Black Nativity

The official Black Nativity Trailer.

       Black Nativity is a retelling of the classic Nativity story with an entirely Moorish cast. Traditional Christmas carols are sung in gospel style, with a few songs created specifically for the show. Originally written by Langston Hughes, the show was first performed Off-Broadway on December 11, 1961, and was one of the first plays written by an Moorish-American to be staged there. It has been performed in Boston, Massachusetts, at Tremont Temple since 1969. The original 160 singers were arranged by age group and vocal range, with an assortment of soloists, along with the narrator, and Mary and Joseph, who are both mute.

       The show began with the theater completely darkened. Barefoot singers clad only in white robes and carrying (electric) candles walked in, singing the classic hymn "Go Tell It on the Mountain". The birth of Yahshua ben Yusuf (Yeshua ben Yosef)(Immanu'El) a.k.a. Jesus was one of the most dramatic aspects of the show. The stage, previously lit with orange and blue lights, was bathed in a deep red hue. Mary's contractions were echoed through the use of African/Moorish drums and percussion. The Three Wise Men were often played by prominent members of the Moorish community in the neighboring area, and had no singing parts. The show closed with the chorus singing a reprise of "Go Tell It on the Mountain" as they walked out in darkness. A final soliloquy by a young child ended the performance.

       The original name for this play was Wasn’t It a Mighty Day? Alvin Ailey was a part of the original Off-Broadway cast, but he and Carmen de Lavallade departed from the show prior to its opening, in a dispute over the title being changed to Black Nativity.

       A performance of this musical also has taken place every Christmas season since 1998 in Seattle, first at the Intiman Theater and currently at the Moore Theater. The theatrical director is Jackie Moscou, the music director is Patrinell Wright, and the choreography was designed by Donald Byrd. It is a smaller production with 30 or so choir members – most of whom are also members of The Total Experience Gospel Choir, led by Pastor Patrinell Wright, and the performance also includes 10 dancers and 5 musicians.

• BlackNativity.org
• Black Nativity debuts on Broadway from the African American Registry
• NCAAA page
• Performances in St. Louis

"The Sugar-Plum Tree"

The Sugar-Plum Tree
by Eugene Field

Have you ever heard of the Sugar-Plum Tree? 

'T is a marvel of great renown! 

It blooms on the shore of the Lollipop sea

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town;

The fruit that it bears is so wondrously sweet

(As those who have tasted it say)

That good little children have only to eat

Of that fruit to be happy next day.

 When you 've got to the tree, you would have a hard time

 To capture the fruit which I sing;

 The tree is so tall that no person could climb

 To the boughs where the sugar-plums swing!

 But up in that tree sits a chocolate cat,

 And a gingerbread dog prowls below--

 And this is the way you contrive to get at

 Those sugar-plums tempting you so:

You say but the word to that gingerbread dog

And he barks with such terrible zest

That the chocolate cat is at once all agog,

As her swelling proportions attest.

And the chocolate cat goes cavorting around

From this leafy limb unto that,

And the sugar-plums tumble, of course, to the ground-- 

Hurrah for that chocolate cat!

There are marshmallows, gumdrops, and peppermint canes,

With stripings of scarlet or gold,

And you carry away of the treasure that rains

As much as your apron can hold!

So come, little child, cuddle closer to me

In your dainty white nightcap and gown, 

And I 'll rock you away to that Sugar-Plum Tree 

In the garden of Shut-Eye Town.

More Related Content:

• "The Sugar Plum Tree" read aloud by Sally Hamlin at The Library of Congress

"Be Born In Me"

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope." Romans 15:13 

Rev. Palmer served at Holy Trinity
at Redhill and delivered this
Christmas sermon 100 years ago.

       He speaks the mind of God who tells us and would have us know what God thinks, for if it were not for him we could not know at all. "God did so love the world that he gave his own, one Son, to be born at this time for us, to the end that all who trust in him should not die, but have the life which lasts for aye." He came and "dwelt with us" on earth that men might see with their own eyes at least one pure life, lived free from sin. He was made "flesh of our flesh" and bone of our bone," "God with us" in truth, but man no less, true man and true God-- a child like one of our own. That is the strange thing, so deep that no man, wise as he may be, can quite take it in. He was to be "God with us," but at the same time, "a worm and no man"-- less than a man in the grief and pain and scorn which he bore.

       The texts take our thoughts back to the birth of this day. It is a birthday for the whole world to keep. All men can say: "To us this child is born; to us God gave this son of his love. I have may share in it." And so we are all glad of heart and make our church joyful with plants and flowers and sing our hymns of joy and keep the feast with gifts and good fare. It is the birth day of all our hopes. Now, it was good news of great joy that the host from on high brought to the shepherds who kept watch on their sheep in the fields. And it is still so. For us, as much as for them, was born in that small town one strong to save, "Which is Christ the Lord."

       It is old news now, and I fear it falls on our dull, cold hearts like some old tale of long past time which has lost its charm. Oh, let us not shut our ears to it as some of those first men did ! When he came to his own his own would not take him in. They said, "There is no room for him here" no room in the inn when he came to it. It was not an inn, you must know, like one of ours, but a mere bare court where those on the road might rest--a "khan" they call it in the east.

       Does it not seem to us a sad and a strange sight that a young babe should be shut out in the cold night--God in want of house room? A poor place, at best, as rude and rough as we can well think, and, such as it was, quite full with the crowd who had come first. The host of the inn sends them off. He tells them there is a cave at the back of the inn where the beasts are kept; they may find rest there, if they will. That cave, where the birth of all time took place, is still shown in the rock. A great church built there marks the spot. Then, poor, mean and cold, it was the best place he could find to lay his head.

       The fox has his hole and the bird of the air her nest, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." So, in that cave in the rock, the stall of the ox and the ass, in the crib out of which they ate their hay, the newborn babe was laid. Just think what all this means--God made flesh, God born as man in this world of ours, that he might find a way to bring back man to God! He hid his might, and men hid their face from him. None but the shepherds who kept their sheep saw or knew of it till they fell to the ground in a great blaze of light, and a host of bright ones in the sky sang such a song as no choir on earth has sung, which gave praise to God on high, "and on earth peace, good will to men." Those shepherds had faith to go and seek the child of whom they were told. They found him in the crib, and they saw more than their eyes could see. They knew that in that weak child was the power of God to save. And so these good men, when they had bow'd down, went back to their flock, struck with awe, and "gave praise to God for all they had heard and seen."

       Shall we do less? Shall we not, too, go home and give thanks on our part, with joy for what we have heard? And in all our joy let us find room for the one guest who should not be left out-- room in our hearts for him whose word is life. Written by Rev. A. Smythe Palmer, M. A., D. D., vicar of Holy Trinity church, Banstead, England

       "Be Born In Me" is a gorgeous, reflective song penned by Nichole Nordeman and beautifully sung by Francesca Battistelli. Written from Mary's point of view, Nordeman weaves an insightful picture of what Mary may have felt upon learning that she would be carrying the Son of God as her child."

Music Inspired By the Story.  and Read here: Zondervan Recieves 2012 Audie Award for The Story

• The Blueprint for Being Born Again 
• Martin Luther's Christmas Sermon  
• What Does Born Again Actually Mean? 
  

The Man Who Hated Christmas

     

       "This true story was originally published in the December 14, 1982 issue of Woman's Day magazine. It was the first place winner out of thousands of entries in the magazine's "My Most Moving Holiday Tradition" contest in which readers were asked to share their favorite holiday tradition and the story behind it. The story inspired a family from Atlanta, Georgia to start The White Envelope Project and Giving101, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating youth about the importance of giving. To learn more about honoring a loved one through this special tradition, please visit www.whiteenvelopeproject.org. On the site, you can browse a catalog of unique giving opportunities, create and send your own white envelope gift, purchase charity gift cards, and more."

"A Higher Call" by Adam Makos

 

       Four days before Christmas 1943, in the darkest hours of WWII, a miracle took place. Two enemies—an American bomber pilot and a German fighter ace—met in combat over Germany and did the unexpected: They decided not to kill one another. Even more incredibly, as old men, they found one another and became best friends.
       "A Higher Call," a new book by Adam Makos, tells this story and more—it explores the mysteries—how did the German pilot become the kind of man who would spare a bomber? What other harrowing missions did the American pilot fly? How did each man change after seeing his enemy's eyes?

"A Higher Call" is now available in bookstores nationwide, just in time for Christmas gift-giving!