'Why isn't my child Mary' syndrome

[Pud2]

AIBU to get irritated by parents who complain to the school when their DC doesn't get a good part in a production?

Never mind Mary (always long blonde hair apart from one dark auburn Mary who was a teachers daughter) but angel Gabriel always was the prettiest girl in class (with long blonde hair). Not bitter, no - not me with the 3 inch short curly hair till I was a teen and resigned to the back row of the instrument ensemble playing recorder - I knew my place!).

Aged 5, my sister was a roman centurion. Everyone had to boo when she entered. I was a candle. Loving the grain of sand and the anus....whose anus was in the nativity play? Mary's perhaps on the birthing table?

oh bamba, I feel your pain.

In my school, Gabriel was always a curly-haired blonde. With ringlets. Mary - straight blonde, blue eyes. Gabriel - curly blonde, blue eyes.

When I grew older and saw some mad Victorian illustrations of Gabriel - poss Rosetti or someone who illustrated Blake's Songs of Innocence - I was amazed. Had no idea he could be depicted as a very muscular bloke!

Hmm, Seems to be a lot of jealousy and hate towards girls with blonde hair and blue eyes. I posted earlier about the stereotypical blonde, blue eyed girl being the angel. I don't see any actual hate on the thread!

My curly blonde blue eyed dd never got Mary either! She was a cracker, a sheep, a shepherd and an alien.

I was Mary twice. .

I held baby Jesus upside down the second and last time I was asked. My brothers thought I did it on purpose and were really impressed but it was a mistake.

I had long brown wavy hair and brown eyes.

There is a real Mary and a real Joseph is DS's new class, watches with interest...

I was friends with a married couple called Mary and Joseph, I never said a word not even once.

XiX at poor upside down baby Jesus.

Did they have children?

Yes they had kids but all with non interesting names. It was a bit dissapointing.

Well that was a missed opportunity

Quite!

I've got a new neighbour called Jesus. Not as in Jesus wants you for a sunbeam, but as in Latin American.

I was Mary, and I'm definately not blonde.

DD was an angel with a solo to sing....she definitely isn't blonde.

I've always been happy with the parts my DC have been given in school productions.

I did once sit next to a parent who complained bitterly to me that her DT's didn't have a speaking part in the nativity (Only 3 DC i the year did, and my DS was one of them, so I kept quiet!) She moved her DT's to the independent school down the road shortly after.

I've always hoped the £20K pa she forked out resulted in her DT's being given a speaking part.

In the second year DS1 was at nursery (but still only 3yo) DH was desperate for him to be Joseph. Luckily he was...only because the child who was initially chosen got bored and amused themselves by doing gambols... .

Angel P1, Star P2,
Resentful brunette non speaking mary P3 (I wanted to be the narrator ) stumped up church aisle not touching Josephs hand and picked up baby J doll by one leg, gave him a shake to take the straw off. Apparently the retired midwife sitting by my mother was in stitches at this

Gave up doing any form of performance or going for parts after the humiliation of being dressed up as a postbox P4
(Seriously, a hopping postbox in a tight tube of red cloth)

DS has been Neptune (the planet, not the god) and had various little lines but not big speaking parts at assemblies so far. Was just glad he didnt have to be Uranus in the planets bit

Actually my little fair curly, blue eyed son was Joseph recently though to be fair there were four Josephs and four Marys! There definitely seems to be a shift these days and no longer do the prettiest long blonde ringleted girls get all the choice roles.

As an aside, why did Mary always go to a blue eyed blonde?

It didn't at my schools, always the dark haired girl. not bitter about being an angel every bloomin year

Although one of my aunts was apparently Mary a few times, with blonde hair, but she has an aunty who is a nun so maybe that was why

DD started a new school 2 weeks ago. After the first day the teacher approached me and said "We've got the School play next week, I've told DD that she doesn't have to take part if she doesn't want to - it will probably be too much this early". I spoke to DD and she decided she didn't want to do it.

Cue Thursday that week, I'm at work and DH phones. "Eve, we have a problem, DD has changed her mind and wants to be in the play. She needs a costume by Monday and can you help her learn the songs by Tuesday?" DD then phones me Thursday night and says "Im in the play, I have to be something animally"

Bloody hell. "Animally" wtf is animally? My sewing machine is still packed, we have boxes to unpack and a house to sort out. But I've got to make an 'animally costume over the weekend.

I take the path of least effort. She's a mouse. I buy a plain grey track suit and daps from Sports Direct and sew ears nose and tail - all the while going through DDs lines with her. I am VERY happy to return to work. Monday.

Oh crap.

DD is blonde, blue-eyed, loves to sing and dance and is Catholic (& the daughter of a teacher - me!). How do I PREVENT her from being Mary? I hate school plays - not the actual play but the effort beforehand. I can't bloody sew for a start!

My friends son went to a separate infant and junior school as did his whole class. At the end of y2 and in the first year of the juniors they did a nativity. Same Mary both times!

I work in a junior school- the infant school Y2 teachers do a pretty detailed handover session before they come up, but I don't think it extends to details of who got the best parts in the play....

Ds was one of the wise men in his nursery show last year. Dh took the day off work to come and see it with me.

We both ended up crying, but only with laughter, as they had painted a fierce black beard on our blond son, who proceeded to jut his jaw out furiously, furrow his brows, and basically stand at the back looking like a gargoyle or a thundercloud for the whole show, until he had to give his gift to the baby, when he loped across the 'stage', lobbed a box at the newborn king, and then stomped off angrily to the side.

It was the funniest thing I've seen.

I am hugely looking forward to him playing the role of furious villager or angry innkeeper or pissed off sheep or similar this year :o

I was a blonde serial Angel Gabriel. I think it was partly my hair and partly my loud speaking voice.

More embarrassingly, I was given a small part in the primary school play by my form teacher and then called into the headmaster's office and told that they were doing an extra performance where I would play the main part and the other girl would take the smaller part. I was delighted and had loads of fun doing it. I only found out years later that the headmaster and music teacher had always intended me to play the main part but my class teacher didn't like me much so had gone against their wishes. So they'd put on a whole extra performance just to accommodate me. I was mortified when I found this out as an adult.