Mom wonders why daughter is cast as 'door' in school's 'Nativity play'—gets amusing responses online

Ahead of Christmas, the Nativity is about to begin soon, with the schools gearing up as part of the celebrations. Emphasizing spiritual readiness for Christ's coming, the educational institutes every year come up with unique ways of marking the traditional Advent season. In doing so, a school decided to organize a play, but one of its participants’ moms raised her objection, which has gone viral online. Emma Szewczak—who goes by @EmmaSzewczak on X—shared that her daughter was cast as a door.

“Nativity season is upon us! My son has been cast as a wise man. My daughter, on the other hand,” the UK-based writer posted while adding a screenshot of the email she had received from the school. The electronic piece of communication sounded all fine, giving out information about the celebrations to be held at the educational institute until it reached the point where the woman’s daughter was expected to dress literally as door in the play.

“We have started preparations for our Nativity! We are all really looking forward to seeing it come together and know your child will be excited, too! Your child has been cast as a door,” the email made public by Emma on October 24th read. The school went on to claim that this role would be interactive, without actually telling how. However, the amused mother of two was relieved to know that her son had a better casting.

The email continued, asking Emma to purchase her kids the requisite costumes for the roles of a door and a wise man. “Please bring them into school by November 25th. Their costumes can be purchased or created at home using things such as cardboard and string,” it stated further. The play demands Emma’s daughter to appear looking like a “sandwich board style door” for them to pop over their heads. The content of the message shared by the writer has been viewed over 3.3 million times on social media.

“This is what happens when our schools are oversubscribed,” Emma sarcastically wrote in her thread, tagging the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson. Even though the MP for Houghton did not respond to the post, several online scrollers felt the writer’s message struck a chord with them. @notjarvis empathized with Emma, saying: “My daughter once played the role of the door in ‘The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe’, so I can relate to her.” @mothermagmar58 advised, "I would be up all night creating the most elaborate door in history. It's what my mum would have done. They don't stipulate what sort of door."

Offering a different perspective, @Mark_Hartshorne wrote, “This is what happens when you are compelled to make sure no one is left out because someone might suffer from hurt feelings. I imagine the outcomes from ‘inclusivity’ create worse problems than the five minutes of heartbreak from not getting a role and moving on.” The British writer distanced herself from the opinion, stating she was happy for her 5-year-old daughter to get a role in the Christmas nativity play. “Send her in dressed like Jim Morrison,” @MrPostsGood suggested. “Make sure it (the door) has a ring camera!” @JoshSeefried added. Emma burst into laughter upon reading this and finally wrote back, claiming she’d follow these suggestions.