Christmas pageants, good & bad

[HelenaZF]

What do you think of the yearly Christmas pageant performed in many churches, where the shepherds often wear bathrobes, and a painfully skinny young boy sporting a pasted beard is playing Joseph? Where the angels have tin foil wings and more often than not, the acting is really bad? [Note: I've been involved in some of these.]



On occasion, I have seen these pageants beautifully, extravagantly, and artfully done and acted, (one of those included a live camel!) but that is the exception, not the norm.



Why is this done year after year? What do you see as the value of all the intensive rehearsals and costuming and prop frenzies? Do you do them in your church? Are you involved? Do you have good memories of being in Christmas pageants from your childhood?



Also, I've noticed a trend (at least in the adult arena of Christmas pageant presentation) where the passion and resurrection is also part of the nativity pageant. What do you think about that? Is it a good idea? Appropriate or not?