Away in a spaceship

With school nativity season upon us, Katharine Wootton considers how things have changed and we enjoy your memories of nativities past

It’s been a staple of the school calendar for decades, but if you’re invited to a nativity play this year, chances are it could be quite different to those of days gone by.

Back when our mums, dads would watch us perform in a draughty school hall the annual nativity was generally a charming but rough-around-theedges affair.

Costumes were made up of whatever material Mum had to hand – and there was to be no whingeing about wearing auntie Margaret’s old cut-up curtains. Every year you could also rely on the retelling of the wonderful birth of Jesus.

Gone are the days when costumes consisted of a bit of tinsel for the angel or a well-worn tea towel for the shepherd’s headgear

Fast forward to today, though, and much has changed. Gone are the days when costumes consisted of a bit of tinsel for the angel or a wellworn tea towel for the shepherd’s headgear. Recent research found Christmas nativities are now the single most competitive event for modern parents ahead of sports day and parents’ evening.

Today 17 per cent of parents confess to spending hours perfecting their youngsters’ costume, while one in ten parents have splashed out on extra singing or dancing lessons for the little ones ahead of the nativity auditions. And to make extra sure their children land that leading role, one in 20 parents say they’ve even attempted to influence their child’s teacher…

But – heaven forbid – if today’s youngsters don’t make it to a principal role, they usually have a range of miscellaneous – and sometimes downright random – parts that could be theirs. Gone are the days where, if you weren’t cast as Mary, Joseph or Angel Gabriel (to your eternal disappointment) you were told to count yourself lucky to be villager number 37 or ‘a tree’. Modern-day pupils might find themselves playing a Strictly Come Dancing judge, Elvis Presley, an alien or even a pair of underpants! That’s because a growing number of schools are now opting for a nativity with a difference. Last year, just 37 per cent of schools said they were planning a traditional nativity play. Instead, many opt for more contemporary storylines, some even set in space, with a big ensemble of named characters – from celebrities to politicians –so that in these days of growing class sizes every child gets their moment to shine.

The move towards different, more modern, takes on the nativity is also a choice by some schools to include children of other faiths or none at all. That’s why in some schools you’ll hear traditional carols replaced by Christmas pop songs, while some even call the event ’winter celebrations’.

All this means schools can no longer rely on the drama teacher knocking up a quick script and instead fork out for professional nativity scripts. No wonder some schools are now starting to charge parents to see the play, in order to recoup the money spent!

Somehow, it doesn’t seem to have the charm and wonder of years past – and the simplicity of telling the greatest story ever told!