the Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever

Have you read this book recently? I LOVE this book. I loved it more this year, because I read it aloud to Silas. He loves a good story. He's all boy, so there has to be a good villain or at least a mean person to be a good story.

In the Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever, Silas loved the Herdmans. It was so funny. In the Christmas Story, Silas is very interested in King Herod, just like the Herdmans. Silas listened to every word in each chapter. He loved how Immogene slung the baby Jesus over her shoulder. He likes the names of the Herdmans. Ralph, Immogene, Claude, Ollie, Leroy and Gladys. Like hearing about the kid's dad who walks around the house in his underwear.

If you don't know the story, let me recap it. The Herdmans are a group of siblings that nobody likes. They haven't given anyone a reason to like them. They are dirty, mean, and are always getting into trouble. They hear that food is served at church, so they show up. They volunteer for all the main parts in the Christmas pageant, having threatened the others children if they volunteered. The director tells them the Christmas Story for the first time. Its so touching. They have such real concerns (like what if the Wisemen went back the same way? Why didn't Mary get to choose the baby's name? ) The people in the church are sure the Herdmans are going to ruin Christmas and burn the church down in the meantime.

During the pageant, the wisemen end up bringing a ham for a gift. The Herdmans felt perfume was not a good gift, so they got their own Christmas ham and brought it. Mary burped the baby before she laid him in the manger. And the Angel of the Lord pushed the shepherds down the aisle to see the baby.

It just made me think about all the people in our community who are like the Herdmans. Unlovely, dirty, needy, different.

Also, as I look at the presents under our tree, I remember our friends in Uganda and others right here in our apt building that won't have all this "stuff" for Christmas.

We may not have much to give, but I'm sure I could get a ham and give it to my neighbor. (I could also take some of these presents from my tree and give them to her son, my kids probably wouldn't even notice. But I won't do that! Although Jody would like me to. Pretty much all the presents are from DeeDee, Pa, MawMaw, PopPop, Aunt Holly and Uncle Steven, Aunt Joy, and Aunt Jerre and Uncle Roman)

As Gladys Herdman says, "Shazam!! "