A Nativity play or Christmas pageant is a play which recounts the story of the Nativity of Jesus. It is usually performed at Christmas, the feast of the Nativity.
A Nativity play or Christmas pageant is a play which recounts the story of the Nativity of Jesus. It is usually performed at Christmas, the feast of the Nativity.
The term "Nativity Drama" is used by Wellesz [1] in his discussion of the troparion hymns in the Christmas liturgy of Byzantine Rite Churches, from Sophronius in the seventh century. Goldstein argues [2] that the label "drama" is misleading, that the troparia are more akin to an oratorio than a play, and that the form is not a precursor of later more decidedly dramatic forms.
Saint Francis of Assisi performed Midnight Mass in the Italian town of Greccio on Christmas Eve 1223 in front of a life-size nativity scene (crib or creche) built by Giovanni Velita, with live animals. This is the first Nativity play. [3] However, more formal Nativity plays have featured in Christian worship since medieval mystery plays.
The 12th to 19th pageants of the 48-play York Mystery Cycle showcase the Nativity stories. However, the most famous Nativity play is from the medieval Wakefield Cycle The Second Shepherds' Play .
In modern Germany, the Weihnachten services on Christmas Eve include a children's mass called Weihnachtsgeschichte, which features a Krippenspiel ('crib play').
The German tradition also includes the Erlau Playbook and the plays from Oberufer.
In Latin America pastorelas ('shepherd's plays') are performed in many local communities. These were imported during Spanish colonization of the Americas but are no longer common in Spain. They recount the story of the shepherds travelling to worship the newborn Christ , augmenting the Biblical text with apocryphal events, indigenous beliefs, regional features, anachronisms, satire and buffoonery. Each community's play evolves into a distinctive tradition. [4]
In Belgium, puppet theatres often put on variations on the Nativity play in the weeks before Christmas, with parents and their children in the audience. The play often depicts the Massacre of the Innocents which occurred after the birth of Jesus. [5] Joan Gross traces this augmentation back to cryptic protests in the late nineteenth century against the abuse of native peoples by colonists in the King Leopold II's Congo Free State. [5]
In Townsville, Queensland Australia, the Stable on the Strand is an annual nativity play held at the city's oceanfront park. [6] [7]
Nativity plays are also popular in the United States. Many larger congregations have an annual play which is popular in the community: one example is the Gift of Christmas , produced annually by Prestonwood Baptist Church at its main campus in Plano, Texas.
It is also very popular in Eastern Europe, notably in Poland and Hungary.
Many, especially Christian-oriented, primary schools and Sunday Schools put on a Nativity play before the Christmas break begins. Children in costume act as the human and angel characters, and often as the animals and props. The infant Jesus is sometimes represented by a doll, but sometimes played by a real baby. Parents, grandparents and siblings, schoolteachers and sometimes the church community in general form the audience. The tradition of Nativity plays in British state primary schools is declining in favour of secular plays because of the need to include pupils of other faiths. However, a survey in 2012 found that 20% of schools were planning a traditional Nativity play and a further 50% were intending to stage an updated version of the Christmas story, sometimes with new music and extra characters. [8]
Modern writers to have written Nativity plays include Laurence Housman (Bethlehem, 1902; musical accompaniment by Joseph Moorat c. 1919 [9] ); Lucjan Rydel (Polish Bethlehem, 1904); Cicely Hamilton (The Child in Flanders: A Nativity Play, 1922); Dorothy L. Sayers ( He That Should Come , 1938) and Antony Brown (David and the Donkey, (1966). [10]
Jean-Paul Sartre's first play was Bariona, ou le Fils du tonnerre , a nativity play performed on Christmas Eve 1940 while a prisoner of war in a German stalag. Sartre saw Christ as part of the Jewish Resistance to the Roman Empire's occupation, mirroring the French Resistance of Nazi Germany's occupation. [11]
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the liturgical year in Christianity, it follows the season of Advent or the Nativity Fast, and initiates the season of Christmastide, which historically in the West lasts twelve days and culminates on Twelfth Night. Christmas Day is a public holiday in many countries, is celebrated religiously by a majority of Christians, as well as culturally by many non-Christians, and forms an integral part of the holiday season surrounding it.
Christmas in Poland is a major annual celebration, as in most countries of the Christian world. The observance of Christmas developed gradually over the centuries, beginning in ancient times; combining old Polish pagan customs with the religious ones introduced after the Christianization of Poland by the Catholic Church. Later influences include the mutual permeating of local traditions and various folk cultures. It is one of the most important religious holidays for Poles, who follow a somewhat strict traditional custom. Christmas trees are decorated and lit in family rooms on the day of Christmas Eve. Other trees are placed in most public areas and outside churches. Christmas in Poland is called "Boże Narodzenie", which translates to 'God's Birth'.
Advent is a season observed in most Christian denominations as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for both the celebration of the Nativity of Christ at Christmas and the return of Christ at the Second Coming. Advent is the beginning of the liturgical year in Western Christianity. The name was adopted from Latin adventus "coming; arrival", translating Greek parousia from the New Testament, originally referring to the Second Coming.
Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation of Christmas Day. Together, both days are considered one of the most culturally significant celebrations in Christendom and Western society.
In the Christian tradition, a nativity scene is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christmas season, of art objects representing the birth of Jesus. While the term "nativity scene" may be used of any representation of the very common subject of the Nativity of Jesus in art, it has a more specialized sense referring to seasonal displays, in particular sets of individual sculptural figures and props that are arranged for display.
A candy cane is a cane-shaped stick candy often associated with Christmastide, as well as Saint Nicholas Day. It is traditionally white with red stripes and flavored with peppermint, but the canes also come in a variety of other flavors and colors.
The nativity of Jesus, nativity of Christ, birth of Jesus or birth of Christ is documented in the biblical gospels of Luke and Matthew. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Judaea, that his mother, Mary, was engaged to a man named Joseph, who was descended from King David and was not his biological father, and that his birth was caused by divine intervention. Many modern scholars consider the birth narratives unhistorical because they are laced with theology and present two different accounts which cannot be harmonised into a single coherent narrative. Some view the question of historicity as secondary, given that gospels were primarily written as theological documents rather than chronological timelines.
The observance of Christmas around the world varies by country. The day of Christmas, and in some cases the day before and the day after, are recognized by many national governments and cultures worldwide, including in areas where Christianity is a minority religion. In some non-Christian areas, periods of former colonial rule introduced the celebration ; in others, Christian minorities or foreign cultural influences have led populations to observe the holiday.
The Adoration of the Shepherds is an episode in the story of Jesus's nativity in which shepherds are near witnesses to his birth in Bethlehem, arriving soon after he is actually born. It is recounted, or at least implied, in the Gospel of Luke and follows on from the Annunciation to the Shepherds, in which the shepherds are summoned by an angel to the scene of the birth. Like the episode preceding it, the adoration is a common subject in art, where it is often combined with the Adoration of the Magi. In such cases it is typically just referred to by the latter title.
Lucjan Rydel, also known as Lucjan Antoni Feliks Rydel, was a Polish playwright and poet from the Young Poland movement.
Kraków szopki or nativity scenes are a Christmas tradition originating from Kraków, Poland, and dating back to the 19th century. An unusual and characteristic feature of the szopka is the use of historical buildings of Kraków as a backdrop for the Nativity of Jesus. In 2018, it was inscribed on the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The Nativity of Jesus has been a major subject of Christian art since the 4th century.
The birth of Jesus has been depicted since early Christianity, and continues to be interpreted in modern artistic forms. Some of the artforms that have described Jesus' nativity include drama and music. Featured characters usually include Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
The Stable (formerly known as Stable on the Strand) is an annual nativity play in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It has been described as "part installation, part fun fair and part theatrical performance".
The annunciation to the shepherds is an episode in the Nativity of Jesus described in the Bible in Luke 2, in which angels tell a group of shepherds about the birth of Jesus. It is a common subject of Christian art and of Christmas carols.
The Niño Dios of Mexico is a tradition of venerating the Child Jesus in Mexico which has taken root from the time it was introduced in the 16th century and then synchronized with pre-Hispanic elements to form some unique traditions. Mexican Catholics have their own images of the Child Jesus, which is honored and celebrated during the Christmas season, especially on Christmas Eve and on Candlemas. One tradition unique to Mexico is to dress the image in new clothing each year for presentation at Mass on Candlemas. This dress can vary from representations of the saints, Aztec dress, football/soccer players and more. Also, there are Niño Dios images which are locally famous and honored year-round.
Christmas in Mexico is observed from December 12 to January 6, with one additional celebration on February 2. Traditional decorations displayed on this holiday include nativity scenes, poinsettias, and Christmas trees. The season begins with celebrations related to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Patroness of Mexico, followed by traditions such as Las Posadas and Pastorelas.
Kindleinwiegen is a Christian Nativity tradition which can be traced back to the Liturgical dramas of the later Medieval period. It is a tradition primarily from the German speaking parts of central Europe which appeared across the region in a variety of forms, chiefly though not exclusively in monasteries and churches. It was at its most widespread between the fifteenth and nineteenth centuries, and survived more strongly in Roman Catholic regions than in those areas that switched to protestantism, following the interventions of Martin Luther and others.
The Church of Saint Catherine or Chapel of Saint Catherine is a Catholic religious building located adjacent to the northern part of the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank, Palestine. It works as a parish church and Franciscan monastery. There is a complex of caves underneath the church.
Christmas traditions include a variety of customs, religious practices, rituals, and folklore associated with the celebration of Christmas. Many of these traditions vary by country or region, while others are practiced virtually identically worldwide.
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