The American Heritage Dictionary says of “nativity”
na·tiv·i·ty (n-tv-t, n-) …
n. pl. na·tiv·i·ties
1. Birth, especially the place, conditions, or circumstances of being born.
2. Nativity
a. The birth of Jesus.
b. A representation, such as a painting, of Jesus just after birth.
c. Christmas.
3. A horoscope for the time of one’s birth.[Middle English nativite, from Old French, from Latin ntvits, from ntvus, born. See native.]
It is, of course, the second meaning that various elements of society want to expurgate from our lanbguage today, or at the very least remove from public discourse as “offensive” to some.
And it is because of antipathy to that second definition that this movie is not allowed to be a sponsor of this celebration [h.t. Whizbang!]. Ironic, since it chronicles the source of the whole thing.
Alexandra has reprinted a NewsBusters article about the movie that’s banned from sponsoring the Christkindlmarket in Chicago:
Unlike other movies that the some in the media comically have claimed might rub off some “Passion†magic as they trashed and satirized Christians, “The Nativity Story†is reverent, generally true to the Gospel, and a moving experience for the Christian faithful. It reminds the audience that these distant figures in the stained glass window were real humans with real struggles and real suffering, and responded to their calling with timeless devotion to their creator.
You know, I might just break with my own traditions and watch this movie. I routinely avoid watching Hollyweird fare that purports to feature “Christian” themes or subject matter, because such Hollyweird fare has, in my past experience, typically misrepresented the subject matter and indeed the facts, consistently, and either deliberately or with wilfull ignorance. (Hmmm… those appear to be the same thing.) And regarding the Nativity story, well, I’ve done enough staging and producing of the story for musical live dramas over the years that I have my own particular vision of how the action from the narrative plays out, so that’s another reason why I might avoid a retelling of it from using else’s “eyes”.
But this year, I think I’ll probably see The nativity Story. If it’s as well done as the NewsBusters article suggests (or even half as well done, for that matter), it’ll probably be the best thing to have come out of Hollyweird all year.
Or, maybe, I dunno, just maybe I’ll wait until it comes out on video… perhaps around Easter. 🙂 Because, you see, Easter is what The Nativity is really about.