The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Reflection
The Christmas trees are bagged and piled high, the robes folded and stacked, the props are sorted and crated. The 23rd performance of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” is now history rich with an array of memories woven into the tradition of the season. Here is just a sampling of some of our most treasured memories.
First, a conversation between some of preschool Little Angels. It went something like…
“You know Jesus was a real person.”
“No he’s not. He’s dead.”
“Yeah, that is why he is a doll.”
“And I touched his head.”
When Emily stepped forward to sing a duet with Nathalie there was a clear difference in height between the two singers. Emily was concerned that Nathalie would be not be heard through the hand held microphone so she knelt down next to Nathalie so each of them would be heard equally.
When Stella, our beloved Grace Bradley and our senior cast member, arrived at Maple Ridge Estate to join her fellow cast members in a performance of our pageant scene there was no costume for her. I had left it and its back up in Studio 2 at BYPC. I was horrified that I could have let her down in that way. She explained that she had a shawl and that she looked like she could be a shepherd. I apologized. Stella said “You are human. You made a mistake. It is really OK.” Then, on her own initiative, she waited to enter with the shepherds. And in that moment I witnessed a gracious and elegant young woman stepping onto the stage out of her childhood and it took my breath away.
When Anna and Allison stepped forward to sing their duet they turned to each other with a knowing and loving in their glance reflective of their friendship. It was a reminder of the power of friendship and how it can lift each of us through the most difficult times.
And when the audience of enthusiastic and grateful seniors joined their voices with ours to sing “Joy to the World” our assistant director and choreographer, Jess, was dissolved in tears moved by the pure joy and love that we were all feeling in that moment. It brought an image of her own Nana who lives in a senior community in Florida and how much she would have relished singing her favorite Christmas carols with a youth filled choir. Our cast received a spontaneous and most heartfelt standing ovation.
The friendships, the acts of kindness, the courage of young performers, the lessons learned, are forever in our hearts and minds. The kinship that we experienced defines the tradition of the season and that of BYPC.
Over the past few weeks we have shared some of our students’ favorite holiday traditions through our Facebook and Instagram pages. I would like to add mine.
When I was young my father and I would watch “Miracle on 34th Street” each Christmas season. It was not always easy because there were no Netflix or On Demand services. We were at the mercy of a handful of networks. So one year we stayed up until 2AM to watch the classic movie together. My Dad is no longer with us but once BYPC is safely wrapped for the year I will light the fire, the candles, and our Christmas tree.
I will curl up on my sofa and watch “Miracle on 34th Street" and my Dad will be with me again. For it is tradition that warms the heart and comforts the soul. It ties the generations of the past to those of the present and guides us into our future. It is the power of the tradition that reminds us that the true meaning of Christmas is simply - love.
As I sign off from this blog series “The Making of a Holiday Tradition” I want to thank all of you for joining us on this treasured journey. I wish you and your family all the joy and the comfort that the tradition of the season brings.
Merry Christmas and a most Blessed and Happy New Year.
Ann Davison