CHRISTMAS MUSIC & NARRATION PROGRAM By Ronda Hinrichsen

For the past three years, a good friend of mine--a violin teacher (and and her students)--and I (with my piano students) have presented a Christmas program of music and narration for a local nursing home. Since it is a generalized program that can incorporate different music titles each year, I thought I'd share it with you, my readers, in case you're searching for something similar.


CHRISTMAS PROGRAM

SONG:             JOY TO THE WORLD

NARRATION:   
Christmas is a sacred season. It’s a time when love increases, friendships deepen, and hearts join together to celebrate the birth of Christ. Tonight, several young music students will celebrate these feelings and their love of Christ through their music. The first numbers are traditional and folk carols; but just as all things that are filled with the Christmas spirit, their ultimate messages reflect unity, joy, and peace in Christ.

SONGS:          GOOD KING WENCESLAS
                       GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMAN
                       I SAW THREE SHIPS

NARRATION:
Favorite Christmas symbols also reflect the Savior, such as candy canes for shepherd’s crooks, candles for lights that can not be hid, and wreaths as the promise of Eternal Life. But what about the snow? Could it be that it represents all that is white, and good, and pure? Or, perhaps it is because, that while we know Christ was born in the spring, we continue to celebrate it in the winter because it represents the hope Christ brought to our dark and dying world.

SONGS:         IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER
                     JOLLY OLD ST. NICHOLAS
                     SLEIGHRIDE
                     O CHRISTMAS TREE

NARRATION:
“And (Mary) brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

SONG:         AWAY IN A MANGER

NARRATION:
This is what we think of when we picture Christ’s birth. But what were the first sounds the holy child heard? Was it the gentle lullaby of His mother? The calming low of cattle? Or was it the peaceful jingling of bells—bells worn by lambs?

SONGS:        CAROL OF THE BELLS
                     JINGLE BELLS
                     SILVER BELLS

 NARRATION:
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David as Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

SONGS:        OH COME ALL YE FAITHFUL
                     HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING
NARRATION:
Christmas is a sacred season. It’s a time when love increases, friendships deepen, and hearts join together to celebrate the birth of Christ. It is also a time to remember one of Christ’s greatest promises: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

SONGS:        SILENT NIGHT
                     WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS

End

A HERITAGE OF PEACE By Ronda Hinrichsen

(A Reader's Theater for Children)

Note: See Genesis 25-47

Characters
1st Narrator
2nd Narrator
Jacob
Esau
Joseph
Brother
Judah


1st Narrator:         Joseph's father, Jacob, taught his family to live in peace. He taught them through his example.

2nd Narrator:        When Joseph was a young boy, God told Jacob to move his family and animals to the promised
                              land.

1st Narrator:         The promised land was in Canaan.

2nd Narrator:        On the way, they approached the place where Esau lived. Esau was Jacob's twin brother.

1st Narrator:         Jacob had left home twenty years earlier, because Esau had hated Jacob and wanted
                              to destroy him. 

2nd Narrator:        Jacob knew he must find a way to live in peace with Esau, so he sent messengers to him.

Jacob:                    Go to Esau and say: I am coming with animals and servants, and I have sent to tell my Lord
                              that I may find grace in thy sight.

1st Narrator:         When the messengers returned, they told Jacob that Esau was coming with an army.

2nd Narrator:        Jacob was frightened. He prayed to Heavenly Father to help him and his family.

1st Narrator:         Then Jacob divided over 550 of his animals into several groups. He put his servants in charge of
                              them.

Jacob:                    Take these animals ahead of me to meet Esau, and put a space between each group. Then,
                              when Esau asks you who you are, where you are going, and whose animals these are, tell him
                              they are a gift to him from me. 

2nd Narrator:        The servants presented the animals to Esau one group at a time.

1st Narrator:         But Esau and his army continued on toward Jacob.

2nd Narrator:        When Jacob saw him coming, he still wanted peace with his brother, so he respectfully bowed
                              down to him.

1st Narrator:         Esau ran to Jacob. He hugged and kissed him.

2nd Narrator:        Jacob and Esau wept. They had missed each other. They had forgiven one another.

Esau:                    Who are these women and children?

Jacob:                   They are my family.

1st Narrator:         Jacob's family came forward. They respectfully bowed down to Esau, too.

Esau:                    Why did you give me all those animals? I have enough, my brother. Keep your animals unto
                             yourself.

Jacob:                   No, please, if I have found grace in thy sight, then receive my gift at my hand.

2nd Narrator:        Esau accepted Jacob's gifts. This was a sign that they were friends again. Now they would live in
                             peace. 

1st Narrator:         Joseph saw how hard his father had worked to live in peace with his brother. And when Joseph
                             grew up, he followed his father's example. But it was very hard.

2nd Narrator:        Joseph was seventeen years old when his ten older brothers sold him as a slave into Egypt.

1st Narrator:         Joseph suffered many things because of his brothers' actions, but he remained faithful to the
                              Lord. 

2nd Narrator:        The Lord blessed Joseph to become a ruler over the people.

1st Narrator:         One day, Joseph's brothers came to Egypt to buy food because there was a terrible famine in
                              the land.

2nd Narrator:        Joseph was in charge of selling food to the people.

1st Narrator:         Joseph recognized his brothers, but they did not recognize him.

Joseph:                 Where have you come from?

Brother:                From the land of Canaan. We're here to buy food.

Joseph:                 You are spies!

Brother:                No. We are twelve brothers. The youngest is with our father, and one is gone.

Joseph:                 If ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in prison: go ye, carry corn for the famine of
                             your houses: But bring your youngest brother unto me. 

2nd Narrator:       The brothers were frightened. They spoke among themselves. 

Brother:                We are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the anguish of his soul, when he pled with
                             us, and we wouldn't listen. It's our fault this has happened.

2nd Narrator:        Joseph knew his brothers were talking about him. He turned away from them so they wouldn't
                             see him weep. 

1st Narrator:         Joseph's brother, Simeon, stayed behind. The other nine brothers returned home.

2nd Narrator:        When Jacob found out what had happened, he was sad and worried. He still believed Joseph
                              was dead, and now he had lost another son, Simeon. He did not want to lose any more sons.
                              He would not let Joseph's youngest brother, Benjamin, go to Egypt.

1st Narrator:         But after many days, Jacob's family again ran out of food.

Jacob:                   Go again, buy us a little food.

Judah:                  We can not go without Benjamin. I promise I will take care of him. If I bring him not back unto
                             thee, and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever.

Jacob:                   If it must be so, then also take these gifts to the Egyptian ruler. And God give you mercy before
                             the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. 

2nd Narrator:       When the brothers returned to Egypt, Joseph invited them to a feast.

1st Narrator:        The brothers gave Joseph the gifts.

Joseph:                 Are you well? Is your father well?

Brother:                Thy servant our father is in good health.

Joseph:                 Is this your younger brother?

Brother:                Yes.

2nd Narrator:        Joseph was happy to see Benjamin again. He loved him very much.

1st Narrator:         But Joseph still did not know if his brothers had changed. Had they learned to love and be kind
                              to his younger brother? Had they repented of what they'd done to him? Could they live with
                              him, in peace, again?

2nd Narrator:        Joseph tested his brothers a second time. He saw they did love his younger brother. He
                              knew they had repented, so he told them who he was.

Joseph:                 I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt. Do not be angry with yourselves anymore.
                             God has brought me here that I might preserve your lives.

1st Narrator:         Joseph and his brothers hugged and kissed each other. Then Joseph asked them to bring his
                             father to Egypt, too.

2nd Narrator:        Finally, Jacob, Joseph, and their entire family were together again.

1st Narrator:         They had suffered many wrongs, but they had forgiven each other. Now they could live together
                              happily.

Both Narrators:      They had built peace.

A FAMILY FROM BETHLEHEM By Ronda Hinrichsen

(A Read-together Story for you and your child.)

Note: See Ruth 1-4

PARENT:   More than a thousand years before Christ was born, a good family lived in Bethlehem.

CHILD:      Naomi was the mother of that family. She had a husband and two sons.

PARENT:  They lived happily in Bethlehem, near their relatives and friends, until one season when a famine came to the
                  land.

CHILD:     A famine means that the people began to run out of food.

PARENT:  Naomi’s family decided to move to a place that had food.

CHILD:     That place was called Moab.

PARENT:  While living there, Naomi’s husband died, and her sons married.

CHILD:     The girls they married were from Moab. Their names were Orpah and Ruth.

PARENT:  Orpah and Ruth were good and kind, but their families had not taught them to believe in the Lord.

CHILD:     They worshipped many other gods.

PARENT:  But after Orpah and Ruth married Naomi’s sons, they began to learn about God.

CHILD:     And for a time, they were happy.

PARENT:  Then a very sad thing happened: both Naomi’s sons died.

CHILD:     Now, Naomi, Orpah, and Ruth were widows. They had to decide what to do and where to go.

PARENT:  Naomi decided to go back to Bethlehem. She had heard that God had ended the famine there.

CHILD:     Orpah and Ruth wanted to go with her.

PARENT:  Naomi loved Orpah and Ruth. She knew she would miss them, but she wanted them to be blessed with their
                  own families. She said, “Go, return . . . to (your) mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you, as ye
                  have dealt with (my sons) and with me.”

CHILD:     Orpah kissed Naomi good-bye. She went back to her first family.

PARENT:  But Ruth clung to Naomi. She did not want to go back to worshipping idols. She did not want to leave
                  her mother-in-law.

BOTH:       Ruth said: “Intreat me not to leave thee . . . for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will
                  lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy god, my God.”
CHILD:     Naomi knew Ruth loved her. She also knew Ruth loved the Lord. She let Ruth move toBethlehem with her.
PARENT:  Naomi and Ruth traveled many miles until they came to Bethlehem.

CHILD:     When they got there, it was the beginning of the barley harvest.

PARENT:  Ruth saw a way to help her and Naomi get the food they needed.

CHILD:     She said, “Let me now go to the field, and glean grain.”

PARENT:  “Go, my daughter,” Naomi said.

CHILD:     Ruth went into the fields. She gathered grain that the reapers missed. She worked very hard.
PARENT:  The owner of the field saw Ruth gleaning the grain. His name was Boaz. He was related to Naomi’s husband.
CHILD:     “Whose damsel is this?” he asked one of his servants.

PARENT:  “It is the Moabitish damsel that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab,” the servant said.

CHILD:     Boaz was impressed with Ruth.

PARENT:  He told her she could stay and work in his fields, alongside his servants. She would be safe there. She would
                  have good water to drink.

CHILD:     Ruth asked Boaz why he was being so good to her, “seeing that I am a stranger?”

PARENT:  Boaz told Ruth he knew about all she had done for Naomi and how kindlyshe had taken care of her. “A full
                  reward be given thee of the Lord God ofIsrael, (whom) thou art come to trust,” he said.

CHILD:     Boaz was kind to Ruth in another way, too. He told his servants to secretly leave extra grain behind so Ruth
                  could gather even more of it for food. Ruth gathered grain all day.

PARENT:  That night, Ruth returned to her home with Naomi. She told Naomi how kind Boaz had been to her.

CHILD:     “Blessed be he of the Lord,” Naomi said.

PARENT:  Ruth continued to gather grain from Boaz’s fields during the barley harvest and then throughout the following
                  wheat harvest.

CHILD:     When all the harvests ended, Ruth and Boaz decided to marry.

PARENT:  They had a baby boy. His name was Obed.

CHILD:     Naomi, Ruth, Boaz, and Obed were happy.

PARENT:  This kind and loyal family from Bethlehem had faced many trials, but because they were faithful to the
                  Lord and to each other, they received many blessings. They also received future blessings.

CHILD:     One blessing was that Ruth and Boaz became the great-grandparents of David, the faith-filled boy who killed
                  the giant, Goliath. When he grew up, he became a mighty king. King David, like his great-grandparents, was
                  from Bethlehem.

PARENT:  Then, many, many years after that, the greatest king of all was born into Ruth and Boaz’s family.

CHILD:     That King brought blessings to all of Heavenly Father’s children.

PARENT:  He was kind, loyal, and perfectly righteous, and He, too, was from Bethlehem.

BOTH:      His name was Jesus Christ.