas.

-Yeah, it's become a Christmas tradition here.

We close for a week.

We get the place completely decked out.

-And you have these interesting glasses to go with the drinks.

-This is our Secret Santa right here.

a nice tropical cocktail similar to like a piña colada.

-Right.

-And we incorporate a little pumpkin spice to kind of tie it into the holidays.

-You know, Christmas, of course, is connected to so many things.

And even your restaurant here, JEM, is connected to your family.

-Yep.

We named this restaurant after Jackson, Emma, and Madeline.

They're our three youngest.

It had a really good ring to it.

-Tell me a little bit about that backstory, how this all came about.

-Coming up as a first-generation American, my dad and mom worked a lot, and my grandfather was the one that looked after us and he would cook for us.

So that was kind of the start of what got me into this industry, and I fell in love, and it was always my grandfather's dream to open a restaurant.

Unfortunately, he wasn't around to see us open, but I think 25 years later I'm... -So you've made it happen for him.

-Yeah.

-You know, it's very interesting.

We're talking about Christmas and your grandfather.

I'm second-generation American.

My background is Cuban.

And my Christmas -- Nochebuena in the Cuban tradition, Christmas Eve -- we'd have a big celebration in my grandfather's cigar factory in Miami.

And he did all the cooking.

It's touching to me that we have this connection of grandfathers, and here we are, both of them connected to Christmas.

Do you think about him when you're doing your job here?

-Absolutely.

I mean, again, the reason I'm in this industry is because of that.

I mean, the influence he had on my life and my career, I mean, I'm forever grateful for, right?

My grandfather would be so proud and so happy that somebody in our family finally accomplished the American dream.

Thank you for joining us.

-Thank you so much.

-Thank you.

[ Horn honks ] ♪♪ -The diversity of any town is not just a matter of culture.

It also has to do with our differing abilities.

-Are you excited to see the penguins?

-Penguins.

-Yeah, we got the penguins.

-Jamie Daskalis... -You can go.

-...puts her autistic son at ease by taking him to sensory-friendly events and activities made available in her community.

Look.

-Bud, look.

-This is Chickpea.

-You say, "Hi, Chickpea"?

-Chickpea is gonna come hang out with you.

-How you doing, brother?

-What is that, bud?

-Penguin.

-A penguin?

Yeah.

-The African penguin exhibit at Ripley's Aquarium offers peaceful and joyful exchanges with these sweet, comical creatures.

-There you go.

Good job.

-Cool!

-Is it cool?

-Autism is a developmental disorder that affects how we interact socially with others, learn, and behave.

-You helping?

-By standing in for people, the penguins take the fear and awkwardness out of encounters with strangers.

How many of these kinds of things are available here to you in the community?

-A lot of places are making accommodations now.

Ripley's does their sensory-friendly once a month, and there's just a couple other different attractions that do stuff like that.

You want to touch it?

Two fingers.

Be easy.

-Together.

-Yeah, like that.

Easy.

And it's nice that the mall does like sensory-friendly Santa.

So they have certain times blocked off this time of year.

So you can sign up where it's a little quieter, less people.

Just little things like that really do make a big difference.

Although he's autistic and needs some accommodations, we try to remember that he is capable of doing things and to hold on to that first and just keep pushing forward.

I love you.

-I love you.

-How about emotionally?

What are the kind of emotions that you've had to deal with over the years?

-I've cried a lot, and they're not all sad tears.

A lot of happy tears, like if he masters a new skill because he's very good at watching and learning and observing.

How many?

One... -Two, three, four.

-So sometimes I have to step back first and just wait to see if he needs help.

I've had to learn that.

-Absolutely.

If you had one bit of advice you would give to other parents of autistic children, what would you say?

What would be your number one advice for them?

-Just, you know, never give up on the child and keep working with your child.

Keep trying to help them learn new things.

I feel like they want to learn too.

-Sure.

-They're human.

They want to be able to do things for themselves.

-Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this experience.

It was great with the penguins.

-It was so cute.

-Love to see his face light up when he saw those penguins.

How wonderful that we all got to share it.

-We got to see the penguins.

-Thank you.

-Is that cool?

-Cool.

-Yeah, bud.

You say thank you, Joe.

-Thank you, Joe.

-Thank you, James.

[ Knock on door ] -Hey!

-Hi!

-How you doing?

How you doing?

-I'm wonderful.

-Nice to see you.

-Well, come on in here and let me introduce you to everybody.

We got a crowd.

-You got a bunch of carolers, huh?

-We do.

It's kind of a family affair.

All right, you guys ready to head out?

-Yes!

-Perfect.

So this neighborhood is dear to my heart because I was actually homeless in this neighborhood.

-Oh, you were?

-I got off the bus and had nowhere to go.

And that was 27 years ago.

We moved back into this neighborhood purposefully five years ago to be part of bringing some life back into it.

-♪ Hark!

the herald angels sing ♪ ♪ Glory to the newborn King ♪ ♪ Peace on earth and mercy mild ♪ ♪ God and sinners reconciled ♪ -And so we invested in this house and then we, um, invested in a business downtown.

And so now we get the opportunity to feed this community, but in so many ways this community feeds us.

Hi!

Merry Christmas!

-♪ We wish you a merry Christmas ♪ ♪ We wish you a merry Christmas ♪ ♪ We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year ♪ ♪ Round yon virgin, mother and child ♪ ♪ Holy infant so tender and mild ♪ -So, you know, I came to do a Southern Christmas.

And what I discovered is that in the South, North, East, West Christmas is Christmas.

And those who celebrate Christmas celebrate it with family and gratitude.

What do you think?

-I think we only have today.

We only -- you know, this is it.

What is it they say?

That's why they call it the "present."

-[ Laughs ] -It's because it's a gift.

-Right.

-And for us, we have so much to be grateful for.

You know, somebody was asking me earlier, you know, "What was the flip for you?"

Because I lived my life, for most of my life, for me.

You know, kind of nursing my own wounds and my own pain.

-Right.

-But when I came to know Christ and became a follower of Jesus, it was a game changer for me because that is -- you know, Jesus is not like, "Oh, let's focus on the bad."

He's like, "Put your mind on things that are above.

Put your focus on these things."

Whatever is lovely, whatever is true, whatever is honorable.

And so we focus on those things.

For me, what is lovely, what is beautiful, what's honorable is my family, this community we've built.

And so walking around this neighborhood and singing some songs to bring people some cheer or to brighten up a mundane day in a place where people don't have a whole lot, that, to me, is the easiest thing to do.

-And you know that's true.

I travel all over the world and what you just expressed, every place I've ever been, they would say pretty much the same thing.

-Merry Christmas!

-Merry Christmas!

-Hi, Johanna.

-Hi, Joseph!

-Thank you very much for inviting us.

-Yes.

Yes, you're welcome.

-We're here in South Carolina doing a Southern Christmas.

-Yes, sir.

-Okay, so obviously this service is very much a part of the Christmas experience.

What would be the Southern part of it?

-Well, the Southern part would most definitely be our focus on Jesus Christ.

There's so many reasons now that people celebrate Christmas.

And oftentimes Christ is left out of that picture.

But for us here in Myrtle Beach, in particular in the Gullah Geechee community, African Americans focus on Jesus because throughout our history as a people in these United States of America, Jesus has been our sustainer.

For so many countless years we were not considered citizens.

For some, not even human beings.

But our faith in Jesus is what sustained us.

The faith is what endures, and that's what always give Black folks around the world hope forever.

That's our hope, our trust.

-You know, I've found that wherever I've traveled -- you know, I've been in 104 countries -- and everywhere... -Yes, sir.

-...everywhere, people's spiritual connection, whatever that spiritual connection happens to be, is what sustains them and is what keeps them together as a community and as a family.

-And that is the thing that sticks us together and keeps us together as a human family, yes.

-As a human family, exactly.

-Yes, indeed.

-Well, let's go in and celebrate.

-Yes.

Amen.

-Amen.

-So this morning we share the good news with a rhetorical question.

Who is this child?

-Amen.

Praise Jesus.

-This child gives us hope.

-Yeah.

-This child gives us peace.

-Yes, he does.

-This child gives us joy.

-Yes, he does.

-This child gives us love.

I really want to tell you about my Savior.

I want to tell you about my Christ.

I want to tell you about my Lord.

I dare you to ask me who is this child.

When I'm walking through the fires of my life, this child won't let me burn!

Who is this child?!

This child is all I have!

-You know, the spiritual side of Christianity and the spiritual side of Christmas, I should say, has always been kind of the rock of the African American community here.

And what I've always been amazed at is all the trials and tribulations that the people have suffered over the centuries, and how that was enough to sustain them.

Why do you think that is?

-Jesus is the only reason that we have moved from one point to the other.

And so, you know, we should never forget that and always pass that on.

And that's just part of who we are.

It's part of our ethos to pass on to our children what we know, and what greater thing to pass on or to pass down to the next generation than Jesus Christ, the one who saved and continues to save?

Jesus, as you said, our rock.

And so when we talk about Jesus, particularly when we're talking about in the Black community or African American community, Jesus is all we had then.

He sustained us then, ancestrywise.

He sustains us today.

And so if we lose that rock, then we lose the generation.

-This is the time where we need to be more connected than ever, I feel, and thank you for your participation in keeping this community together.

Merry Christmas to you.

-Merry Christmas to you, sir.

♪♪ -So, Dylan, what's Lowcountry about Lowcountry boil?

-Everything about the Lowcountry boil is about the low country.

Good flavors all in one pot like we're all in one community down here.

We all make each other better.

Just like the flavors make each other better in this pot.

It became part of what we do as a family because of the togetherness of it, and the family has fallen in love with it.

We dump it out on the table right in front of everybody.

It's just -- it's a good scene.

-It's fun.

-Yeah, it's fun.

Exactly.

And the holidays in the Carolinas, they're not all about fancy.

It's about faith, it's about family, it's about friends, and it's about fun.

And the Lowcountry boil hits on all of those notes.

You know, I came down here not knowing what to expect.

I met my wife and, you know, we got pregnant with our daughter, who we lost, and... -Oh.

I'm sorry to hear that.

You lost your daughter?

-We did.

We lost our daughter in 2016.

Her name was Mia.

Mia Rose.

-Oh.

And she -- she changed us, um...dramatically.

We bring her everywhere.

Our boys know her.

They talk about their heaven sister, their big sister in heaven.

She's a part of all of our family functions.

I brought her today.

She's with us on the table at every holiday.

She's still there.

My Rose.

-Your Rose.

-My Rose.

-[ Voice breaking ] Oh, brother.

-Yeah.

-So don't drop her.

-No.

Of course not.

-Yeah.

-[ Exhales sharply ] Thank you for sharing that with me.

-It really truly changed me to the core.

I stopped trying to control what happened to me every day.

I just started walking and living the path that was in front of me.

And really what it what it did to me is it opened my eyes up to how the dark can really turn to light.

And I feel like so many people in the world need to hear that, because they go through dark days and they just -- they can't get out of it.

You know, they see the darkness, and that's all that they can see, and it's really not the case.

-That's a great topic for you to bring up here at Christmastime, because we just, you know, this -- the longest night of the year happens during this season, and yet it always promises it's going to be light afterward.

Thank you for steppin' out with me and celebrating a Southern Christmas along the Grand Strand, a place rich in history and heritage.

-How you doing?

-I rediscovered that Christmas is about sharing traditions that forge the ties that bind us together as a family and as a people.

Apart from Native Americans -- and African Americans, whose ancestors were enslaved and brought here against their will -- we are a nation of immigrants, each new arrival adding their hopes, dreams, and customs to the cauldron that reshapes daily America.

To me, Christmas is about the birth of hope.

It is about the dawn of a promise of a world filled with, as Reverend McLellan said, hope, peace, joy, and love.

-I love you.

-I love you.

-Every Christmas season, we experience the longest night of the year.

And yet, in that time of ultimate darkness, there is still the promise of expanding light.

I pray that the spirit of Christmas, embodied by a child in a manger, will dispel all the darkness and cast a shining light of hope, peace, joy, and love upon the world and all in it.

Until we meet again, remember the words of Mark Twain -- "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness."

Merry Christmas, and may your next adventure always be your best.

-"Joseph Rosendo's Steppin' Out" is made possible by... -Since 1975, we've inspired adults to learn and travel in the United States and in more than 100 countries.

From exploring our national parks to learning about art and culture in Italy, we've introduced adults to places, ideas, and friends.

We are Road Scholar.

We make the world our classroom.

♪♪ -There's a reason people call Myrtle Beach "The Beach."

There are 60 miles of wide sandy beaches along South Carolina's Grand Strand coast.

This vacation destination has golf courses, attractions, food, wine, and Southern sun.

♪♪ -For a DVD of any of my "Steppin' Out" adventures or my companion memoir and travel book, "Musings: The Short Happy Pursuit of Pleasure and Other Journeys," call 888-876-3399, order online at josephrosendo.com, or e-mail me at TV@josephrosendo.com.

-♪ Mm, mm, mm ♪ -♪ Steppin' out ♪ -Now that we've stepped out into a Southern Christmas together, learn more at josephrosendo.com, where you can follow my worldwide adventures through my e-magazine, blog, podcast, and social media.

Stay in touch -- 888-876-3399, or e-mail me at TV@josephrosendo.com.

He likes the camera too, it looks like.

He's eating part of the camera.

-Oh.

-[ Laughs ] -Merry Christmas.

-Merry Christmas to you.

-Happy New Year to you.

-Happy New Year to you.

-It's the first droned celebration of Christmas here in Myrtle Beach.

A hundred drones will be taking off and entertaining all these people here.

Yay!

♪♪ -♪ Steppin' out ♪ -Ahh!

[ Cheers and applause ] Happy holidays.

-♪ Steppin' out ♪