Christmas pageants are short plays done to celebrate the holiday, and are almost invariably some form of the Nativity story (the prelude to and the birth of Jesus Christ). They can also be other relevant biblical scenes, or if you're trying particularly hard to avoid being religious, the story of The Nutcracker ballet or any other Certifiably Christmas™ tales.

June 20th, 2024

"Have a holly, jolly Christmas; it's the best time of the year," Mion sang along to the schmaltzy English music piping through the busted-up old speaker set Rena had won at last Watanagashi's auction. She was currently on a ladder, fastening a glittering gold strand of tinsel in a swath across the classroom. "I don't know, if there'll be snow; but have a cup of cheer."

"Mew, there will definitely be snow," Rika chirped as she surfaced from a cardboard box, her arms filled with more tinsel in trembling gold and silver points. True to her words, the drifts outside were piled so high that the bottom few inches of the windows were under the snowline.

"Well, maybe they sing this where it's more of a toss-up," Mion replied, climbing down the ladder a few steps to receive her next garland. "Like Great Britain, or somewhere."

"Have a holly, jolly Christmas," the speakers continued cheerfully. "And when you walk down the street, say hello, to friends you know-"

"I still think we should've put on a pageant," Rena pouted as she and Keiichi worked to hang ornaments –both glass and otherwise– on the tree.

"You just wanted to see Hanyuu in a sparkly white robe," he said, scoffing and rolling his eyes as he hung a reflective red ball.

"Hau, hauhau…" Hanyuu whimpered fretfully, seeing the glint in Rena's eyes from where she was arranging cottonball fake snow around the Christmas village they'd made atop some conjoined desks.

"Oooooh-ho, the mistletoe~!" Shion sang in chiming tones, slamming the door open with a plastic shopping back full of greenery dangling from her other hand.

"-hung where you can see. Some-body waits for you; kiss her once for me-"

"You got the goods?" Satoko asked, perking up from where she was weaving evergreen boughs together.

"She's got good timing, that's for damn sure," Mion said, shuffling the ladder a few meters to the side and starting to climb again.

Shion grinned and flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder.

"I have indeed got the special, sent-away-for, real-life mistletoe plant bunches. And my timing was merely a fortuitous coincidence from one favored by Christmas," she replied smugly, making the others let out a plethora of irritated groans.

"Just because you used to go to a Catholic school, sis-"

"It's not favoritism if she just knows more about it-"

"Keiichi-kun lived in Tokyo! If anyone's favored, it's him."

"Yeah, I've seen the commercialized stuff! That's where the real spirit of the holiday is!"

"-oh by golly have a holly, jolly Christmas, this year!"

10.58 AM, USA Central Time