January 9, 2013

  • Splitting Hairs/The Difference

    Oh, Playmobil.

    What am I to do with you?

    What is this?  Are you taunting me?

    Did someone write you and ask for more Christian Christmas figures?  And was this your answer?

    “We need an angel for the Nativity set!  That little baby cherubim thing you got in there isn’t terribly impressive.”
    “Oh, we’ve got JUST the thing!”

    But is she an angel or a woodland fairy?  Or a fairy godmother!  (That’s what’s missing from the Jesus story!  A fairy godmother!)

    Joseph and Mary don’t know what to think.  They were expecting a visit from Gabriel.

     

    Is it the Big Sister Fairy Society?

    They’re especially puzzled because the wings are removable.

    Grab a Wise Man, and you can have a wedding instead of an Incarnation!  (What are the little girls that carry the train called?  Pages? Or still flower girls?)

    I don’t know if the Holy Family wants to accept their wedding invitation.

    And, oh, poor Saint Nicholas.

    Is he the bishop of Myra?  The staunch defender of Nicean Christianity?

    Or the jolly fat guy with a funky belt?

    Put him in a snow bank, . . .

    . . . and you can’t tell!!

    Baby Jesus is confused, too.

    The Wise Men just want the bling.

Comments (3)

  • Um, you don’t like the angel because  . . . ? The star wand thingy? Because I think that is a German thing – kids go caroling with a star shaped lantern with a candle in it. Thus, somehow, all angels gotta have a star-candle thing. Tradition – go figure.

    The ball gown? Yeah, that is over the top. I think Playmobil has just one dress mold, which makes it impossible for any girls to sit. Shades of fashion past.

    After all, it is just a plastic toy – how angelic did you expect it to be?

    No one else I know even makes a St. Nicholas toy. Kudos to Playmobil for trying.

    My bigger beef is the total lack of shepherds. Ok, one. One doesn’t cut it with me. I fill out the ranks with Egypians and Farmers, and whomever else I can find. Playmobil, make more shepherds please!

  • I know–it’s terribly grumpy of me.
    I just get horrifically annoyed at half-Christian cultural expressions.  If you’re going to do it, commit.  Angels and fairy godmothers are *different*.  (Especially when the angel has a male name.)  Saint Nicholas of Myra and Santa Claus are *different*.

  • @scsours - I recently bought this DVD of claymation specials. One is called The First Christmas, in which they did two things absolutely right. Except for the Inn-Keepers’ daughter (she makes a brief appearance, I suppose because there was a shepherd boy, so they wanted a young girl as well), they really kept away from adding things to the story. No talking mice living in the stable, no drummer boys, no evil characters who learn a lesson in niceness. Just your basic story taken from the Bible.

    Second thing was the angel who came to the shepherds was not a human with wings. He (yes he!) was white (face and all) and flow-y and stark and just, well, different. It put all the girl-with-wings angels to shame. I wish I could link you a picture of it, but I couldn’t find any.

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