SCHOOL NATIVITY PLAYS - BEAUTIFUL AND HEARTWARMING EVENTS

Don't ever lose them - they're already dwindling and under threat from anti-religion fanatics: cultural vandals.  😔

See this picture? It's from a school video from three years ago; it's a primary school Nativity play stage setting: a school just outside London.

I helped to build this stage setting. I was in a supply placement for a week (absolutely wonderful class and school, btw), and during the days that I worked there I had some free time out of class (the kids had specialist teachers to teach them PE, music, or whatever...), and I was seconded to (you might say) roadie / set building duties for the upcoming Nativity performances. 🙂

It was a joy to be involved with. We had to improvise this - mend that - find ways to create bits of the set out of whatever was available... But we did it. 🤩

Part of the school morning assemblies would be the kids of various years doing dress rehearsals and practicing carol singing. 🙂

It was joyous. It was 'old school' and traditional. The beauty and wonder of it brought a tear to the eye. 🥰

But listen folks - this beautiful, wonderful traditional primary school Christmas festival - celebrated and beloved by pupils, parents - and staff - for generations, is under threat from certain groups who actively want all religious celebrations banned from UK schools: it's already dwindling. 😔

LET'S NOT LOSE THIS BEAUTIFUL PART OF CHRISTMAS...  🙂

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 24. 11. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 13.12. 2024

CHRISTIANITY: JESUS'S APPEARANCE - A TIRED OLD QUESTION THAT HAS BEEN EXPLAINED MANY TIMES... YET STILL KEEPS RESURFACING...

It's tiresome to note how stunted the study of religion and all the depth of associated subject matter is, when I still see hysterical posts from fanatical religion haters exclaiming:  'Ah ha! How could Jesus have been white when He was Mediterranean Jewish...!' - as if they've found some slam dunk argument winner...

For the last time: there is no physical description of Jesus. He can be - and is - depicted in different ways, and different ethnicities - by different ethnic groups.

The old style accepted European depiction of Jesus as  white is simply the depiction of Jesus presented by Renaissance artists to suit western European Christians... Who later took Christianity to the Americas.

I hope that this reaches some of the, shockingly many it seems, people out there who still think that the depiction of a white Jesus is some great debunking of Christianity. 

Here are some depictions of Jesus by various ethnic groups. 🙂

(I found this graphic image online (and edited it myself). My acknowledgment and thanks to whoever posted it / owns it (identity unknown to me). 🙂)

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 11. 12. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 13. 12. 2024

A QUAINT AND CHARMING OLD UK PRIMARY SCHOOL CUSTOM: THE MORNING PRAYER. 🙏 🙂

'... The mole, kneeling on the soft soil, said a morning prayer... Not even caring if he dirtied his yellow 'Rupert' trousers, because his moleish mind knew that praying was special.'

(From: 'Kingsley Mole and Lionel Lark': a children's story by Marc Bolan - Tyrannosaurus Rex (1968 & 1969))

(TIRESOME) QUALIFIER

It's tiresome to say, but these days, because of current Establishment social 'norms' (🙄) posting anything favourable about religion must come with a qualifying statement - or face a deluge of anti-religion outrage... Such is the state of the current popular paradigm psyche. 

Yep - in Scotland (and, I think, in the rest of the UK?) primary (elementary) school days began with the class reciting - repeating after the teacher, line by line - The Lord's Prayer.

Nope - we were not brainwashed, indoctrinated, terror filled little Holy Joes (or Jos): I have no Idea how pious or church going (or not) my friends and classmates were - it wasn't an issue. Me? My family wasn't fussed either way about religion; I've never belonged to any religion (even as a kid); I didn't attend church - but I  wasn't taught to reject or condemn Christianity either. 🙂

But I was - entirely naturally; by natural intuition and inclination - utterly fascinated by the questions raised - and the stories told by Christianity - and by religious ideas of all kinds, even from primary school age. 🤔

Christianity was not brainwashed into us: it was just kinda 'there' - part of the wallpaper (so to speak) of our cultural and traditional backdrop. People could dip in or out of religion as required: splendid wedding ceremonies; sombre, dignified funerals; the delight and festivity of a Christening (and, for Roman Catholics, confirmation); and of course, the wonder and inspiration of Christmas and Easter. 

And, on private and deeply personal terms, for many people it was somewhere to take personal thoughts, hopes, contemplation - and to seek comfort, when times were hard. 😌

That was pretty much it: a decorative - but useful when needed - part of the fabric of society back then.  🙂

MORNING PRAYER

So, having hopefully avoided being branded a brainwashed little Holy Joe, I'll describe the custom of morning prayer... 😏

We'd arrive at school each weekday morning, and, same as kids past and present, bustle around - hanging up coats, shuffling into class, chattering, joking - you know the scene... 😏

Then, our teacher would enter the class - and proclaim:

'All sitting quietly for the Lord's Prayer.'

Instantly, we were sat at our desks (or in some cases, standing at our desks), hands together, heads bowed, eyes closed - and the teacher would softly begin:

'Our Father, who art in Heaven...'

We'd repeat, then:

'Hallowed be thy name...'

We'd repeat...

...And so on to the end of the prayer... 🙂

Like I said above: none of us (as far as knew) were especially pious: a lot of the guys went to The Boy Scouts or the similar, but navy based Boy's Brigade; and a lot of girls went to The Brownies and The Girl Guides - these were Christian based organisations at that time, but the attraction for kids was the camaraderie - and the games and fun to be had: nothing at all to do with piety. 😏

But at school each morning we diligently and sombrely said The Lord's Prayer at the beginning of each day... Because, to paraphrase the Marc Bolan quote: '... Our childhood minds knew that praying was special'... We didn't know how or why it's special - but we had that intuitive sense of the 'special' - and we felt that we'd done a good thing by recognising that. 🙂

But here's the thing: for teachers the custom of uniting the class in The Lord's Prayer was a BOON: it's genius, really: twenty or thirty buzzing, energetic kids instantly brought to there desks - facing the teacher, silent and concentrating - all individually and collectively 'on task' ... 😲

And that set the tone for made control and focus on the teacher for the rest of the day. 🤗

MY OWN INTERPRETATION

This isn't disrespectful in the least - it's just my own, childhood level interpretation of The Lord's Prayer. Like I said, I just always had a fascination for the subjects involved in religion: the Big Questions (as the study of these things is known): I didn't KNOW - but I wanted to learn everything I could. My school was not religious - only conventionally so: routinely saying The Lord's Prayer, that kind of thing. That was my information about The Big Questions - but it was a foundation for my quest, I guess. 🤔

Now, like other kids, I didn't fully understand this Shakespearean language that The Lord's Prayer was recited in, so I had to interpret it as I could, and this is what I got from it:

'Our Father, who art in Heaven...'

My interpretation: God likes to draw and paint: he does art in Heaven... That's great: I love drawing and painting too...

'Hallowed be thy name...,'

I heard this as 'Harold be thy name'... 🙄 But I thought, that's nice: God's got a first name - Harold, and he doesn't mind us knowing it. I wonder if he has a last name too...?

'Thy kingdom come...'

That straightforward - I got that.

'Thy will be done on Earth...'

That made me feel bad for Harold - because it was right enough: he WAS 'done' on Earth: I mean, they nailed him to a couple of planks of wood the last time...  😪

'As it is in Heaven...'

This is where I started to get a bit lost. I didn't connect the previous line with this one, so I left wondering: as WHAT is in Heaven...? I was waiting for the next part: 'As it is, I. Heaven you'll be fine...' or something like that.

The rest was pretty easy to follow:

'Give us this day our daily bread...'

All Scottish primary kids were sent to school with a sandwich in their school bag for playtime. In Glasgow a sandwich is called a 'piece' (this sandwich was a called a 'playpiece') - so that made sense of to the thanks for our daily bread - AND - Jesus's decree: 'blessed are the piece makers...' that was usually mums - so, 'blessed are mums - for making our playpiece'. For a kid, that was a particularly nice bit of gratitude. 🙂

The rest was fair enough stuff: forgiveness - thanks - glory, glory... yadda-yadda... 🙂

The whole prayer sounded good to me - and so did God - in this childhood, vague understanding that I had of the concept, I must say... But that was just the start of my lifelong geeking out quest to find out more... 🤔

EPILOGUE

Just as a matter of illustrating how free thinking my quest was (and how lucky I now realise that I was to have been young and learning in the only TRULY free thinking era in modern times - when our culture was more than just entertainment: it supplied the depth of education that our formal education did not): in 1969,  during my final year of primary school (1969 - 1970), the single version of The Hare Krishna Mantra was a big chart hit. For me, that confirmed God's sociability: his name was indeed Harold (even in Indian worship, apparently) - but we could call him Harry... 🤗 And he did have a last name, we were told: Krishna... Mr. Harold Krishna - but you can call me Harry... Thanks, Harry - nice to know you... 🙂

Later, in my angst adolescence in 1973, George Harrison released 'Living In The Material World' - and my quest deepened: what did that mean: 'the material world'...? was there any other kind of world...?  🤔

So began my deeper, intense study of the Big Questions - and George Harrison's deep influence and inspiration in my life... 🙂

CONCLUSION

Now - old and grey - and after decades of free thinking (like I said above - TRULY free thinking) quest - I still don't KNOW the answers to the Big Questions about existence and whatever 'reality' is... 🤔

But I realise that absolutely NO ONE - actually does know... It's all about asking the questions - and deciding what you feel most comfortable with as an individual... Me...? I don't KNOW... I don't BELIEVE either... I just have the same intuitive awareness that I can't question in myself, because it's just 'there': and with it, an irrepressible need to search. I just accept that there IS 'something'... by natural inclination... There 'IS' what...? That I don't know... I'll just call this Harry - that will do for now... 😏

But my quest began, I guess, with the simple charm of the daily recital of The Lord's Prayer... Because my childhood mind knew - that praying is special... 🙂

(I found this picture online. My acknowledgment and thanks to whoever posted it / owns it (identity unknown to me). 🙂) (M).

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 27. 01. 2025. Edited and re-posted: 29. 01. 2025

SOURCE RECOMMENDATION: ROMAN CATHOLICISM:

THE YOUTUBE CHANNEL 'BREAKING IN THE HABIT'

I highly recommend this YouTube channel - presented by a young Franciscan friar - which presents a very informative and positive view of the Catholic faith.

In this short video, the friar enthusiastically describes 50 reasons why he loves being Catholic. 

MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA: A WOMAN OF KINDNESS AND CHARITY

Putting the record straight and destroying the scandalous myth begun by psuedo-intellectual phony Christopher Hitchens that Saint Teresa was a cruel person - and indifferent to the suffering if those in her care.

Mother Teresa (who was made a Roman Catholic saint some years after her death) was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun, who ran a care facility in Calcutta, India, during the 1960s up to her death in 1997.

Her care facility looked after the impoverished and homeless, and also the terminally ill.

Without Mother Teresa's care facility, those whom she took in and cared for would have had nowhere else to go; they would have been left alone and abandoned by society: the impoverished left to die in the pain of malnutrition and disease; the terminally ill left a die in the gutter - in pain and alone.

In Mother Teresa's care facility, the poor had clothing, nourishing food, a bed, and shelter.

The terminally ill had clothing, food, a bed, shelter - and the humanitarian care and love that they had been denied by society, and would otherwise have been denied in their final days if not for Mother Teresa's care mission.

THE MYTH ORIGINATED BY HITCHENS

The late Christopher Hitchens was and is presented as a great public intellectual; he mainly made his name by writing and presenting material that condemned religion and belief in God: which he did in support of materialist ideology.

The reality is that Hitchens was an intellectual and academic failure. He was from a wealthy and privileged English family, and benefitted from the archaic British class system: including attending an exclusive and expensive private school, from which, because of his privileged background, he was almost guaranteed a place at Oxford University, irrespective of his academic ability.

He left Oxford with a 3rd. Class undergraduate degree in combined Philosophy, Politics, and Journalism. In the English university system, a 3rd. Class degree is what it sounds like: failure.

I must surmise that it was his privileged background that helped him to achieve a career in the media - and also promulgated the myth that he was an intellectual.

In 1995 Hitchens had the book called The Missionary Position published - which was an attack on Mother Teresa and her Roman Catholic care mission in Calcutta.

In this book, Hitchens claimed that Mother Teresa declined to administer the powerful analgesic (pain relief) drugs that dying patients often require to cope with the pain that they suffer due to their terminal illnesses.

He also condemns the hygiene and bedding made available to those under the care of the mission.

THE REALITY

Mother Teresa's care mission was NOT a hospital or any other official and certified medical facility; the staff were nuns - not trained nursing staff or doctors.

To obtain and to administer controlled drugs - in this case analgesia for severe pain: morphine and/ or diamorphine (the clinical name for heroin) is, rightly so, a highly regulated procedure: requiring proper authority to apply for that medication; and needing proper authority and fully qualified staff to administer it. Mother Teresa's care mission did not have the authority to obtain these drugs - nor the staff authorised to administer them.

The care facility relied upon occasional visits from doctors who gave their time for free, out of a sense of charity: at which time they would di what they could for the dying, and for the poor.

The hygiene and bedding available was the best that could be provided under the circumstances of financial limitations, the physical environment of India in the years when India was a poor, developing country: before India became a wealthy modern nation; and the limitations of staffing.

What can be said, is that Mother Teresa care mission provided adequate food for the otherwise starving; shelter for the otherwise homeless; and a warm bed for the destitute - and the dying. 

Also important, is that the mission provided humanitarian TLC (tender, loving care) to those who were shunned and denied that by their society: suffering human beings who would have died in the gutter, in pain and hunger - and alone... If not for Mother Teresa's Roman Catholic mission... 

And what's really damning in this - what Hitchens should have reported, if he'd been a genuinely and talented journalist and humanitarian, is that there were - and are ,of course - proper, fully equipped hospitals and care facilities in Calcutta - fully staffed with medical professionals... But the people who sought refuge with Mother Teresa had been turned away from these...  Mother Teresa's Roman Catholic care mission was their ONLY hope of food, clothing, shelter, a bed to sleep in - and humanitarian care and love - in some cases, during their final days. 

But Christopher Hitchens didn't mention that reality.... Because Christopher Hitchens was not a genuinely talented journalist and humanitarian: he was an intellectual and academic failure; he was a a hack - a tabloid standard scandal spreader - and a fanatical materialist, anti-religion ideologue. That's all.

What's scandalous is, that there are people who take seriously his tawdry scandal piece attack on a good and kind woman. 

(I found this painting of Mother Teresa online. My acknowledgment and thanks to whoever posted it / owns it (identity unknown to me), and also of course to the artist (identity also unknown to me). )

Textual content © Copyright MLM Arts 23. 12. 2024. Edited and re-posted: 27. 12. 2024