tdeveson Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 I'm looking for the story of Christmas to create a small book for ds to work on the next few days until Christmas. We're not Christians, so we teach the Bible and other sacred texts as Great Books. Is there such a secular retelling available for children, perhaps even on the Internet? TIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in WA Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 I would suggest you do use the Bible and go to Luke chapter 2. You could read a section and have your child narrate and draw a picture for each section. There are books that retell the Christmas story, but I suggest going to what I consider the greatest of great books :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiguirre Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Check out Geraldine Macaughrean's God's Kingdom, her NT storybook. I use her Jesse Tree book every year, hanging a felt ornament on a mini Christmas tree for each story. She's a great storyteller and her tone is never preachy IMHO. I'm an atheist, but my kids are Catholic, so my pov may not mesh with others, but I'd give these books a look to see if they'd work for you. Most libraries carry them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdeveson Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 Thanks for the recommendations. I'll check out the books. As to going directly to the Bible, that was my first thought -- go to the source. Unfortunately, my one Bible is a standard King James version with words way to long and unusual for ds. He's reading at fifth grade level, but he won't tolerate long narratives in archaic English. However, you've given me a good idea. Perhaps I can find a children's Bible to work from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apCrazy4Jesus Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 You could go to biblegateway.com and look up any scripture in just about any version out there. I would recommend NIV(New International Version) or ESV(English Standard Version). Here is a link to Luke 2 written in the Messsage version which is very much paraphrased/storylike version of the Bible (I would never use this versioin as my Bible, but it is fun to read out of) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202&version=MSG Also, don't worry about reading from the KJV, you can fill in a modern word for the old English word - that is what I do sometimes. Or let them have exposure to the old english so when they encounter it in life they will be familiar with it. I pray you enjoy your study of the true meaning of Christmas = The birth of the savior JESUS CHRIST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 post deleted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christine in al Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 The stories are pretty different and that can be a good way to talk about what gets put into stories depending on what the writer wants to convey to the particular audience. Star and magi in one, shepards and angels in the other. They even have different versions of what happens after the birth. Comparative Mythology in the same book. We use the New International Revised Standard here. And check with the Unitarians. They often have some very good resources. Happy midWinter. ~christine in al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in PA Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 This is the Bible we've decided to get: DK Illustrated Family Bible . It's been recommended on several of the secular lists I'm on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaSheep Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I'm a little unclear what you are looking for. What characteristics would make the retelling secular rather than religious, in your view? IOW, what characteristics are you looking for, and what are you trying to avoid? I ask because this is what comes to my mind off the top of my head. I don't think of it as secular, but to my mind it does a good job of just retelling the story as it is in the Bible. Each little summary blurb has a Bible reference after it showing where it came from. This online version has the references linked to a KJV. So it might work if you're looking for a retelling from that perspective. The text may be a bit "young" for your student, though. The bit I linked to above is just the part about Jesus being born. Other parts of teh story, like the angel's visits to Mary and Joseph, the story surrounding the birth of John The Baptist, the wise men, and whatnot are in other chapters. The whole list can be found here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in WA Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 KJV could be confusing. We love the ESV. As for a children's story Bible, you could get your hands on The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Check out Geraldine Macaughrean's God's Kingdom This is the Bible we've decided to get: DK Illustrated Family Bible We use these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawna in Texas Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I'm looking for the story of Christmas to create a small book for ds to work on the next few days until Christmas. We're not Christians, so we teach the Bible and other sacred texts as Great Books. Is there such a secular retelling available for children, perhaps even on the Internet? TIA My very very favorite biblical resource is this. But, the price is ridiculous considering I paid less than $10 for it when it came out (they have a HB edition for less then $10, though). It is good to have for history as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 I'm looking for the story of Christmas to create a small book for ds to work on the next few days until Christmas. We're not Christians, so we teach the Bible and other sacred texts as Great Books. Is there such a secular retelling available for children, perhaps even on the Internet? TIA I guess I was way off. I was going to suggest sources for the pagan roots of Christmas and how the Church adopted them. Watchtower.org and Catholic Encyclopedias are good for that aspect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdeveson Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 The stories are pretty different and that can be a good way to talk about what gets put into stories depending on what the writer wants to convey to the particular audience. Star and magi in one, shepards and angels in the other. They even have different versions of what happens after the birth. Comparative Mythology in the same book. We use the New International Revised Standard here. And check with the Unitarians. They often have some very good resources. Happy midWinter. ~christine in al Excellent. Thanks. I should have thought of the Unitarians. They're amazing good at this sort of thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdeveson Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 I guess I was way off. I was going to suggest sources for the pagan roots of Christmas and how the Church adopted them. Watchtower.org and Catholic Encyclopedias are good for that aspect. The Pagan roots of Christmas is an excellent idea. I'm certainly going to incorporate it in our story of Christmas. Thanks for reminding me of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 The Pagan roots of Christmas is an excellent idea. I'm certainly going to incorporate it in our story of Christmas. Thanks for reminding me of that. There is also the idea of how different places celebrate Christmas, and how much of our habits in the US are related to Victorian England's habits. Personally, I always wanted to wear that hat with the candles all around.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 There is also the idea of how different places celebrate Christmas, and how much of our habits in the US are related to Victorian England's habits. Personally, I always wanted to wear that hat with the candles all around.:)That sounds very interesting! Excellent. Thanks. I should have thought of the Unitarians. They're amazing good at this sort of thing. Of course. I was able to find a secular book about the life of Jesus that was written by a Unitarian Universalist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 That sounds very interesting! I'm afraid to show it to my son....I know what he'd want for Christmas: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gustavus.edu/slir/w900-h900/news/headlines/photos/original/3448_a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://news.blog.gustavus.edu/2007/11/22/67th-annual-festival-of-st-lucia/&usg=__pySE-dX7QL884B8GdzeejXGurbg=&h=900&w=600&sz=48&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=YvrHvcZvVdE3-M:&tbnh=146&tbnw=97&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dst%2Blucia%2Bcrown%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DALy%26um%3D1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Love it. :D I can see a History of Christmas plan forming complete with a project of the above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdeveson Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 I'm afraid to show it to my son....I know what he'd want for Christmas: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://gustavus.edu/slir/w900-h900/news/headlines/photos/original/3448_a.jpg&imgrefurl=http://news.blog.gustavus.edu/2007/11/22/67th-annual-festival-of-st-lucia/&usg=__pySE-dX7QL884B8GdzeejXGurbg=&h=900&w=600&sz=48&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=YvrHvcZvVdE3-M:&tbnh=146&tbnw=97&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dst%2Blucia%2Bcrown%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26hs%3DALy%26um%3D1 Same here! That looks dangerous. She knows it, too. Did you see the expression on her face? :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizabeth Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 http://www.pasht.net/scandinavian/Lucia.html Not Victorian nor English in origin. Naturally the roots are Italian ...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Lucy's_Day For a film that satirizes much of the modern attempt at celebrating Christmas and incorporates the Feast of Saint Lucia rent The Ref...Denis Leary, Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis. What more could you want for a fantastic, acerbic movie about Christmas and families . Link here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110955/ I laughed until my sides ached. Not for those with pristine ears either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 I was thinking of The Ref too! Very, very funny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 (edited) I've read my children the King James bible story. Christmas, as celebrated by believing Christians, is what it is! And it's lovely. (Christmas is about birth and hope. It's not like having to deal with Easter and torture, kwim?) What's different for us is that Jesus is not divine. However, the birth of a baby signifies hope, love and peace. We're all about that! We also talk about solstice celebrations, and how every major religion celebrates, somehow, the bringing of light to darkness. I think it's human to want to shine your/any light, and I tell my kids so. Wednesday, we light Hanukkah candles with some Jewish friends in their home. This atheist understands that shining a light, metaphorically and literally , is not unimportant to human need. Tell the story as is...and discuss why you believe or don't believe. Edited December 15, 2009 by LibraryLover Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted December 15, 2009 Share Posted December 15, 2009 The best resource I ever encountered analyzing the Jesus birth stories from a historical and literary analysis perspective was a lecture by Marcus Borg. I've forgotten a lot of it, but I remember interesting parallels between the birth stories of Jesus and the Emperor Augustus (and what they were trying to achieve with their audiences), and discussion of the differences between the gospel narratives, and why they were different. Borg is a non-literalist Christian and a historian of the era -- and a great writer and lecturer. Anyway, I haven't read it, but he seems to have turned it into a book (I probably heard a lecture as he was working up the material for the book.): http://www.amazon.com/First-Christmas-Gospels-Really-Jesuss/dp/0061430706 If it is even half as good as that lecture, I really recommend it, and interesting for nonChristians as well as nonliteral/non-exclusivist Christians. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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