Only a third of schools now hold a traditional nativity play, according to the group Netmums. The Telegraph reports:
Only a third of schools now stage a full traditional nativity complete with Mary and Joseph, inn-keepers, shepherds and magi, according to the survey. Meanwhile one in eight had said their children’s school had dropped the Christmas story altogether for a modern alternative without religious references.
One in 14 said the school now opts for a fully secular event with neutral titles such as “Winter Celebration” or “Seasonal Play”. About 2,000 parents have shared their experiences of how nativity plays are being adapted in some schools - and how there has been no nativity play at all in other schools. They report how the story has been changed, so that rather than simply casting Mary, Joseph, shepherds, wise men and a donkey, there are parts for aliens, punk fairies, Elvis Presley, footballers, a lobster and a drunken spaceman. Christmas carols have been replaced with Christmas-themed pop songs, report some of the parents. There were also reports of schools changing the name of "Christmas" plays, with the suggestion that it was to avoid a specific reference to the Christian festival.
