Glad Tidings!

Bringing joy to others

by Lydia Parkinson

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To consider Christmas cards and the significance of Christmas greetings.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Glad Tidings!) and the means to display them.

Assembly

1. Ask the children if they have sent or received any Christmas cards yet this year.
   
   If your school has a Christmas postbox for collecting and distributing cards, use this opportunity to speak about it.
   
   
2. Ask if anyone can guess how many Christmas cards are sent in the UK every year.
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   Explain that it is estimated that around 900 million Christmas cards are sent in the UK every year.
   
   
3. Show Slides 1-6.
   
   Ask for the children’s comments on each card.
   
   - Do they like the design?
   - Would they choose to send this kind of card?
   
   
4. Show Slide 7.
   
   Ask the children to choose their favourite design. You may like to carry out a vote for the children’s favourite by asking them to raise their hand.
   
   Ask the children which card best shows the meaning of Christmas.
   
   
5. Show Slide 8.
   
   Explain that the first Christmas cards that were made to be sold were printed in 1846. There was just one design and the greeting ‘A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you’. Sales were low until the invention of a new method of colour printing, which meant that the cards could be made and sold more cheaply.
   
   By 1860, Christmas cards had become a popular way of sending Christmas greetings. In 1870, the halfpenny post was introduced, so even more cards were sent.
   
   
6. Ask the children, ‘How much does it cost to send a Christmas card in the UK today?’
   
   Listen to a range of responses.
   
   
7. Show Slide 9.
   
   Today, a first-class stamp costs £1.35 and a second-class stamp costs 85p. People send fewer cards nowadays than they used to because of various reasons.
   
   - The cost of cards has gone up.
   - The cost of postage has increased.
   - People are more aware of the environmental impact of sending cards.
   - Thanks to new technology and social media, there are less expensive, easier ways to send Christmas messages.
   
   
8. Despite this, many people love to receive cards and the messages that they contain. It is a way to show care and friendship, and it helps us to keep in touch with family and friends who might live far away.
   
   
9. Show Slide 10.
   
   This card shows the baby Jesus in a manger, with Mary and Joseph looking over him.
   
   Many cards show the fun side of Christmas: presents, trees, Father Christmas, snowmen and so on. However, it’s good to stop and think about the true meaning of Christmas too, and about the first Christmas when Jesus was born.
   
   
10. Show Slide 11.
    
    The shepherds appear in the Christmas story because of what might be called the first ‘Happy Christmas’ greeting of all. In the Bible, Luke tells how, one night, an angel appeared to some shepherds as they cared for their flocks.
    
    ‘Don’t be afraid,’ said the angel. ‘I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to everyone. Today . . . your Saviour has been born. He is Christ the Lord!’ (Luke 2.10-11)
    
    The shepherds were filled with joy. They knew that God had not forgotten them.
    
    
11. Explain to the children that each Christmas card that is sent is a message of friendship, and can help someone to know that they are not forgotten.
    
    Ask the children to consider whether there are any individuals or groups that they feel should be remembered in this way this Christmas. Maybe they know of older people who live on their own, or perhaps there is a nursing home close to the school, and the children could make cards to send to the residents.

Time for reflection

Ask the children to think about the greeting that the angel brought to the shepherds: ‘I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to everyone. Today . . . your Saviour has been born. He is Christ the Lord!’

Pause to allow time for thought.

Ask the children to think about who they might bring joy to this Christmas and how they might do this.

Prayer
Dear God,
We thank you for the joy of Christmas.
Today, we want to pray especially for . . . (leave a pause for the children to fill in the name of the person they have been thinking about).
Please help them to be full of joy this Christmas.
Please help us to do what we can to make Christmas joyful for those around us.
Amen.

Song/music

‘While shepherds watched their flocks’, available at: https://youtu.be/eSyUvOUZwxQ (2.54 minutes long)