All Things Considered

Azim Ahmed considers the cultural and religious significance of stars across many different faiths.Professor George van Kooten from the Faculty of Divinity at the University of Cambridge discusses the Star of Bethlehem and the journey of the Magi, while Conwy Fisherman, Carl Davies, explains celestial navigation.Author and Mathematician, Professor Sarah Hart, describes what a hexagram is.Dr Jaclyn Granick from the School of History, Archaeology and Religion at Cardiff University, tells us the origins of the Star of David and how its identity has changed over time.Senior Lecturer in Islamic Studies at Cardiff University, Dr Mansur Ali, explains why stars feature prominently in Islam.Plus, Author and Welsh Witch, Mhara Starling, reveals the magic behind the pentagram.Presented by Azim Ahmed. Produced by Stuart Russell. Audio Supervision by Searle Whittney.

As Christmas approaches, schools and churches across Wales are busy making costumes, practising songs, and helping children learn their lines for one of our most enduring traditions: the nativity play. Delyth Liddell visits a range of nativities across Wales, from a drop-in immersive nativity performed in the centre of Aberdare, to a damp but joyful roving nativity in Llanidloes, to primary school children performing their first plays in rural Talgarth and urban Cardiff. But behind the tea towels, tinsel, and excited children lies something deeper, a story that has shaped cultures, communities and childhoods for generations. We explore why the nativity still matters. Should plays be re-shaped and told for modern audiences or stick with the traditional versions? Why is this retelling of an ancient story so important? Much of the nativity we know so well isn’t true to the Bible - does it matter? Delyth visits St. Philip Evans Roman Catholic Primary School in Cardiff, Ysgol y Mynydd Du in Talgarth, St. Elvans Church in Aberdare for a performance of 'Christmas a Story' and a roving nativity in Trefeglwys. She speaks to Professor Wyn James from the University of Cardiff and Naomi Johnson from 'Out of the Ark', a leading publisher of children's nativity plays.

Away in a Manger is one of our favourite carols, but what does it mean for a child not to have a bed of their own? Sadly, this is the reality for too many children in Wales and beyond. In this programme Rosa Hunt looks at three stories where Christian communities are trying to tackle this issue, from child bed poverty to children displaced by bitter conflict. Campbell Edmondson of the Lishon Project in Rhyl talks about addressing the need to supply some children in that area with beds and bedding. Sam Lomas of the Christian charity Home For Good talks about a campaign to get ordinary families to take adolescents and young adults into their homes to provide what they call 'supported lodgings'. Mari McNeill, Head of Christian Aid in Wales, talks about that organisation's Christmas campaign, No Crib for a Bed, drawing attention to the plight of people in the Democratic Republic of Congo where many children have been uprooted from their homes by the bitter violence. Obed Buhendwa, Christian Aid's senior programme officer in the region, reports from Bokavu, a city only 20 km away from the fighting.

Azim Ahmed and guests ask if faith makes a person more susceptible to criminals or if it makes people more resilient in bouncing back afterwards because they're able to forgive? How much does being a victim of fraud test a person’s faith? Could it even break it? Over the course of the programme we hear from people who’ve been in that position, learn what happened to them and how they dealt with the aftermath. Jaci Prosser attends St Sannan's Church and volunteers at a foodbank. Kamal Ali from Newport South Wales is the founder and inventor of My Salah Mat, the world’s first interactive prayer mat. The Reverend Mike Hall is a Methodist Minister. He was working away from home in North Wales when his house was sold without his knowledge. Jagdev Singh Virdee is the general secretary of the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara in Gravesend.If you’ve been affected by the issues we’ve discussed in this programme you can get help and information by going to bbc.co.uk/actionline All of the BBC’s Scam Safe advice is available at bbc.co.uk/scamsafe

In September the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally, organised by far-right activist Tommy Robinson, drew many thousands of people to London. Advertised as the UK’s biggest ‘Free Speech Festival’, speakers made calls to reaffirm Britain’s Christian foundations. Many held wooden crosses and flags with Christian slogans, and the crowds were led in reciting the Lord’s Prayer. In response to the march, a group of Church of England bishops and senior clergy joined leaders from across denominations to write a letter condemning the “co-opting or corrupting” of the Christian faith and symbols to exclude others. The letter said that ‘communities felt anxious, unsettled and even threatened by aspects of the march.’Meanwhile operation ‘Raise the Colours’, a campaign to cover Britain in flags, has seen St. George’s flags appear on lamp posts across England. Some see flying the flag as patriotism, while others are concerned and say the movement is underpinned by far-right nationalists.Today we’ll explore the issues. Why is it different to fly a Welsh Flag or a St. George’s Cross? What is the difference between patriotism and nationalism? In what way was the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march unsettling and exclusionary to others? Delyth Liddell is joined by Reverend Rhys Llwyd, leader of a Welsh speaking Baptist Church in Caernarfon, North Wales. The Rt Rev Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn who has recently written an article arguing that the flying of flags is a cry from long neglected communities. Suzanne Philpott lives near Swansea. She attended the ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally in September and is a Christian. Ross Hendry is from Llanelli and is the CEO of Christian Action Research and Education. He was a joint signatory of the letter “Do not ‘co-opt’ the cross to divide."