Theater festivals are organized events that show a series of theatrical productions. Theater festivals were created to promote various types of theater or to promote the work of beginning playwrights and performers. Pageants are community-wide festivals that date back to the 13th century, and include outdoor festivals, pageant plays, and passion plays. Pageants reenact historical events and typically involve community participation. Community members might act in the performance or contribute to the production by creating costumes, sets, props, or floats. Passion plays are a specific type of performance of Jesus Christ's Passion, the final period in his life which typically includes his trial, suffering, and death.