Many of us when we were children, youth, or adults, participated in Christmas pageants or living nativity scenes. They used to be common. Most churches had little dramas depicting the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem as depicted in the Gospel: Matthew 1:18-2:12 and Luke 2:1-21. A young teenage girl would take the part of the Virgin Mary and a teenage boy would be Joseph. Most of the time a toy doll would be laid in the wooden manger as baby Jesus, although sometimes the latest newborn in the congregation got the part.
Other youth would put on costumes and carry long sticks to portray the shepherds. Older children would don long white robes with wings attached to look like the angels who informed the shepherds of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. Men (usually three) would dress up in elaborate outfits, carry decorated boxes, and wear crowns to be the wisemen from the east bringing gifts. Finally, smaller children would be the animals in the barn. The farm animals included donkeys and sheep, and maybe a horse. Perhaps when you were little, you were a donkey or a sheep. I think in my life I portrayed just about every character in the story.
The truth is, of course, some of what we saw in those nativity scenes had no real basis in Scripture. For instance, Luke does not actually say that Mary rode a donkey from Nazareth or that she and Joseph slept in a barn. It only says they laid Jesus in a manger (feeding trough) because there was no room in the inn. That certainly implies they were in a place where animals were present. Most likely it was a cave where small animals were housed.
Another aspect involves the wisemen. As I said, usually the nativity scenes included three men dressed in colorful garb portraying the men from the east. They came, riding on camels, following a star to find the newborn king of the Jews. It is a wonderful story told by Matthew, but we really don’t know how many of them there were and nowhere does it say they road camels. Though the famous Christmas carol says. “We Three Kings of Orient,” they were not kings. They were actually Magi, that is, astrologers from Persia or Babylon who had seen a star which they interpreted as indicating the birth of a king in Palestine.
It was probably at least year after Jesus’ birth that they arrived in Jerusalem. And, it was not until they met with Herod and his advisers that they learned where the Messiah was prophesied to be born. Also, they inadvertently gave Herod the news that a pretender to his throne had been born. This led the wicked king to have all the young boys in Bethlehem killed. Thankfully, God warned Joseph in a dream, so he, Mary, and Jesus escaped to Egypt.
So, despite a few minor inaccuracies, those old nativity scenes and pageants made lasting impacts on the minds and hearts of those of us who participated. Perhaps, by just being a donkey or a sheep, you and your children will never forget the real meaning of the season.
Merry Christmas!