We finally got our Christmas Pageant done this morning, after two unsuccessful attempts.  Good thing that the snow they were predicting last night never materialized or else I’m not sure what we would have done.  The kids were adorable as always and the costumes were fantastic.  Some one had made little animal costumes for all the young ones and they really were quite well done. Made me wish we’d had costumes like that when I was in Christmas pageants.  

I remember one year at St. Thomas’ where we told the story from the point of view of the animals in the Christmas story – four main parts by four different animals: a camel, a sheep, a donkey, and I can’t remember the last (perhaps horse or cow as stable representative?). I was the donkey. Please, no asinine comments…  I believe the most believable part of my costume was a fuzzy donkey hat we borrowed from somewhere.  Otherwise it was grey leggings under my grandfathers grey cardigan with a fuzzy tail pinned to the back.  I think I was 10 or 11 at the time.  

I suppose that is what happens when your mother helps to stage the pageant every year: you end up as the lead, or at least co-lead.  I clearly remember going over to the house of another poor Sunday Schooler who’s mother was also involved quite heavily in the pageant.  The two of us would have to read our lines back and forth to each other, speaking into wooden spoons to practice our microphone technique, until we knew them down pat. 

The other bit of preparation I had to undergo involved improving diction and projection.  We lived in a huge old house with two sets of staircases: one at the front and one at the back.  The back stairs had the worst echo (although it was fun to hum as you walked down them).  I used to have to stand at the top of the back stairs with mum standing at the bottom of the front ones and holler my lines until I said them s-l-o-w  e-n-o-u-g-h and e-nun-ci-ated well en-ough that they could be understood at the other end of the house.  

It would be fun to see footage of the many pageants I was in to see if they were actually any good.  (Although if someone reading this actually does have footage, I’m just kidding.  Please burn it.)

At any rate, the kids this morning were adorable and it was quite enjoyable to watch and remember the Christmas story, even three weeks late.  On reflection, it is never to late to remember the message of Christmas.