Christmas, as widely celebrated today, is an annual Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ. However, the origins of Christmas can be traced back to pre-Christian pagan festivals and traditions. One of the primary pagan festivals that influenced Christmas is Saturnalia, which was celebrated by the ancient Romans in December. Saturnalia was a week-long festival honoring the god Saturn, and it involved a variety of customs such as feasting, gift-giving, and the decoration of homes with greenery. Another significant influence on the Christmas holiday is the winter solstice celebration. In many ancient cultures, the winter solstice marked the shortest day and longest night of the year and was seen as a turning point when the days would start getting longer again.

The Wizard of Oz

Ladies and Gentlevaarks! Furry Friends! We would like to present our New Year Day show. Please gather your refreshments, and take your seats!

We’ve got something a little different from our usual panto this year, I hope you will enjoy it!

And so, the curtains open, and our scene is set – a farmyard, in Kansas….

This is Dorothy Gale, an orphan.

She lives in Kansas, with her Aunt Em and her Uncle Henry.

They share the farm with three farmhands, Hunk, Zeke and Hickory.

And of course, Dorothy’s best friend, Toto the dog!

Oh dear, here is Miss Gulch, the schoolmistress. She is a very mean lady, who nobody likes, especially Toto!

Oh Toto, no! Don’t bite her, you’ll be in trouble!

Poor Dorothy is terribly afraid of what Miss Gulch will do to Toto now, but Aunt Em and Uncle Henry are too busy to do anything.

Dorothy is so sad and worried. She wishes she could escape over the rainbow to a better place.

Oh no! Here’s Miss Gulch again! She’s got an order from the Sheriff to take Toto away and have him destroyed. How awful! She won’t listen to any pleas for mercy.

Dorothy is distraught. What will she do without Toto?

Toto! He’s safe! He escaped! But Miss Gulch will surely come back to find him again. Dorothy decides they must run away, to keep him safe.

And so, Dorothy and Toto run away. Where will they go?

Hello, who is this? He says his name is Professor Marvel, a fortune teller! Perhaps he can help. Dorothy explains why they are running away.

Now, Professor Marvel is a bit of a fake, but he’s a kind man, and he doesn’t think Dorothy should be away from home.

And so, Professor Marvel looks in his crystal ball. He tells Dorothy that Aunt Em is ill, and Dorothy must go back to the farm at once!

Dorothy rushes back to the farm, but she can’t find anyone. She doesn’t know, but there’s a storm coming and they’ve all taken shelter in the cellar.

Oh no, a twister! Poor Dorothy is blown over and knocked out cold for a moment!

My goodness, that twister is carrying all sorts of people into the air! There’s Miss Gulch. Gosh, she almost looks like a witch now!

With a great crash, the storm passes, and Dorothy goes to peep out of the door. “My goodness Toto”, she says, “I don’t think we’re in Kansas any more!”

Here’s Glinda, the Good Witch of the North! She explains to Dorothy that the twister picked the house up and over the rainbow, and has dropped them in Munchkinland!

Goodness! When the house landed, it landed on the Wicked Witch of the East. Look, she’s wearing her magic ruby slippers.

And here are the Munchkins. They are terribly afraid of the Wicked Witch, and Glinda has to assure them she’s dead.

Once they are sure, the Munchkins can rejoice with a happy song!

Oh no! Who is this! The Wicked Witch of the West! She’s come to claim her sister’s ruby slippers and she’s not happy!

But Glinda has other ideas, and she magically transports the slippers onto Dorothy!

And Glinda tells the Wicked Witch that she has no powers in Munchkinland!

The Wicked Witch is so angry! She declares she’ll get revenge on Dorothy, and disappears in a puff of smoke!

“But how will I get home?” asks Dorothy. Glinda tells her she must ask the mysterious Wizard of Oz for help. “A wizard? Where is he” asks Dorothy.

Glinda tells Dorothy that the Wizard lives in the Emerald City. Dorothy must follow the yellow brick road, and never take those ruby slippers off! Just follow the yellow brick road!

And so, off they go. It seems like and awfully long way to go, but it’ll be worth it to get back home to Kansas.

Hello! Who is this? A scarecrow!

The scarecrow tells Dorothy that he’s sad because he hasn’t got a brain.

Well! Dorothy is sure the Wizard of Oz can help the scarecrow, so she invites him to come along with them, and he’s happy to join their party.

Here’s someone else! A tin man! He explains that he wishes he had a heart.

So Dorothy says he must come along with them, and surely the Wizard will sort him out a heart!

Gosh! Here’s a fierce lion! Except, he’s not fierce at all, he’s quite cowardly! He’s even afraid of Toto. He explains that he really wants some courage.

Dorothy says the lion must join them, and ask the Wizard for help. And so, he does.

Now the Wicked Witch is still plotting against Dorothy. She puts a spell on a field of poppies that the group will have to pass through.

When they get to the field of poppies, Dorothy says she feels ever so tired, and must have a rest. The Lion says he is tired too.

But it’s the deadly poppies that are making Dorothy feel so sleepy. She and Toto and the Lion fall fast asleep.

The Scarecrow and the Tin Man aren’t affected by the poppies and soon realise something is wrong. So they wake the others up and make them move on to safety.

Well, at last they’ve reached the Emerald City and the castle where the Wizard lives! Here he is, a great disembodied head! He tells them that he can only help them if they bring him the broom of the Wicked Witch!

And so they set off for the Witch’s castle, where they are met by a terrifying flying monkey guard!

Oh no! The Monkey Guard has captured Dorothy and is taking her away to the Wicked Witch!

The Wicked Witch demands that Dorothy gives her the ruby slippers, but Dorothy remembers what Glinda said and refuses to take them off.

And so the Wicked Witch tries to grab the slippers, but Glinda’s magic is strong and the slippers give off a shower of sparks!

Quick Toto, run! In the confusion, Toto gets away!

Now the Witch is furious! She says she will have to kill Dorothy to get the slippers off. Toto may have escaped, but the Witch will return to finish Dorothy off!

Oh poor Dorothy, She wants so much to go home. She cries for Aunt Em, and thinks she sees her there in the room. She tells her she is trying so hard to get home…

But Aunt Em isn’t really there. It’s just the Wicked Witch, ranting and raving!

Meanwhile, brave little Toto has run to find the Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion. Quickly, he leads them to where Dorothy is.

Quick, quick! They release Dorothy and make their escape, but they are cornered by the Witch and her monkey guard!

The Wicked Witch is furious! She shoots a flash of lightning at the poor scarecrow!

He’s on fire! Quickly, Dorothy, do something!

Dorothy is very quick witted, and throws a bucket of water on the scarecrow. Thank goodness, it put the fire out!

But look! Something else has happened! “I’m melting!” cries the Witch. It’s the water splashing on her, it’s deadly.

She’s gone! Hooray!

Oh no, here’s the Monkey Guard! But it’s alright. He hated his mistress, and is happy to give Dorothy her broom to take to the Wizard.

And so they return to the Wizard, happy to give him the broom and gain the things they desire.

But the Wizard won’t help! He tells them to come back tomorrow. Dorothy complains that they’ve done what he asked, and he must help them now!

But what is Toto doing with that curtain? Why, there’s no Wizard at all! It’s just an old man behind a curtain, with a microphone! What a swizz!

Well, this is awful, they’ve been terribly tricked!

But maybe he can help them after all. He tells the Scarecrow that there are many learned men, who have no more brains than you or I, but they have a certificate to prove how clever they are.

And so, he presents the Scarecrow with a certificate, and the scarecrow realises how clever he really is!

Next, the Lion! The wizard tells him that many men do brave things everyday, just as the lion has done to rescue Dorothy, but they have medals to prove it.

And so, he presents the Lion with a medal, For Valour!

And then, the Tin Man. The Wizard tells him that there are many men who do great deeds of charity, but all that sets them apart is having a Testimonial.

And here, a medallion testimonial for the Tin Man!

So that just leaves Dorothy. She doesn’t think he can help her with fancy words. But he tells her he came from Kansas many years ago, in a hot air balloon, and he can take her back there in it!

And so, Dorothy and the Wizard are in the balloon basket, ready to go. She’s said goodbye to all her new friends, who are going to rule the Emerald City from now on!

But oh no! Toto sees a cat and chases after it, and Dorothy jumps out to get him back.

But the Wizard can’t stop the balloon taking off! He’s gone, and left Dorothy behind!

Now Dorothy really is stuck here forever she thinks. She wanted so much to go home!

But what’s this? Glinda tells her there is another way. If she shakes the ruby slippers and repeats “There’s no place like home”, she will be transported.

And so, Dorothy says her goodbyes again, and follows the instructions. “There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like…”

“…home!”. She’s back! And everyone is safe after the storm! She tells them all about her adventure, but they say she must have been dreaming when she was knocked out.

But whatever they say, Dorothy will always remember her friends, and that “There’s no place like home!”.

In many ancient cultures, the winter solstice marked the shortest day and longest night of the year and was seen as a turning point when the days would start getting longer again. This celestial event was often celebrated with festivals and rituals that included lighting bonfires, decorating with evergreen plants, and offering prayers and sacrifices. The Germanic peoples, such as the Norse and the Anglo-Saxons, also had their own winter celebrations that influenced Christmas.

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Yule, a festival that lasted for twelve days, was celebrated by these cultures around the winter solstice. It involved feasting, drinking, and the burning of a Yule log, which symbolized the return of the sun. Early Christian leaders strategically adopted pagan customs and traditions to help convert and integrate pagan populations into Christianity. By assimilating elements of these pre-existing festivals into Christmas, they were able to provide a more familiar and accessible framework for early converts. Over time, as Christianity spread and evolved, more religious significance was given to the birth of Jesus, and Christmas became predominantly associated with the Christian faith. However, remnants of these pagan origins can still be seen in various Christmas traditions and symbols, such as the use of evergreen trees, holly, mistletoe, and the exchanging of gifts. In conclusion, while Christmas is now primarily a Christian holiday, its origins can be traced back to pre-Christian pagan festivals and traditions. The influences of Saturnalia, the winter solstice celebrations, and the Germanic Yule festival have all contributed to shaping Christmas into the holiday that is celebrated today..

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