Christmas Eve Story

by Rolf Probala from his book

"Out of the blue - 16 variations on the Christmas story"

Every year in December, the evangelist faces the great challenge of retelling the Christmas story to the world. God once entrusted him with this task and the evangelist dutifully fulfills the assignment year after year. However, he is now somewhat weary of the story and increasingly lacks the creative ideas that are needed for a contemporary Christmas story. So he decides to take a break and hire a professional storyteller to tell the Christmas story for once.

In November, he contacts a well-known communications agency that has made a name for itself with narratives for companies. He meets the creative team for a briefing, where they agree on the message, plot and form: A short story was to be written for Christmas about the birth of Jesus, including Joseph, Mary, shepherds, kings and angels, with the redemption of the world as the central message. The story should trigger emotions and appeal to people of all cultures. The deadline for submission is December 24, 4 pm.

Two weeks after the briefing, the communications agency wins the pitch for a lucrative contract from the Middle East. It now lacks the human resources to develop the Christmas story and the creative director outsources the already financially modest assignment to a small advertising agency in its network. They meet for a briefing and formulate the task: to write a short, emotional Christmas story about the birth of Jesus that includes the entire Christmas staff and conveys the redemption of the world as the central message.

Shortly afterwards, the small advertising agency receives a long-awaited order for a major campaign. There is no time for the Christmas story, but the agency does not want to give the job back as it has a contractual obligation to carry it out. She therefore contacts a freelance copywriter, a former journalist, with whom she works sporadically. The very next day, they meet for a briefing and decide what needs to be delivered: an emotional Christmas story about Jesus and his staff with a message about the redemption of the world.

Three days later, the copywriter falls ill and is off work for at least three weeks. He doesn't want to give the job back - as a freelancer, you don't want to spoil future jobs. He calls an old acquaintance, a former pastor who now works as a communications consultant. The briefing takes place over the phone: he has to come up with a snappy Christmas story somehow about Jesus and his staff. The core message was the solution for the world.

The communications expert, who is well versed in theological issues, draws up a concept sketch but has no desire to implement it. She has long since given up on Christmas. She contacts an old friend from her student days who now works as a freelance strategy consultant for companies. He checks the strategic relevance of the project and passes it on to a branding agency on whose board of directors he sits. He sends his short briefing via WhatsApp: a personalized Christmas message for the whole world.

On December 24 at 3:59 pm, the evangelist has the Christmas story on his smartphone. It is short, easy to read, multicultural, understandable, inclusive, gender-neutral and perfectly communicable via social media: "Why me? Why you? Why night for all of you!"

Why tell long stories?