The Nativity

[We3kingsoforientRaahh]

been watching this, and not really sure what I think so far.

DD (who is 4), wants to know when they will sing 'Away in aManger'

I am not at all religious (although used to be a Sunday School teacher in my youth), but found this very moving.

Loved how it made me think about the practicalities / logistic if the story.

Brilliant!

SOBBED my way through that!!
agree re quite realistic birth (though personally i couldn't have reached up with one hand whilst pushing....and the LAST place i would have been able to sit, cross legged, any time after the birth would have been a stable floor - but then God didn't choose me, quite rightly )
Acting has been brilliant. Mary was quite lovely. Have a slight crush on Joseph ...
I now want to see the next chapter?!

I am not Christian, and i am just loving it. It is very moving really. Very sensitively told, and it is just so nice to have something like this on the bbc.

I cried through that. The birth was v realistic, reminded me vividly of ds3's birth.

Mary was an excellent actress wasn't she. Birth was very good (well, yes, apart from that hand bit).
And WaitWhat - you weren't the only one to think of Brian!

the birth was enough to get my nips tingling, not in any pervy kind of way but because I forgot to bring my pump to work and they're full to bursting :o I knew as soon as the labour started I'd have problems, i'm just glad I'm not leaking all over the shop

I thought it was lovely. Always hard to bring Joseph to life without making him look like the biggest mug in the world, but you could see the struggle and the frustration when he thought he'd been betrayed.

I also liked the whole planets moving bit and the fact that there wasn't a blinding flash of light and choral music when the babe was born.

That baby is going to have quite a CV as an actor if his first gig was playing Jesus.

Got me all emotional too.

I believe

I cried my eyes out at the birth but a bit hormonal today. He was a gorgeous baby...made me all broody!

Agree with brassick about how it brings to life the practicalities and logistics which I used to wonder about as a child.

I noticed that the lady who helped had henna tattoos on her hands and wondered at the significance, if any, of that?

Watched it with my 2yo DTs who were amazingly quiet throughout. But when the three wise men arrived at the stable, DT1 said 'oh, it's Santa!' Bless

Just finished watching the last part, it was so simple and beautifully done, I cried. WTF I'm not even religious.
I quite liked how subtle it could be too, such as the blue cloth around Mary.

Just beautiful.
The character/storyline that touched me the most was the Shepherd, with his desperation, frustration and doubt. Really struck a chord. When he was visited by the angel and then when he reached the stable, I cried.
Well I cried quite a bit through the last episode.
I like how it filled in bits and helped me have a better understanding in some ways.
I also loved the planets and stars shots.

Thumbs up here.

The shepherd got me too; I cried when Gabriel visited him in the fields...

I love it; I think it's great that it didn't make it seem like a fairytale or only-psychos-believe type programme.

Also agree about the emotions; it never occured to be before that Mary would be hated throughout the land and I've been a Christian for nearly 20 years!

Not sure about the homocidal shepherd though they can show a murder, but not jesus breastfeeding?? (not yet anyhow)

Did anyone else worry for the shepherd's baby son? Lets hope he gets prior warning to escape the land before the massacre...

I really wanted to give Mary a doughnut cushion when I saw her sitting cross legged on the stable floor right after giving birth.

I watched it all and thought it was ace - a question though... is it 3 kings and 3 wise men or just 3 wise men who sometimes we refer to as 3 kings?? - i am a bit confused as i thought the 3 kings came 5 days after at ephiphany or something . Am off to christingle tonight so would be good to have the proper background knowledge

It was 3 magi (could be translated as wise men), they appear in one gospel version. No timing for when anyone got there, shepherds only appear in the other gospel version I think. Traditional it is thought they must have got there later because of the distance they traveled.
The conjunction of planets is one proposed explanation for the star.
The one thing I think most people agree is that it didn't happen in December as Shepherds wouldn't have been on the hills of Israel, as it would be too cold. However I do love having a mediteranian looking Mary rather than a pale blonde.

My DD requested that we watched the last one.

(I had problems watch Peter Capaldi not swear.)

Thanks for that - i just remember our church sayign something about kings and epophany lasy year which made me wonder (we is c of e)

The Kings/WiseMen/Magi are traditionally celebrated at Epiphany (Jan6th), but they probably came MUCH later (like 2 or 3 years later, when Joseph and Mary were living in a house in the area. Interestingly it doesn't say there were three of them, but we asume there were, because there were three presents!