Christmas has never been a big deal for me. I’m not sure why, but I’ve kind of always felt a little guilty about it. Everyone else seems to get all holly and jolly, which is fine with me. It’s not that I don’t like Christmas; I do. I’m just don’t get all freaky about it. If it were up to me (which it isn’t), I’d put up a small tree about two weeks out, do all the shopping in one night (possibly on-line), listen to Christmas music for those two weeks, and then take the tree down Christmas night. Then I’d move on to the next important holiday: the start of spring training for baseball.
I’ve been wondering, though, how much of the modern American concept of Christmas has anything to do with Jesus. Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it isn’t very much. Between the breakneck shopping, endless parties, cheesy made for TV movies, generic “Holiday” greetings, and cultural creations about Santa, I’m am very conflicted about Christmas. As a Christian, how should I involve myself in Christmas? So, after careful research (about 10 minutes on the the Internet) and much thought (about 10 minutes before I started looking on the internet), I would like to propose three really important things that Christians should think about while they’re chugging eggnog at their office “holiday” party while their kids sit on Santa’s lap and watch Rudolph.
1. The Bible never tells us to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Now, before you get all militant on me, I realize that the Bible actually does provide many details about His birth. We’ve got the prophecies, the wise men, the angels, the shepherds and all of that. The Incarnation of Jesus is the pinnacle of the story of the Bible. However, keep these three things in mind. First, Jesus commanded that we remember his death and resurrection, not his birth, through the regular observance of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34). In fact, Paul said that we should do this until Jesus returns. Second, a Christian’s baptism serves as a memorial and identification of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 6:1-4). Third, the earliest Christians recognized the day of Jesus’ resurrection as very important and began meeting on that day. So, while the birth of Jesus is important, the death and resurrection are ultimately more meaningful for Christians.
2. Much to the dismay of many history revisionists, the church adopted pagan celebrations that had been going on for hundreds of years as the basis for Christmas. I hear the sounds of bubbles bursting as I type. It’s true. The date of December 25 was set for the celebration of Christ’s birth to coincide with the existing Roman celebrations by Pope Julius hundreds of years after Jesus was actually born. The church tried to morph these existing celebrations into a Christian celebration by adopting many of the customs already being practiced. If you want to read more about the history of Christmas, click here. No, the 12 Days of Christmas was not a coded message for Christians and the candy cane wasn’t designed as an edible evangelistic track. Many Christmas traditions were originally pagan traditions.
3. The modern American concepts of Christmas have evolved mainly over the last 150 years because of clever marketers. The modern image of Santa Claus, nostalgia, Christmas cards, and such are nothing more than classic American culture. In reality, the vast majority of our collective Christmas consciousness is no different than fireworks on the 4th of July and candy hearts on Valentine’s Day. The images of Santa and his reindeer make for great TV specials, but they have no connection to anything biblical about Jesus.
So, what’s a Christian to do at Christmas? Allow me to suggest three distinct ways to cope with our modern trappings of Christmas.
1. Completely abstain from any cultural associations of Christmas. I know an old minister who gets all worked up in a lather over any wreath, picture of Santa, or Christmas tree. He is the real life church lady from SNL. This can come across as the true spiritual high road. The problem with this position (aside from being a complete scrooge and ogre) is that it is impossible to be consistent with it. If you’re going to throw out cultural Christmas, then really you have to toss out all the other “secular” holidays as well. That’s going to be tough to get rid of Thanksgiving influences, Mother’s Day, 4th of July, etc. Most people don’t put that much thought into decisions, though. On the positive side, it’s always great to have something to rant and rail against.
2. Reluctantly participate in the cultural side of Christmas. This response has two options. One is that you can try and “Christianize” all the cultural Christmas things. Put your Santa display in with your Nativity scene. Forward those emails that give the “real” meaning behind Christmas traditions. Watch Rudolph knowing that the star on the top of the tree really symbolizes the star above Bethlehem. If that response doesn’t work for you, try this one: complaining. Go ahead and dive neck deep in eggnog, wassail, and cranberry chutney. Smooch under every mistletoe and give lots of presents. The trick is to crab about how no one really knows the true meaning of Christmas anymore. Burn all those “holiday” adds in the Christmas fire. Slap the next Wal-mart greeter who says “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas” in the name of Jesus. In the words the famous satirical Christian musician Steve Taylor, “Since I gave up hope I feel a lot better.”
3. Go existential about Christmas. Come to the realization that while, yes, Christmas has a dark past that is mingled paganism and consumerism, Christmas is still about an individual and his/her own celebration of the birth of Jesus. Sleep easier at night knowing that for Americans, the cultural side of Christmas is no different that any other holiday. What’s wrong with showing affection to your wife on Valentine’s Day, or being patriotic on Memorial Day, or celebrating freedom on Independence Day, or being thankful on Thanksgiving, or being cheerful and happy on Christmas? You see, decorating a tree, giving presents, being jolly, putting up lights on your house, and watching the 24 hour “A Christmas Story” marathon on TBS is just celebrating the cultural side of another holiday. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, celebrating the birth of Jesus in a real, meaningful way is uniquely Christian. And there’s everything right with that.
Their 2 Cents