To want a traditional nativity play for once?

[Shutthegatepeter]

This week my son has his nativity. He has already done a dress rehearsal that parents could attend so I’ve seen it, his ‘proper’ performance is on Friday evening. It’s very cute and the kids and teachers have done a great effort so I do appreciate it, it’s certainly better than no nativity at all like during covid. But I’ve noticed with all 3 of my children now that they never do a traditional nativity anymore. One year my eldest daughter didn’t do a nativity they did a ‘Christmas play’ instead with Santa and dancing teddy bears, no Mary and Joseph. Another year my middle child was a spaceman who travelled to a Christmas planet, there was a brief mention of the birth of Jesus but no Mary, Joseph, shepherds etc. This year my youngest is a Christmas tree, there is a Mary and Joseph and a basic nativity story, but there’s breakdancing kings and they sing Bruno Mars I think I want to marry you. There’s no silent night, no away in a manger. None of my 3 children know away in a manger because they’ve never sang it in their nativities, they’re always trying to spice it up and modernise it and make it different. I appreciate the thought and maybe as a one off one year it’d be nice to see something different, but it’s every year and now none of my 3 have ever done a normal nativity. I want to hear away in a manger, not Bruno mars! I’m not even religious 😂 Has anyone else had a traditional nativity or are they a thing of the past now?

I guess it's down to trying to find parts for a whole class. In my DC school KS1 did a nativity "plus" extra parts, grumpy snowman etc. KS2 had all done nativity so did a different production. You could give school a bit of feedback and say you personally wouldn't mind the traditional Nativity.

Getting involved in a church/Sunday school is the guaranteed option, of course. Or one of those village efforts with real sheep that are always in Country Living.

In a world where no child is ever allowed to be disappointed or upset casting a traditional nativity would be every teacher’s worst nightmare 🙄.

There’s no silent night, no away in a manger. None of my 3 children know away in a manger because they’ve never sang it in their nativities

You can teach them that at home though, not singing it in school isn’t the only reason they don’t know it.

Unless your kids are at a exclusive single faith school I think you are being unreasonable. Not everyone is Christian or celebrates Christmas, I think schools should make everyone feel included and part of the festivities.

Is it a c of e or Catholic school? Schools without a religious link tend to try and celebrate Christmas with less of a religious bent.

I agree with the multiple parts bit. The original story is also fairly dull to act out, and short. The extra bits tend to be a bit too risky/ old to include eg King herod killing off the babies, or Mary actually giving birth.

The risk is its an incredibly dull story or it veers on that nativity by the rival school in nativity

The more modern stuff is more fun for kids to reherse. The practise takes hours and hours, the performance less than 30 min usual!

Yes tbh I would.

We had a traditional nativity
It ended up with a lot of narrators, angels and shepherds though just because of the amount of children.
It was quite traditional including the carols but it is a fairly religious church school.
The only non traditional aspect which was fab was that the kids sang and signed the songs to include all the kids (they have pretty good SEN provision)

I personally would much rather watch my kids do a christmas play about a snowman with dancing teddy bears and a visiting spaceman, than watch them joylessly churn out Away in a Manger.

Ours is today but seems to be about the Landlords Cat and within it they tell the Nativity Story. Last year there was a Mom woth5 a couple of kids who kinda narrated the Nativity story. Lots of new songs tho, as anyone without a part is in the choir. No Away in a Manger.

My DC have both finished primary school so I've sat through a lot of Nativitys. Not one has been the traditional story. There is usually a mention of Jesus and a hint to the story but that's it. I agree with you op. I'd have loved to see a traditional one.

I would have loved just one proper nativity, but our primary never did one. They tied in their Christmas plays to whatever they were learning about that term. The most memorable was when they were doing WWII and evacuees in about Y5, and DS came home and announced that he was Hitler's 2nd lieutenant - festive!! 🤔It was a great little performance in the end, though, about an evacuee child worrying in case Santa couldn't find him, while Hitler (complete with a permanent marker moustache that took about a fortnight to come off) plotted to shoot down Santa's sleigh and failed. The kids all loved it, which was the main thing, but just one traditional nativity would have been lovely.

Castings for traditional nativities always cause carnage. I remember distinctly a girl in my school being overjoyed to be Gabriel, only to discover Gabriel was infact a boy and have a complete fit about this.

If you want your kids to know carols just teach them?

Our school alternates - one year traditional, one year random Christmas play. I agree, Christmas is literally celebrating the Nativity and it's nonsense to try and divorce it from the Nativity. A traditional Nativity play isn't forcing religion, any more than acknowledgement of Christmas.

The last nativity play I was in (circa... 1996) I was Mrs Carraway the card shop owner who told stories from the front of the Christmas cards. One was about Father Christmas, I think one was about some kind of elf (like Elves and the shoemaker, possibly). It wasn't particularly traditional! I will say though that I could belt out Away in a Manger with the best of them at that age so maybe it's changed a lot. Bruno Mars definitely does NOT belong there though!! 😁

My boys are grown up now but they didn't do many, if any, traditional nativities. My absolute favourite that I loved to see was 'Humph the camel'. Fabulous.

My DC never did a nativity at school. They did a Christmas performance. We are in a multiethnic area, though, if that makes a difference. I think they all sang a carol at the end, though.

Ours does a traditional nativity & carol concert, including all the classics and the equally traditional misunderstood lines, with DD confidently singing ‘the kettles hello-ing’ last year!

However they also do short festive ‘skits’ around the nativity, with each class doing a different one and the year 6s making up their own. It is a smallish village school though, max 30 kids per year, so no real stress about who gets what part.

DDs school is pretty much a traditional nativity (bar the dancing donkeys) it’s a production the school buy to use I think. But they aren’t singing silent night/away in a manger etc. The songs they sing are telling the nativity story (she’s been singing rockabye Jesus on repeat) but they’re more interesting for the kids I suppose. The key stage 2 children do a carol concert instead

YANBU - this in one of my pet hates. I think I've seen the traveling to another planet one - completely incomprehensible nonsense.

No one has a clue what is going on because the 'plays' are written to allow as many kids as possible to have a part (why??? Some kids are shit at performances and that's totally fine!).

I say this as a staunch atheist! But if you are going to do a nativity just do it properly. In fact I felt the Christmas with the aliens/another planet one one was actually some atheist trolling - combing two improbable stories in one!!

Ours is the same. A traditional Nativity and carols. Years 4 - 6 are doing a Carol concert and the younger years are doing a Nativity the day before. My son is in reception and his class are singing Away in a Manger at the Nativity whilst dressed as barn animals.

We had inn keeper Micheal Jackson one year! He answered the door to Mary and Joseph singing thriller. I think schools need to bulk out their cast so everyone who wants a part can have one, it would look a bit silly having 15 Shepard’s visiting baby Jesus

You can play carols at home and get the kids to sing along-what's nicer than three young voices all singing 'Hark the herald angels sing' slightly off-key for the 147th time?

OP, why aren’t your children taking part in your local church Sunday School nativity?
That will very definitely have some beautiful carols - I always cry at “Little donkey” and “Away in a Manger” - and the proper gospel story of the birth of Jesus will be told.
At my village church we often have a real baby in the manger, if a local mum
has given birth recently enough.
Thing’s occasionally get hilariously out of hand. Long ago, when my DDs were young, and cast as angels, a massive brawl broke out among the cast, during the performance at our church service. The minister had to wade in and separate the kids. All you could hear above the melee was my 5 year old shouting furiously “The shepherds started it!”. (She was cast as Herod the following year…!)

a spaceman who travelled to a Christmas planet

Sorry but this cracked me up! 😆

No child wants to do the same nativity play several years in a row, and I'm sure the teacher's don't want to either! They usually mix it up to give everyone a part, and keep it fresh.
This year my son is Joseph, but I think it's a non-speaking part! It is more traditional this time round, with lots of snowflakes and angels, but it's hard to try and rework the basic story each year. I think they also try and play tot he children's strengths, so if there are some keen on breakdancing, why not let them do it?

My mum organised the christmas play at her school for many years, and I always remember her saying that a traditional nativity was a nightmare as there were only 8 real roles in it and then you end up with loads of sheep/ stars / angels/ shepherds who just waft about for a few minutes and 97 narrators who sit terrified for most of it and then say 10 words. Not to mention that with 120 3-7 year olds some of whom are scared of masks, some will need escorting by an adult, some will wet themselves, and at least one will be rolling round on the floor it is very hard to find the right thing to make them and give them more than 30s on stage. Oh, and not to mention the parental fighting about who got to be Mary.
Wheras 'Goldilocks and the three bears go through the woods to find father christmas, meeting the care bears and other assorted characters along the way' (this is not entirely made up as an example) gave a much bigger range of equal speaking parts, the nursery children could be flowers sitting at the front of the stage to sing and so forth