Nov
11
Written by:
host
11/11/2009 7:00 AM
At many churches, the Advent season would not be complete without a Christmas pageant/program/play. Whether it is done by children, youth, adults or an intergenerational mix, we enjoy retelling the story of Jesus’ birth through drama. Such events are a wonderfully, visual way to pass on the stories and traditions of our faith.
If your church has a Christmas pageant tradition and you thrive on the preparation, anticipation and enactment of the event, that’s great! If the Christmas pageant at your church provides more anxiety and frustration than anticipation, or if your church does not have an event to reenact the Christmas story, you might want to consider this alternative. Follow the Star is an event that has worked well at the church I attend for over 15 years.
In a nutshell, Follow the Star is a one evening event requiring no rehearsals and minimal preparation. Every child, youth and adult present has an opportunity to be a part of the event. The Christmas story is retold and dramatized, Christmas hymns are sung and hot chocolate and treats are shared afterword.
Here are more details:
Costumes are made available. This will be the most time-intensive part the first year, but after that the costumes are stored and reused every year. We usually set up “stations” and have an adult or two at each station to assist children (and youth and adults) with their costumes.
Here are the costumes we use:
- Mary and baby Jesus – two pieces of blue cloth (can be different colors), one to wrap around her shoulders like a cape and one to drape over her head; a doll wrapped in a blanket or piece of white cloth
- Joseph and the shepherds – long pieces of brown cloth in varying lengths to accommodate different sizes of shepherds, with an opening midway for the shepherd’s head; smaller pieces of fabric for head covering, with a unique color for Joseph (optional); ropes and fabric strips to use as belts and to secure the head coverings; as an alternative, you may use bathrobes (We have opted not to provide staffs for the shepherds. You may choose to do so if you are brave…)
- Angels and sheep – squares of white cloth with a hole in the center, in varying sizes to accommodate different sizes of angels and sheep – the squares are worn “diagonally” with a corner of the square in front and back and one at each arm; angel costumes are completed with star garland or tinsel halos and cellophane wings (a rectangle scrunched and taped in the middle, then attached to the back of the white cape with a safety pin); designate one angel to play the role of Gabriel; sheep costumes are completed by a set of ears cut out of cardstock, covered with cotton ball wool and strung on a piece of white yarn to tie around the sheep’s head
- Wise persons – fancy robes, crowns or fancy head coverings and gifts to carry; you may have someone make these costumes, or simply use fancy fabric capes and construction paper crowns
Props (optional):
- Wooden manger
- Lighted star (white Christmas lights outlining a wire star shape) – hung at the site chosen
- Hay bales – if the event is held outside, a few hay bales nicely designate a stage, give the angels a place to stand and provide a nice backdrop for a photo of the entire ensemble
For the script, we use Luke 2:1-20 and Matthew 2:1-12. We add a brief welcome and introduction stating that we have gathered to retell the familiar story. At the end we add a short concluding statement. The scripture is broken into sections and stage directions are added. (e.g. Mary and Joseph enter; Mary places baby Jesus in the manger and kneels; Joseph stands; shepherds and sheep enter, etc.) Christmas hymns are added at appropriate intervals. (e.g. “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” is sung after the angels enter the scene.)
Sticking with the minimal preparation aspect, we recruit youth and adults to read the script as they come to the event, rather than calling ahead to find readers. Hymns are song a cappella or with a simple guitar accompaniment. We do provide song sheets so that carrying hymnals and searching for the hymns are not necessary.
Participants get their costumes on inside the building, with their coats and hats on underneath. The whole entourage then heads outside to our courtyard area to tell the story. We have held the event inside when wind chills were dangerous, but we find that holding it outside adds specialness and makes hot chocolate taste even better afterwards!
We used to literally Follow the Star (on the back of a pickup truck and powered by a generator) to a barn or field. While that was very enjoyable, we found that it limited participation by younger children and older persons who were unable to withstand cold temperatures for a long period of time. Moving the event to church grounds allows persons to go back inside for a few minutes if needed.
In about two days (not including publicity), one day to organize costumes, props and scripts and make arrangements for treats and one evening for the event, we have enjoyed our annual Christmas pageant. This event is anticipated at our church every year. We choose to Follow the Star during the first week of Advent, thus starting the season off with a visual reminder of the reason that we celebrate.
~Sally Hoelscher