Happy Christmas

What makes a great Nativity play?

I was visiting my in-laws in their small English village, this time of year, and took my children to a nativity in their church. It wasn’t my home, it wasn’t my denomination, and I knew no-one. I seated us in the front row so the children could see, and realized that some of the organizing ladies were looking across, one particularly staring at us. My daughter actually whispered ‘Is that lady cross with us?’ – I was concerned that we had taken someone’s reserved seats. Was this event going to spoil my list of great nativity memories?

My daughter had played Mary at school when she was 5, and I said at the time: ‘she did very well. As far as I could tell through my tears.’ But she told me firmly that it didn’t matter who played Mary, everyone was important, everyone was part of the play – and I thought what a good job the school was doing. I had heard horror stories of some nativities, with jostling for parts and some children feeling excluded: not at our school.

At a playgroup in another local church, there was a very informal but perfect nativity, where the children could pick their role. My 3yo son fancied being one of the three kings, but then discovered there was also a cow costume. Unable to decide, he went for both: he looked completely splendid in a cow tunic and hood with crown placed around the cow ears, and a purple cape, and a gold present in his hands (hoofs?).

We moved to America: a church nativity service. I was put in charge of a group who have gone down in family history as the Naughty Shepherds. We had to wait at the back of church till it was our moment to run on with some stuffed sheep. This idle time was hard to police: I had to decide between going after the boys who were looking through the Food Bank contributions box for something to eat, or the ones who were trying to climb into the baptismal font, which was a full-size immersion pool. But we all made it to the stable on time.

So what happened in the village church I mentioned earlier? Well, the very important lady eventually came over to us. I waited, braced to be told we were doing something wrong, we had to move. She said ‘Wouldn’t your children like to take part in our nativity? We have spare costumes, they can be angels, the big children will look after them, it doesn’t matter a bit that they haven’t been to rehearsals.’ In that country parish Mary and Joseph came into the church on a real donkey, and it was lovely – again, as far as I could tell through the tears.

A true nativity is not about the show, or a perfect performance, or a reward for good behaviour: it’s about including everyone and welcoming the stranger, and telling that eternal story one more time.  You can go from a big city in the USA to a tiny village in England and there will always be people who know what is important in life. 

A Happy and Blessed Christmas to you all 

The top picture is of an angel sculpture from a nativity scene at the Cathedral of La Antigua Guatemala.

The other picture is of a school event in Llangedwyn in 1956, from the National Library of Wales (undoubtedly not Naughty Shepherds). They seem to be wearing teatowels, tablecloths and curtains, as entirely traditional in the UK