A Nativity play or Christmas pageant is a play which recounts the story of the Nativity of Jesus. It is usually performed at Christmas, the feast of the Nativity. Many, especially Christian-oriented, primary schools and Sunday Schools put on a Nativity play before the Christmas break begins. Schoolchildren in costume act as the human and angel characters, and often as the animals and props. The infant Jesus is sometimes represented by a doll, but sometimes played by a real baby. Parents, grandparents, stepparents and siblings, schooltreachers and sometimes the church community in general form the audience. The tradition of Nativity plays is becoming popular in favour of secular plays, because of the need to include pupils of other faiths. Surveys show schools were planning a traditional Nativity play or were intending to stage an updated version of the Christmas story, sometimes with new music and extra characters