It’s that time of year and, I have to admit it, I have a major ambivalence about it. To be sure, there are parts of Christmas I really enjoy. But there are also parts that really annoy me. I’ve been this way since my late teens and early 20’s. It has intensified over the years to the point that I’m beginning to relate to Ebenezer Scrooge, at least to some extent.
Allow me to tell my tale.
What is Christmas?
According to Wikipedia, “Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world.” Wikipedia goes on to state, “Although the month and date of Jesus’ birth are unknown, by the early-to-mid fourth century the Western Christian Church had placed Christmas on December 25, a date that was later adopted in the East. Today, most Christians celebrate on December 25 in the Gregorian calendar, which has been adopted almost universally in the civil calendars used in countries throughout the world.” And finally, this: “The celebratory customs associated in various countries with Christmas have a mix of pre-Christian, Christian, and secular themes and origins. Popular modern customs of the holiday include gift giving, completing an Advent calendar or Advent wreath, Christmas music and caroling, lighting a Christingle, viewing a Nativity play, an exchange of Christmas cards, church services, a special meal, pulling Christmas crackers and the display of various Christmas decorations, including Christmas trees, Christmas lights, nativity scenes, garlands, wreaths, mistletoe, and holly. In addition, several closely related and often interchangeable figures, known as Santa Claus, Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, and Christkind, are associated with bringing gifts to children during the Christmas season and have their own body of traditions and lore. Because gift-giving and many other aspects of the Christmas festival involve heightened economic activity, the holiday has become a significant event and a key sales period for retailers and businesses. The economic impact of Christmas has grown steadily over the past few centuries in many regions of the world.”
Why I’m Ambivalent
I guess my attitude toward Christmas is wrapped up in the last two sentences of the final statement cited in Wikipedia.
I don’t believe there is a “war on Christmas.” I have no problem saying, “Happy Holidays,” because I realize that other faiths have equally significant holidays at this time of the year. I have a tendency to say “Merry Christmas” more than “Happy Holidays,” but that’s because it’s a habit I’ve had for a long time, and habits are hard to break. None of that offends me.
Toward that end, I also understand that living in a diverse, secular society (“secular” in the sense that we do not have an official state religion) allows for the diversity of celebration of this holiday. I know that not everyone who celebrates Christmas is focused on the birth of Christ, nor are they really focused on what Christ is really all about.
And yet, with all my intellectual awareness of these things, I still feel a resentment toward the way Christmas has become so materialized to the placing of Christ as an at best tertiary reason for the season, if He’s really a reason at all.
My rant begins with Christmas advertisements creeping into our world in an ever earlier time. There was a time that no Christmas ads would be seen until after Thanksgiving. Then they began just after Halloween. Now, I’m seeing the ads before the end of October. It’s because of that statement about the economic impact growing steadily. When we associate the season of celebrating the birth of Christ with the bottom line, I believe there is something gravely wrong with that kind of society. There are times that Christmas is seen solely as a cash cow for the merchants of our world, from the smallest mom-and-pop store to the global behemoths of corporate world. I readily admit this annoys me.
Then there is the secularization of the season. In part, this is tied into the commercialization, but I think the commercialization grew out of the secularization. We have made it possible to celebrate Christmas with a minimal mention of Christ by focusing instead on Santa Claus, “A Christmas Carol” and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. We sing secular songs about the season. We even associate songs with Christmas that have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas and only celebrate winter in places where it actually snows—“Walking in a Winter Wonderland” and “Jingle Bells” are two songs that immediately come to mind in this matter, adding “Let It Snow” into the mix. Other songs that are about Christmas, such as “White Christmas” and “The Christmas Song,” focus on the generic season of Christmas, but never mention the fact that the season is about the birth of Jesus, the Christ.
The focus of the secular season is in the giving and getting of Christmas presents and the decorations we are expected to place in and around our houses. To be sure, “A Christmas Carol” speaks of an attitude of generosity and compassion, two elements central to the Christian faith, but that isn’t the emphasis of the story. None of the ghosts that visit Scrooge mention the birth of Christ, only the observance of the day. It speaks of family and warm fellowship, but omits the One that brings us all together.
The getting ready for Christmas issues add to the stress levels of virtually everyone I know. With the holiday season, we have to step out of our comfort zones and throw ourselves into the purchasing and wrapping of gifts. Add to that the sending of the cards, the big feast and the gatherings, and the stress level adds up.
To me, the way we as a society treat Christmas is akin to someone saying they really enjoy the 4th of July because of the cookouts, fireworks and special sales across the land, all the while ignoring the significance of the day—the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and all that that document and that event represents. To ignore the significance of the date while celebrating the peripheral issues is a slap in the face of what makes America the nation it is.
When we treat Christmas as Santa and Rudolph and secular songs that only skirt the meaning of Christmas while completely ignoring the advent of God with us, I can get very cranky.
What I Like About Christmas
This is not to say I can’t stand the season. I really enjoy aspects of it quite a lot. I enjoy getting together with family and relaxing with one another. God has blessed me with a family that gets along well and the drama of many family gatherings is minimal when it comes to my family. I enjoy the banter and the time together.
I admit I enjoy the food. Our family has broken away from the “traditional” meal of turkey and all that goes with it. Lately, we’ve splurged on prime rib or other better cuts of steak, although we have also been known to go all out with a Mexican meal of enchiladas, tacos and all the trimmings. The food is always enjoyable.
But most of all, I enjoy the celebrating of the birth of Christ. Beginning with the first Sunday after Thanksgiving, our church sings Christmas carols during the worship service. Since I pick the hymns at my church, the first Sunday after Thanksgiving are the hymns that have “O” or “Oh” in the title—“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” “O Come All Ye Faithful and “Oh, Come, Little Children.” We then sing other traditional hymns up to and including the Sunday immediately before Christmas. I love these songs and I enjoy singing them at this time of the season particularly.
Then there is the messages focusing on the Coming Messiah, of God with us, Immanuel. The passages of the Gospels according to Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2 are used regularly, with Old Testament passages also used (mostly from Isaiah) and Galatians 4:4-7 come into play, as well as John 1. The worship and the preparation for worship are centered around the full meaning of the season.
I really enjoy this part of the season.
Conclusion
I enjoy giving gifts. Getting is nice, but the older I get the less important it becomes. I’m grateful for the gifts I receive, but I really would rather watch the others open their gifts. I enjoy time with family and with friends celebrating the birth of Christ. I can do without Santa and all that surrounds that, but I’m okay with it too.
To me, Christmas can be one of the greatest times of the year, but not if it becomes snowed under by Black Fridays and Rudolph and Frosty and “Die Hard” marathons.
To me, the season of Christmas is best summed up in the simplicity of Jesus’ birth and the grandeur of the announcement. For me, the Christmas season is not found in “A Visit from St. Nicholas” or “A Christmas Carol.” I find the meaning of Christmas in the promise of “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests” (Luke 2:14) and “. . . they will call Him Immanuel—which means “God with us” (Matthew 1:23b).
For this Christmas season, I wish you the joy that is found in the One we celebrate, and that you will have the peace that comes from finding God’s favor.
© 2018 Glynn Beaty