Christmas Pageants - then and now

When I was growing up in the 40's, the highlight of our little country church every Christmas was the Christmas pageant, usually the Sunday before Christmas. We didn't have a lot of people in the audience since most of us were in the pageant, which always took place at night. The same costumes were used over and over except for the shepherd's robes, which were always borrowed from some of the older men.


A couple of years ago, Phillip Mixon, son of one of the ladies in the church, discovered some boxes in the attic storage of his mother's home when the house was being torn down to make way for the new highway. In those boxes were the costumes (folded away neatly) that were used in the Christmas pageants for many, many years. "Miss Viletia" was the only director that I can remember and she took care of the costumes over the years until her death in the 1990's.


More about the pageant. Angels were my favorite. Maybe that's because that was always my part. I wanted to be Mary but the older girls always got that part. Angel wings were made from coat hangers, covered with white crepe paper and outlined with shiny silver tinsel. They were pinned with large safety pins to the back of the white robes. They were always getting off center. Shepherds had to wear sandals and this was a time when men didn't wear sandals. The director made sandals using rope and cardboard for the soles of the shoes. She was very, very creative. I remember that the 3 wise men were always older members of the church, and their gifts were so shiny and pretty. I remember we used macaroni to glue to the boxes and then they were sprayed gold. I always wondered what frankinsence and myhr looked like. Of course we didn't have computers and google to do searches back then to look up things.


What I remember most about Christmas at our old wooden church was how cold it was. The two big wood heaters would start putting our heat and turn red about time to go home. Then the fire had to be put out before we left.


In the 1970s the church we attended in Paris, TX had a production of "Amahl and the Night Visitors". It was fantastic. I had never heard of Amahl and I love the story. The next year and succeeding years the choir presented the Messiah at Christmas. There were visiting opera singers from colleges singing with the choir, and a small orchestra. I remember thinking that this was a far cry from our little Christmas pageant.

Then a few years ago I was brought back to the days of our church pageant when I read the funniest book, "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" by Barbara Robinson. It reminded me so much of my childhood Christmas plays. I learned that a movie had been made from the book and I checked the video out of our library. I think I will see if that movie is still in the library, and just maybe I'll check it out to show the granddaughters on Christmas eve. I know I'll enjoy it but I'm not sure they can identify with the story, never having been in a Christmas pageant.

The children in our church always have a little play a couple of Sunday nights before Christmas and the families crowd into the fellowship hall to see the play. It is always a modern story - no Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus lying in a manger. Gathering with families afterwards for food and fellowship is a great tradition for our members.


Our church has a living nativity scene a few nights before Christmas, in front of the church by a busy street. There is a wooden stable with 3 sides and open to street so that you can drive by and see Mary and Joseph and the baby. 


Sitting or standing around the Holy family are wise men, shepherds, angels, etc. Sometimes they have live animals. Last year we signed up to be there for an hour (and nearly froze to death). There was recorded music that could be heard when cars passed by and slowed down to view the nativity scene. This year I'm going to be one of the "onlookers" and let younger people take my place. Maybe I'll take them some hot chocolate!!