One film that has become a Christmas favourite of Patti’s is Angela’s Christmas. It is an animation film of 2017 directed by Damien O’Connor and written by Will Collins and Damien O’Connor. The original story comes from Irish author Frank McCourt. It is set in Limerick, Ireland in 1914. Angela goes to Mass in their local church with her mother, two older brothers Pat and Tim, and her younger sister Aggie. During the service Angela spies Baby Jesus in the Nativity scene in the church. She thinks Jesus must be cold as he is only wearing a diaper. After Mass Angela convinces her mother to let her go back into the sanctuary to light a candle. However, Angela has a plan to kidnap Baby Jesus and smuggles him out of the church. The priest eventually notices the lack of a baby in the Nativity scene. Angela is found out and Baby Jesus is returned, but now wearing a Christmas sweater.
A Nativity can be a picture, carving, or model representing Jesus Christ’s birth. We have several stained-glass Nativity scenes set up around our house during the Christmas season.
Nativity can be used as an alternate word for Christmas, referring to the birth of Jesus. The Nativity often begins with services on December 24 to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, marking the beginning of Christmastide. Many churches, and some schools, perform a Nativity play to commemorate the birth of Jesus at Christmas.
Nativity derives from the Latin verb nasci, which means to be born. In late Latin nativitas meant birth. Anglo-French used nativite to refer to the birth of Jesus Christ. It became nativity in English in the 1300s.
Apart from the religious use of nativity it can also refer to the place of origin. Thus, in delineating my personal history, I sometimes refer to my Southern Ontario nativity in Kitchener.
In a more obscure meaning, nativity is connected to a horoscope at or of the time of one’s birth. A person’s nativity is the forecast of their future based on the position of stars and planets when they were born.
Nativity plays and scenes (creches) usually include baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, some shepherds with sheep, magi or wise men (usually three) carrying gifts, an angel, and some animals (often a donkey, an ox, a cow, and/or a dog). Often in Nativity plays featuring young children, the sheep steal the show.
Our daughter-in-law, Ayako, sent us a video of a Nativity play her preschool performed a few years ago in Osaka, Japan. It is interesting that a non-Christian country connects the nativity of Jesus to the celebrations of Christmas, while in Canada our schools are moving away from Nativity plays to perform celebrations of Winter holidays, effectively removing the story of Jesus from Christmas.
Edgy Productions has promoted a Christmas song for kids, written by Daisy Bond and Ian Faraday, called A Happy-Clappy Nativity.
Now we’re together and Christmas is near, we want to have some fun!
Celebrate Christmas, the best time of year! Hey! Wake up, everyone!
Chorus: Here’s a Happy-Clappy Nativity, stop your napping and let’s start clapping!
A Happy-Clappy Nativity, join in our song and clap along!
Now we’re together, the girls and the boys, we want to have some fun!
Celebrate Christmas and make lots of noise! Hey! Wake up, everyone! Chorus
Now we’re together, we’ll dance, and we’ll sing, we want to have some fun!
Celebrate Christmas with Jesus the King! Hey! Wake up, everyone! Chorus
Have a blessed Christmas!
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
