Opening Words, etc.
Stories of the Christmas Tree SCRIPT for main actorsOpening Words, etc.Scene 1: Christmas tree farm, pagan and earth-centred traditionsUU Family enters sanctuary, walking toward the large fir tree in the middle of the dais and talking quietly to each other. (Choir sings Solstice Carol)Narrator 1: Here is a common scene at this time of year – a family travelling to a Christmas tree farm to choose a tree to bring home and decorate. But today there are so many different traditions Canadians celebrate in the winter. What place does the Christmas tree hold in our society? That’s just what these children are wondering…Child 1: But why do we have to come to this dumb old farm every year to pick out a Christmas tree?Parent 1: Because it’s a tradition! My family came here when I was a child and I loved it. Child 2: But it’s boring!Parent 2: Listen to your Mom (or Dad) and respect her (his) wishes. This means a lot to her (him).Child 2 (rolling eyes at sibling): It doesn’t to me.Farm Owner (approaching): Welcome! What can I do for you?Child 1: My parents want a tree.Farmer: Fir trees have been an important part of winter celebrations for hundreds of years.Vignette 1: Solstice and Yule – Preschool class [Vignette ends, frame is removed and UU Family and Farmer return to centre stage.]Chalice LightingScene 2: Aren’t Christmas trees for Christians?Child 1: I have a friend who celebrates solstice every year! Her (his) family invites their family and friends over on the longest night of the year. We eat food and light candles and stay up really late. Farmer: Those kinds of Solstice celebrations have been going on for many centuries. Earth-centred traditions honouring our connections with plants, animals, rocks, and trees have always been a significant part of human belief systems. Child 2: But aren’t Christmas trees for Christmas and Christians?Farmer: When the Christians started to celebrate a midwinter festival they borrowed the tradition of the fir tree from their pagan friends. There is a legend of a man, called St Boniface, who is said to have converted a pagan community by cutting down a sacred oak tree and replacing it with a little fir tree sapling.Child 2: That doesn’t sound very nice.Farmer: You’re right, that doesn’t. But it’s a legend—a story that Christians told to show that their God was the best God and that they were the chosen people of their God. There are nicer stories about the creation of the Christmas tree. There is one about a little fir tree who is there when Jesus is born and the tree is sad because he doesn’t have a gift for the new baby. The tree borrows stars from an angel to place on its boughs, and when baby Jesus wakes from his sleep he smiles on the fir tree, which becomes known as the first Christmas tree. Scene 3: The Christmas Tree and the Protestant FamilyParent 1: My favourite story about the origin of the Christmas tree is about Martin Luther, the minister who started the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century. When Martin Luther and his friends wanted to change their way of practicing their religion they still wanted to keep some of the old traditions. Chalice LightingVignette 2: Martin Luther and the stars - preschool and elementary kids[Vignette ends, frame is removed and UU Family and Farmer return to centre stage.]Farmer: Martin Luther’s followers liked this story because it showed that family time was important to their leader—before the Protestant Reformation religious leaders and priests did not marry and have families. Celebrating with their families was a way for Protestant ministers like Martin Luther to show they were different from the old ways. MeditationParent 2: A couple of centuries later a Harvard professor, Charles Follen, brought the German Christmas Tree tradition to the United States. He and his friends wanted to show that family was important to Unitarians.Vignette 3: Charles Follen and the First American Christmas Tree - elementary kids [Vignette ends, frame is removed and UU Family and Farmer return to centre stage.]Scene 4: Christmas Trees mean giving and caring—for each other and the earthFarmer: Many of the people I see at my Christmas Tree farm are so excited about spending time with their families and friends over the holidays. At this time of year we give thanks for all our blessings.Parent 1: Sometimes it is easy to forget how fortunate we are. We have a roof over our heads, we have clothes and food, and we have loving people in our lives. Not all kids have what we have.Child 1: When I learned from the Food 4 Kids fundraiser that there are children in Hamilton who don’t have enough food to eat each day it made me very upset. I wanted to help the kids in our community.Farmer: There are lots of stories involving Christmas trees that try and remind us to help those who are less fortunate. Vignette 4: The Legend of the Christmas Tree: junior youth[Vignette ends, frame is removed and UU Family and Farmer return to centre stage.]Child 2: Awww, that was sweet. I guess Christmas trees are a good symbol to remind people that this season is also about giving to those who are less fortunate than ourselves.Parent 1: Remember the special holiday episode of The Bear in the Big Blue House that you two loved so much when you were little? Where Bear and the other animals take in a homeless dog over the holidays and they learn that Christmas is better when you help others instead of focusing on what presents you want?Child 1: I loved that show!Parent 2: That episode reminded us that we don’t have to believe all the hype about Christmas. Christmas today is an industry, where companies urge consumers to purchase more presents, put up more decorations, cook more food, and go to more parties so that we can wear the new clothes, shoes, and makeup we should buy. Christmas trees have become a symbol for all this conspicuous consumption—it isn’t about the loving people gathered together at the tree but the presents underneath it. Child 1: But we don’t have to believe that, do we? We bring toys for the Giving Tree at school.Child 2: Yes, and we always bring something for the Mitten Tree at church.Mitten Collection, OfferingParent 1: Going to the Christmas tree farm is also another way for us to support our own values about the holiday season. We are supporting a local farmer—just like when we go to the Farmer’s Market. We are connecting to the cycles of the seasons and choosing natural products instead of artificial.Child 1: Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go pick our tree! (Choir sings Solstice carol) [The UU Family picks up a small tree, says goodbye to the Farmer, and they all leave the stage; vignette frame is added to the large tree, as the Family circles around, re-enters the stage and moves into the vignette frame.]Vignette 6: UU Family at home decorating tree[As narrator is speaking, the UU Family members work happily together to decorate their tree, adding meaningful small items and talking about them. Use the lines below or the actors can use their own items and explain why they are meaningful in terms of giving and helping.]Child 2: I made my friend a bracelet. Can I hang it on the tree until I see her at her Solstice Party?Child 1: I’m going to put my donation to Food 4 Kids under the tree. Parent 1: Why don’t you put it beside your Giving Tree donation?Narrator 6: Today UUs who use a Christmas Tree want to keep the best of all the traditions. We want a Christmas Tree that is a symbol of giving to family, friends, and those who have no family and friends. We also see the evergreen tree as a living part of the earth, looking back to earth-centered traditions, so that we can honour the earth and these traditions in how we choose and nurture our trees. We also want the Christmas tree to be a symbol of a holiday that treasures not the material goods but the traditions of being together with family, friends, and community.Closing ................
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