WJEC Eduqas

What! no stable?

What is Christmas?

When you think of Christmas, what comes to your mind? Write all of your ideas on the board and then click on the show suggestions button to scroll through the images. Do these match your idea of Christmas?

Christmas

angel
cappucino
carol-singing
christmas-lights
cracker
donkey
manger
nativity-manger
nativity
poinsettia
reindeer
robin
santa
snowmen
star
starry-night
three-wise-men
three-wise-men
turkey

Look at each of the images again. Which do you think represent the Christmas story and which are cultural representations of Christmas? Explain your choices to the class.

The Christmas Story

Cultural

angel cappuccino carol-singing christmas-lights cracker donkey manger nativity-manger nativity poinsettia reindeer robin santa snowmen star starry-night three-wise-men three-wise-men turkey

How much do we really know about the nativity story?
Christmas has become 'soft and fluffy,' romantic and sentimental but this probably wasn’t the intention of the 'authors.'
In reality, the Christmas stories contain themes that are somewhat ‘darker’ and much more ‘edgy.’
How many of these themes can you identify?

The dark side of the Christmas story

  • Illegitimacy
  • Betrayal
  • Shame
  • Cold-blooded murder
  • Tyrants
  • Scandal
  • Hardship
  • Outsiders
  • Refugees
  • Fear
  • Gossip