70 Years of the Christmas Pageant

Although many of our traditions have changed over time, the basics remain the same. Whether you call it the Nativity Pageant, the Feast of Lights or the Christmas Pageant, one celebration that has been with us since the beginning is a festive retelling of the Christmas story. Children have always played the parts of the holy family, the animals, the shepherds, and of course the angels. The services are always accompanied by favorite Christmas carols and gorgeous choral music. This service – in whatever form it takes – is one of the highlights of the liturgical year. Just about everyone who has ever attended St. Mark’s has memories – both moving, and also often, let’s face it, humorous – about their participation in this service which our current Rector always describes as “holy chaos.”

This is the “Feast of Lights” celebration in 1953 in the Parish Hall (the main sanctuary did not yet exist). This celebration took place in the evening on Sunday, January 4th, 1953. Epiphany was on January 6th, so the Feast of Lights was celebrated on Epiphany versus the day we celebrate the nativity now (on Christmas Eve). *Do you recognize anyone in this picture? If so, let us know so we can label it!*

This was the first hanging Advent Wreath in the main sanctuary…probably in 1958. If you look carefully at the windows on the right side of the photo at the top, you can see that the stained glass windows had not yet been installed.

*The Feast of Lights altar in the main sanctuary, late 1950’s.*

*The Feast of Light celebration in the main sanctuary in 1960. Paula Bachman, Martha Bachman’s daughter, is one of the angels!*

A dramatic picture of the Feast of Lights celebration in 1960. Note that the original stained glass window above the altar. Click **here** to read about this window and where it is located now.

The onset of the pandemic in 2020 forced St. Mark’s to celebrate the nativity in yet a different way. The 2020 pageant was a first – a prerecorded retelling of the Christmas story with the help of children of the parish. Despite the inability to gather together, the people of St. Mark’s continued a 70 plus year tradition of celebrating Jesus’ birth.

Watch the 2020 Nativity Pageant