Wednesday 6 December 2017

Experiencing Christmas

Hello, thank you for dropping in.  It turns out that I am rubbish at blogging every day.  I was overambitious.  Sorry.  Perhaps I should simply attempt to blog every other day and then if I did manage every day, the extras would be a bonus?  Hmm.

This week I have been helping schoolchildren to learn about the reason Christmas is called Christmas rather than, say, Dickensmas in an event called Experience Christmas which takes them through the story from The Annunciation to Epiphany.  It does feel rather early in the month, but the schools here break up for the holidays at the end of next week, a full ten days before Christmas.  I don't know which local authority official made that decision and I suspect he or she will have to keep a low profile because I don't actually know any parents who want to have their hyped-up, overexcited children at home for all that length of time, but I suppose it gives teachers time to prepare for their own celebrations...unless they have hyped-up, overexcited children of their own at home, of course.  So far, one hundred and eighty children have sat on the mats in front of me, listened, reacted and reflected.  I am enjoying it very much and I think the children are, too.

Here is Mary's kitchen, where she was busy with domestic chores when the Angel Gabriel appeared out of nowhere to tell her that she was going to have a very special baby - 

Snapped rather hastily on my 'phone just before the children arrived.

As I asked the children, how would you feel if you were in your kitchen and you turned round to find a great, big, shining, warrior of light standing there, calling your name??  Exactly! 

Bookending the story, at least for the time being, is Epiphany and here is my gold, frankincense and myrrh - alternatively, as one child put it, my gold, Frankenstein and myrrh!  There's always one.


I can take no credit for these lovely scenes, other people have prepared them and I simply turn up in the mornings and deliver, along with some friends.  I have been well looked after with Earl Grey tea and mince pies and all the children, whatever their ethnicity or belief, have gone home with a little more knowledge about the origins of Christmas, some thoughts about how it's relevant to them and a chocolate coin.  Teachers, I hope, have gone away with a positive view of the church and its place in its community (we have received feedback that we are well-organised and very welcoming).

Today is 6th December, St Nicholas' Day, a day to celebrate the patron saint of children and at this time when I don't have any little people at home I am glad to have been given this opportunity to be around other people's little people and share some Christmas with them.

See you tomorrow, or maybe the day after.

Love, Mrs Tiggywinkle x


15 comments:

  1. How wonderful that you're able to share the story of Christmas, if we tried telling a Christian story in an American school we'd get sued. We can talk about Santa Claus all we want, but not Christ.

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    1. I didn't realise that, Janet. I think that's sad. How can we understand each other if we don't know our friends' foundation stories? The fact that Christmas is a cultural event rather than only a religious one makes it all the more important to understand its roots, I think. x

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  2. Well done. A school is such an exciting place at Christmas. Hopefully you've been invited to the Nativity, the highlight of the year. x

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    1. I don't think we have, which is a shame. Mind you, there are nine schools going through this "experience" and I don't think I could fit in nine Nativity plays, much as I love them. x

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  3. This sounds like a lot of fun and I’m glad to hear that the children are so receptive to the Christmas story. I can’t believe that they finish school next week though, as it is far too early! Marie x

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    1. Isn't it just! 15th December, for goodness' sake. That means that they started doing all their special Christmas things at the end of November or beginning of December before most of us were really in the mood. x

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  4. What a lovely blog post you shared today. I agree with Janet's comment above regarding our schools here in the US. My grandson will have over a two week break for the holidays. Back in my school days, we had one week! Times have changed. Have a wonderful day. Pat xx

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    1. Ah, thanks Pat. I didn't realise that you can't share the Christmas story in American schools and that makes me sad. I think it's so important to understand our own cultural roots and to understand each other - we celebrate Hindu Diwali and Muslim Eid in schools in my community as well as Christmas and Easter because we have children from those faiths in our schools. One week off for Christmas seems a bit tight, but then in the "olden days" I think people only had one day! x

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  5. Christmas holidays seem to be 'all over the place' this year. Some secondary schools in Worcestershire are finishing very early while primaries in the same pyramid are going on until Tuesday 18th........ Poor families. Jx

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    1. That does make it very difficult for families. "Early" is bad enough without having to contend with "early and very early". x

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  6. I bet the children are enjoying their time with you and learning a lot at the same time. I can't believe that some schools are breaking up for the holidays so early I think here it is Tuesday 18th:)

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    1. We break up here on 15th! It's ridiculous. I am certainly enjoying my time with the children, more than 600 of them are due to pass through our "experience", children of all faiths and none. x

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  7. Our school system was always haphazard on the Christmas holiday. I always preferred to have my kids home a week before Christmas so that we could enjoy the lead up to it with lots of baking and fun activities. Then things changed and kids were let out a day or two before Christmas which really destroyed my plans. I love kids ;) Your teachings sound like they'd be very interesting to the children. Love the 'Frankenstein' remark! It's good to know the roots of a religion even if it's not your own religion.
    Wendy

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    1. The problem I found with the children breaking up for Christmas so early was that it meant the schools were doing their Christmas activities early, even in November, and that meant that small children were excited for longer than they could cope with. Last year I noticed that lots of people were complaining about their children's behaviour in the last week or ten days, and I think it was because they had been looking forward to it for too long and run out of patience. I love the fun activities too, I just like them to be near to Christmas. And your love of kids is obvious and delightful, Wendy. x

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  8. Going into school as a volunteer and helping children learn is very enjoyable and satisfying. Before moving to where we live now I was a member of one of the teams in my home town who talked to children about what Christians believe, about festivals etc. invited in by the headteachers and governors. It was done in a sensitive way and I hope these projects, often part of the ministry of Churches Together, will continue in the future. The school holidays are so unco-ordinated nationally. Schools break up at different times with different lengths of holiday. It can be very difficult for a family to make holiday plans or arrange care if working.

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