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Home , Santa Claus

vs. Santa

Parts:

Translation of Play to Lao: J, PC, L Behind the Scenes Organizer: J Help with younger kids: AL Sound Effects: PC, A

Person 1: A Person 2: P Jesus: K Santa: S Shepherds: T Animals: F, C, R Wise Men: PK, I Disciples: T, F, I, PK, A, C, R, and 5 audience members : R, T, F, C, PK, AL, PC, I, and 1 audience member Sing: All

Costumes:

Jesus and disciples: have a white (or loose) shirt, loose pants, a dark curtain draped over his shoulders, and a scarf tied around his waist (PLUS have 4 fish and some “money” coins for disciples) Santa: red outfit and white (borrowed from Blaine?) stuffed with several small pillows Donkey and Cow: pillows covered with a dark brown or tan curtain tied to body, and cow has “horns” Shepherd: same as disciples, but with a scarf around head like a bandana, and a stick in hand for a staff Sheep: pillow with white curtain tied to body Wisemen: dressed in fancy Lao shirts/clothes (borrowed from Sam?), loose pants, turbans?, carrying books covered with paper to look old, etc Dasher: wears running shoes/clothes and acts like ready to run a race Dancer: wears ballet stuff and pirouettes across stage Prancer: wears “bling” and acts like a super model Vixen: wears something that needs covered up with a jacket Comet: wears a big “star” Cupid: wears a big red heart and tries to hug people a lot Donner: wears a “cloud” and goes BOOM when Person 2 looks at Blitzen: has a flashlight in a pop bottle and flips the light on and off like “lightening” All Reindeer wear “antlers” Rudolph: “antlers” and a “red nose”

Play:

Person 1: Hi, …

Person 2: Hey, … How are you?

Person 1: Well, to be honest, I’m really confused.

Person 2: About what?

Person 1: You see, I keep hearing different things about . Some people tell me that it is about , and others say it’s about Jesus. I just don’t know what the truth is? I don’t know what to believe. Person 2: Oh, I see. Well, maybe it would help if I put them up against one another for you.

Person 1: Cool! Like a Jesus vs Santa match! Will there be some Muai Thai boxing involved?! (does some crazy Karate-type moves)

Person 2: Ummm, no… I… don’t… think… so… (gives a weird look to friend, clears throat, and begins…)

So, Jesus *at the sound of His name, have the background people sing “Ahhhhh”, like they are being an angel choir+… Umm, yeah, ok?... Just a second. [run off stage, and then run back on dragging K dressed as Jesus and stand Him on the stage on one side+ So, as I said… Jesus *again, at the sound of His name, background people sing “Ahhh”… they do this each time “Jesus” is said+… *look around kind of weird and then shrug+ was born over 2000 years ago. His name was Jesus *“ahhh”+ Bar Joseph, or Jesus [ahhh] son of Joseph. Since he did many good things, the name Christ was given to him because He was thought to be the Messiah, or chosen one of God… the one God had promised to send to set His people free. The word Messiah is translated to Christos in the Greek language, which was commonly spoke in Jesus’s (ahhhh) time, so he became known as Jesus the Christ. (ahhh) or simply Jesus Christ (ahhh)

On the other hand, Santa *background people shout out “hohoho” and speaker jumps a little, looking around, then runs off stage and returns dragging S, dressed as a fat Santa with lots of pillow padding, to stand opposite Jesus]. As I was saying, Santa *hohoho… repeated each time Santa’s name is mentioned… speaker rolls his eyes and listener just smiles] was born about 400 years after Jesus [ahhhh]. Santa Claus [hohoho] is not his real name. He was actually born . He did a lot of good things, so the church began calling him Nicholas, which means that he was a really good person. Over time, stories about were told in countries all over the world and in many different languages. Through these stories, the pronunciation of his name was changed several times, and eventually a poem was written about Saint Nicholas in America… it was called The Night Before Christmas, and used the American pronunciation of Saint Nicholas’s name… Santa Claus (hohoho)… this is how Saint Nicholas became famously known as Santa (hohoho).

Although Saint Nicholas was a real guy, the character, Santa Claus (hohoho), is not a real person. Jesus (ahhhh), though is completely real. We can learn about the promise and life of Jesus (ahhhh) in the Bible. It is His birth that we are remembering on Christmas. The Bible tells us that Jesus (ahhhh) was born in in a stable. [have some kids come in on their hands and knees making cow and donkey noises… look at them, act like you are going to ask them a question about what they are doing, but then “give up” and just shake your head and go on+. Baby Jesus (ahhhh) was visited by shepherds (have some people walk across the stage with kids acting as sheep saying baaaa), and he was also visited by some wise men from Asia (look around as if expecting someone or something to interrupt you, smile after you pause, and begin to move on)… these wise men (have 3 guys run up to you and tap you on the shoulder while you are speaking… they ask you if you have seen the baby Jesus… ahhhh… and you hold up your finger as if to tell them to wait a minute, then continue on)… they learned about God’s promise to send Jesus (ahhhh) through reading historical writings and studying the stars. They followed a special star that God had sent to guide them all the way to see Baby Jesus (ahhhh) and give him some special . (the 3 men start tapping on your shoulder again, so you stop and turn to address the 3 men) What do you want? Can’t you see I’m busy here?

Wiseman 1: Where is baby Jesus? (ahhh)

Person 2: (looks at Wisemen quizzically, point them to Big Jesus)

[Wisemen walk over to Jesus and look him over]

Wiseman 2: (talking to Jesus) You’re a big baby, aren’t you!

Wiseman 1: Definitely! He grew very fast!

Wiseman 2: You surely are strong and healthy! Good, good! 

[Wisemen give Jesus some gifts and then walk off stage] Person 2: (shaking your head, you return to the story) Anyway… Saint Nicholas, or Santa Claus (hohoho) here, is known for spending his time with 8 reindeer… well, 9 if you count Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. (have 8 people walk out on stage pretending to be reindeer… with “antlers” on and dressed with a funny outfit on to represent their reindeer name… have one of them run off stage to grab an audience member, put some “antlers” and a red “nose” on them, and drag them up on stage to join the other reindeer). Exactly. Let’s see (pointing at each reindeer in turn) you must be Dasher. You must be Dancer. And Prancer? Where’s Vixen… oh, there you are. (Hand Vixen something to cover up with, like a coat) Comet. Cupid. Donner? Ok, weird outfit, but we will go with it. Blitzen. And last, but not least, Rudolph. Great! Thanks, guys!  (people run off stage)

Santa Claus (hohoho) is also known for coming to people’s houses on a sleigh and squeezing down chimneys to give people their gifts.

[Santa starts to take the pillows out from under his shirt and throw them across the stage]

Person 2: [stops, looks at Santa] What in the world are you doing?

Santa: If I’m going to fit down a chimney, I’m going to need to lose some weight!

Person 2: [roll your eyes, smile, and continue] Now, Jesus (ahhhh), is known for spending His time with His 12 disciples. (Have 6 people come out dressed in robes, each one grabbing an audience member and bringing them up on stage… someone runs out with some props in a bucket, you thank them, and then dig through the bucket to find the various items that are needed and hand them out accordingly) 4 were fishermen (hand each one a wiggly fish), 1 was a tax collector (give them some jiggling coins, make a show of dropping the money into their hands), … (continue on as appropriate, making sure to give something to each one of the audience members). Perfect! Way to go, guys!  (people run off stage)

Jesus (ahhh) doesn’t deliver His with a sleigh and chimney, though, as Santa (hohoho) does. Instead, Jesus (ahhhh) was lifted up on a cross to die in our place. He loved us so much that He didn’t want us to suffer because of all the bad things we have done. After He had died, He was buried in a tomb. Then, three days later Jesus (ahhh) came back to life again, so that He could give us His amazing gift. A gift that He delivers to our heart and life.

Santa Claus (hohoho) is said to give gifts to good boys and girls. But you can only get these gifts if you are good. Jesus (ahhhh) on the other hand, gives His gift to anyone, good or bad, as long as they are willing to accept it. Santa Claus’s (hohoho) gifts are things like toys, candy, and other stuff that makes us feel happy during Christmas time. And that’s nice. It’s fun to give gifts and get them. But Jesus’s (ahhhh) gift isn’t temporary. Jesus (ahhhh) gives the gift of forgiveness for everything we have ever done wrong or will do wrong. He gives us an assurance of a peaceful and happy life in Heaven when we die where we will never suffer again. And He helps us in our life now, too. You could say that Jesus (ahhhh) gives us a gift that keeps on giving! 

Santa’s (hohoho) gifts can break. We can lose them, or someone can steal them from us. And we can only get them if we are good. But Jesus’s (ahhhh) gifts are forever. Once we receive them, they can never be taken away from us. And we can only receive His gifts if we admit that we have been bad and ask Him to help us change.

(turning to the friend) So, what do you think? Is Christmas be about Santa Claus (hohoho) or Jesus Christ (ahhhh)

Person 1: Well, Santa (hohoho) sure is fun. And I love fun! But fun is only temporary. Sometimes when I go out with my friend to have fun, I feel really bad afterwards. That is not fun. To be honest, I have had a lot of fun in my life that was really bad and did not make me happy. I really need someone to help me in my life, so I can have fun in a good way. And I would love to know that I don’t have to feel guilty anymore about all the bad things I’ve done in the past. I would really like to have help in my life now, and know that I will be happy forever when I die. I think Jesus (ahhhh) is the one that can help me with these things. He must truly be the Christ as you said, because if He can help me with the things I can’t do on my own, then He really will set me free. Free to be the person I really want to be. Santa (hohoho) is fun, but, I think Jesus (ahhhh) is the one that Christmas should really be all about. Can you tell me more?

Person 2: Sure. (put your arm around friend, Jesus put his arm around Santa, and vice versa, and all people walk off stage)

[Follow this play with the skit with a song (), then if time do the skit about not being able to clean ourselves of sin on our own and how we need Jesus to make us clean and remove our sin so we can go to heaven (mud on I and buckets of water to clean him… see phone audio recording for details), another song (Amazing Grace), and finish with the magic trick with the egg to emphasize that we can’t get into heaven without God’s power and nothing can ever take us out of His hand once we’ve accepted Christ… end with song (We Wish You a Merry Christmas).]

Words to We Wish You a Merry Christmas:

We wish you good life this Christmas Jow mee seveet dee ni Christmas We wish you great peace this Christmas Jow mee santipab ni Christmas We wish you a blessed Christmas Jow mee pawn lai lai ni Christmas And a happy New Year Pe Mai mee kwamsouk Good News we do bring to you from the King Pwakhow ow kao dee khawng Prajow mah Good News about Jesus Kao dee gaogob Prah Yeahsu For a Happy New Year Pe Mai mee kwamsouk