Theatre in the country of Sweden In our curriculumn it says: ”In today’s society, which is coloured by diversity, is knowledge such as religion and other conceptions of life important for mutual understanding. When the children quit third grade they should have the knowledge about a feast, a symbol and a central story from three different religions, Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Before the Christmas holiday the children in third grade, at Uttersbergsskolan, participate in a Christmas play to finish off the first semester. Their parents are invited to watch the play. It’s being played at the church near the school. Some children, who wish, get parts in the play whereas the others participate in the choir.
This year the Christmas play was divided into two different parts. The first part takes place within a family with three children. For Christmas the children got gloves, hats and scarves. They weren’t very happy because they didn’t wish for ”soft” gifts, they wanted ”hard” gifts. After they got their gifts they went out to play. Outside they met three snowmen who were very frozen. They gave the scarves to them and went home to have ”the typical Swedish fika”. Thereafter the story continues in the same way, they give away all their gifts to others who appreciate the gifts more. The aim with the play is to show that it’s not only fun to get things but also to give.
The other part is about The Christmas Story. When the children quit third grade the goal is that they will be able to tell a central story from the Bible among others. By dramatizing The Christmas Story it will be more obvious and easier for the children to learn what the story is about which is our main reason with including it in our education for third graders.