My Front Row Seat at a Nativity Pageant

Strange thing happened to me last night.  I ended up inadvertenly (more or less) watching a nativity pageant from way up close, best seat in the house, as it were.  It was a real eye-opener ... in a couple of ways.

My wife and I took our three year old son up to Rockport, MA yesterday.  There was a demonstration of candy-cane making at a local candy factory.  Rockport is a charming (in an upscale/touristy way) town northeast of Boston.  We figured we'd see the candy-cane making, then hang around Rockport for a bit.

When we got there, parking was really difficult.  There were lots of spaces blocked off saying "No Parking after 4:30pm.  Pageant."  There was already caroling going on, so I figured it was some Christmas thing, but I wasn't sure what.  I asked a cop and he explained that there was going to be a nativity pageant.  There would be one or two thousand people watching, it would be pretty good.  I thought, hmmm, that sounds mildly interesting.  Most importantly, I thought it might be entertaining for our son.  Anyone with a toddler understands the premium we put on anything that will entertain Henry.  

We're Jewish, but not observant.  Henry is just learning about Jewish and Christian, Hannukah and Christmas.  I figured that a nativity pageant would be slightly educational, and we could make it clear that we didn't believe in the stuff going on.  But, again, it would be entertaining.  So, I said to my wife, "Hey, if you're up for a grotesque violation of the separation of church and state, there's a nativity pageant going on later."  I guess pageant in my mind creates visions of third-graders.  In the back of my mind I was thinking of a ten minute little play with eight-year olds playing the part of Mary and Joseph, et al.

Well, after we finished in the candy shop (lots of fun by the way ... don't pass up an opportunity to watch someone making candy canes ... very cool), we wandered over to a boutique across the street.  My wife asked me about her purse.  I was supposed to have brought it with me after I parked the car, but had forgotten.  So, off I trudged with our rather large box of candy, to put the candy in the car and bring back my wife's purse.  It was almost pageant time, but for some reason I had the idea that the real festivities weren't for a little while, and that the crowd was still forming.

Well, I was mistaken.  As I headed for the car, the crowd got thicker, and pretty soon the pageant had begun.  I found myself directly across from the loudspeakers, right next to the church into which the procession would march.  The crowd was so thick and the atmosphere was so intense (more of that in a moment) that I couldn't politely push my way through the crowd.

A narrator read the story of baby Jesus, as dozens and dozens of Rockporters dressed as Jews circa 33 BC (and a few gladiators and other characters) marched solemnly through the center of Rockport.  The crowd was rapt, in the true sense of the word.  This was as intensely religious a moment as any I have witnessed in a synagogue on Yom Kippur (I'm not observant now, but as a child, my family was).  This was nothing like I had expected.  My wife ended up watching a little bit as well, from the edge of the crowd.  She keeps using the word creepy.  That certainly fits.  I guess the best I can describe it is that the center of Rockport had clearly become a church.  I don't know what midnight mass is like, but I'm guessing the ambience is very similar to what I witnessed.

I'll pretty much leave it at that.  No need to draw conclusions.  Its just that in my naivete, living in Brookline, Massachusetts, I had no idea what goes on in town squares across this country that have nativity pageants.  Just puts the separation of church and state issue in sharper perspective.

I did think about one other thing.  And, in spirit it is almost contradictory to my main point (to the extent this diary has a point).  But, I'll just say what it was and leave the contradiction, such as it is, hanging.  As I looked out into the crowd, I couldn't help thinking, every one of these people should be Democratic voters.  They all appeared to be gentle, compassionate souls.  And, I wondered how many of them vote Republican simply because they feel that Democrats are anti-religion.  No way to know the answer, but I thought about that for a while.

•  If it's any consolation

  Most Christians are rapt watching a Nativity pageant, and it has nothing to do with Democratic or Republican politics.

  Folks who grow up in Protestant churches (I don't know about other denominational practices) generally have been a shepherd or an angel or a cow or a sheep or for the "lucky" ones, Mary, Joseph, or one of the Wise Men in what is affectionately known as a towel-and-bathrobe show (because that is what the "authentic" costumes are made of).  Seeing a Nativity pageant as an adult puts them in touch with all the feelings they had in these pageants as a child.  That is why they are so rapt in their attention.

  To understand the plot of this drama, take the first chapters of Luke, up through the shepherds, and the nativity chapter in Matthew (skip the part about Mary's pregnancy, the church has issues with sex, even sex with a Holy Ghost) about the Wise Men.  Smash them together in an illogical way such that all actors show up on the same night and that there are three Wise Men (in spite of the fact that Matthew doesn't tell how many there were).  

  Add in some little girls in nightgowns and  angel wings and little boys in bathrobes with towels over their heads and you get a sense of the, er, whimsy(?) of this drama in most churches.

  In adult versions, you should not see gladiators, and rarely are there Roman soldiers in the cast.

  For a better understanding of the rapt response, read the book The Best Christmas Play Ever.

  by TarheelDem on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 07:06:25 PM PDT

•  May I ask what was creepy about it?

  I'm a conservative (that is, traditional) Christian, and while we don't have any outdoor Nativity pageants here (way too cold) I certainly don't see anything wrong with the idea.

  On the other hand, I'm an ACLU member, and oppose any government involvement with building/sponsoring creche scenes, etc. I just don't see that having a procession on public streets involves any government intrusion into religion.

  OK, you said your diary doesn't have a strong point, but I'm just curious what you found creepy? You do understand that recreation of scenes from sacred stories is a common part of religions around the world?

  by memiller on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 07:08:48 PM PDT

  •  It was the location

    I probably should have been clearer.  It was only creepy because it was taking place in the center of town, and had all the appearances of being sponsored by the town.  If it had taken place on private property, there would have been nothing creepy about it.  Because it took place right on Main Street, it made me feel very uncomfortable ... like this is not a place that I could ever feel comfortable living (being non-Christian).

    by jay l on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 07:15:31 PM PDT

    •  Following that logic

      Should I feel alienated in San Francisco during the Gay Pride march, since I'm straight?

      by Bill Rehm on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 09:34:30 PM PDT

      •  no

        just "creepy."

        by skippy on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 10:21:00 PM PDT

      •  Up to you ...

        ... just telling you how I felt.

        by jay l on Wed Dec 21, 2005 at 11:00:16 AM PDT

•  Hard core separationist here

  I have a pretty hard line on Church/ State separation, but I think marches through the public square can be OK.  Like any other parade, allowing a large number of citizens an exclusive, limited, use of the public ways seems reasonable.  But they better allow ALL groups equal access.

  by WI Deadhead on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 07:15:32 PM PDT

  •  Perhaps

    I don't necessarily disagree (my comment about a grotesque violation of the separation of church and state was largely in jest).  But, in reading discussions of nativity pageants, I just had no clue how intensely religious a nativity pageant is (or can be).  The word "march" or "parade" is really not appropriate here.

    I am assuming that Rockport would grant the same access to other religions.  But, I also suspect that no other religions take advantage of this access.  And, I would also guess that very few people at the pageant viewed it as an accomodation granted by a neutral government.  I suspect they see it as a "Rockport tradition."  And, as I said in another post, it made me feel like I would not feel comfortable living here.  Not that I have a constitutional right to feel comfortable living in any particular town.  Just saying.

    by jay l on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 07:25:43 PM PDT

•  I went to this in 2000

  I had a good time. It's a great yearly tradition, and I told myself, "I should come to this every year from now on" (I live in Cambridge). Unfortunately, since then, I simply haven't gotten a chance, as various events have intervened every weekend that the event has occurred. I normally am not really into Christmas pageants (I'm a Christian, BTW), but seeing this event in Rockport made me appreciate them... it was a real community event. Well, maybe next year I'll go if I still live in the area.

  (incidently, the city of Rockport voted for Kerry over Bush by a margin of 2,900 to 1,600)

  by Constantine on Sun Dec 18, 2005 at 07:35:37 PM PDT