Our Story
A CHRISTMAS TRADITION PRESERVED AND SHARED
NativityPlay.com is the official home of the Augustine Christmas Nativity Play - a musical celebration of the Nativity created to help keep the story of Christ at the heart of Christmas.
What you see today began many years ago as a treasured childhood tradition.
I first learned the Nativity Play and its beautiful Christmas carols while attending a boarding school led by Irish missionary nuns. I sang in the choir, participated in the play and helped prepare the stage. The music, the story and the experience stayed with me long after those school years ended.
FROM CHILDHOOD MEMORIES TO A LIVING TRADITION
FROM MEMORY TO MUSIC
Some of the Christmas music was preserved in a particularly personal way. Years after first learning these traditional carols, I sang several of the remembered melodies for a choir master, who transcribed the music by hand as I sang.
Those surviving manuscript pages became part of the process of preserving the carols and, later, preparing sheet music for the Augustine Christmas Nativity Play.
They are a reminder that this collection did not begin as a catalog of songs assembled for a product. It grew from music remembered, sung, written down and carried forward.
ONE TRADITION - THREE WAYS TO EXPERIENCE IT
Today, the Augustine Christmas Nativity Play is available in three distinct versions, making it easier to choose the Christmas experience that is right for you.
PHYSICAL VERSION
The complete printed production resource for churches, schools, home schools, families and communities that want to produce and direct their own Nativity Play.
DIGITAL VERSION
The same complete production content in an instantly downloadable format for those who prefer the convenience and
flexibility of digital materials.
AUDIO VERSION
A different experience altogether. The Nativity story is narrated and presented with the Christmas carols in sequence, with sheet music for singing along. It is designed for individuals, couples, families and small groups who want to experience the Nativity without mounting a production.
MORE THAN A SCRIPT
Producing a Christmas pageant often means gathering scripts, music, rehearsal materials, production guidance and other
resources from many different places.
The complete Physical and Digital Versions bring those essentials together in one organized resource - including the Nativity
Play script, 24 Christmas carols, sheet music, piano accompaniment, rehearsal guidance, production notes, costume
guidance and practical administrative resources.
The purpose is simple: less time searching for resources and more time bringing the Nativity story to life.