Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays........What is the meaning of Christmas.... (America, church)
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Just when you least expect it, it's "That time of Year" already. Every year we are treated to the barrage of hoopla surrounding the Christmas season. We have the annual Politically Correct War Against Christmas, holiday music on the radio, commercialism, Santa versus Jesus, yada yada yada (a little Yiddish for my Jewish friends). For what they are worth, if any friendly benefit at all, here are some thoughts to add to your mulling spices. (By the way, if you like mulled cider, I recommend traditional German gluhwein!)
1. Christmas Music. When I was a youngster I remember the radio stations in the New York area didn’t start playing Christmas music until Thanksgiving Day. Even then, they mixed the Christmas music in with the regular playlists and didn’t go to a solid Christmas format until the week of Christmas. They also continued the format until New Year’s Day as festivities continued. Nowadays, radio stations start playing Christmas -- excuse me, “Holiday” – music around Halloween and go solid before Thanksgiving Day. We are then subjected (if we tune in) to the same 27 songs rendered, over-sung, butchered, and moaned by no less than 43 different performers. Then, on the day after Christmas the radio stations dump the format like used wrapping paper and return to regular programming. I guess we could be led to think that music is being used as a tool of the retail industry. It’s a logical extension, since the first Thanksgiving Day parade Macy’s produced in 1927 was to celebrate the beginning of Shopping Season.
On another note, songs like “Jingle Bells, Winter Wonderland, Let it Snow, Frosty the Snowman” really have nothing to do with Christmas. Why don’t we hear them after Dec 25th? And, who was it (and why) who decided that “My Favorite Things,” from “The Sound of Music” was a Christmas song? Beats me.
On yet another note, Christmas music is a gift that keeps on giving in more ways than one. For singers and musicians like Amy Grant and Chip Davis (Mannheim Steamroller), Christmas has given security in royalties through retirement. (If one album sells well, record another two or three!) Besides, as long as Christmas records sell and there are recording contracts to fulfill, it’s a safe bet. For those of us with a warped sense of humor, some of the absolute worst and most awful music recorded was seriously made for Christmas consumption. I’m not talking about parodies and obscene mockeries here, but the legitimate, good faith efforts. I happen to be very proud of my collection!
2. Commercialism. No matter for how many years people have been complaining about the commercialization of Christmas, it seems to be getting worse every year. Why is that? Maybe it’s because, despite our personal feelings, people are still getting worked up and stressed out over shopping from Black Friday to the Last Minute and our consumer economy depends on it. I’ve about decided that commercialism isn’t worth getting frustrated over; I just watch it go on by and chose to not participate. Just for fun, we’ve developed a family tradition of going to a shopping mall the Saturday before Christmas to just “be there” and watch people hurry about. We enjoy a relaxing night of drinking hot chocolate and ginger spice latte amid the festive vibes while amusing ourselves on other people’s stress. It’s great fun to go to the mall when you have no gift list to fill or schedule to beat. Try it some time!
3. Happy Holidays. It seems like the social/cultural tide is turning against the “politically correct” de-Christianizing of Christmas. I still greet people with Merry (or Happy) Christmas, regardless of whether others say “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings.” Not to make a big deal about it, but it is Christmas (or the idea of it) what we’re celebrating. Until someone figures out how to financially capitalize on Hanukah (since 165, BC) or Kwanzaa (invented 1966), Festivus (also 1966), or Winter Solstice (since 2500, BC), those observances always will be swallowed up and overshadowed by Christmas Culture. Here's a neat fact: Christmas was designated an official, federal holiday by Congress in 1870 (in spite of church-and-state separatist attitudes that we have these days), although many states had recognized it as an official state holiday for decades prior.
4. “The True Meaning of Christmas, Reason the Season, etc.” Here’s where I may step on some toes. Christmas, of course, is day upon which it was decided Jesus’ birth would be celebrated. The December 25th date of observance was declared by the Council of Nicea, AD 325. This conference was primarily convened to address the spreading heresy of Arianism, with some otheritems of business in the agenda. It’s interesting to note that at this particular Council meeting the strongest opponent to Arius (of the Arian heresy) and proponent of orthodoxy was Nicholas of Myra. He would later be canonized as St. Nicholas, patron saint of children and root of world-wide folklore. How December 25th was chosen is still up for debate: Whether December 25th is the result of scholarly math or whether it was meant to replace an established Roman solstice festival, it’s not of much consequence. Regardless of what we know from so many popular songs and traditions, Jesus’ nativity is believed to have actually been at some time in the spring season, in accordance with the Roman census. Perhaps if we keep this in mind, the frenetic commercialism that rules our cultural observation isn’t quite so disturbing. If Jesus was *not* born on December 25th, then it’s easier to let the cultural tide roll around us and we can enjoy the year-end festivities. I’m not suggesting we forget about the baby in the feeding trough, but we need to see Christian Christmas and Cultural Christmas as distinct observances that (unfortunately) happen to coincide. I wish we could find a way to reschedule our observance of Jesus’ birth to another time in late winter/early spring, then it would be easier to rediscover the unobscured significance of God incarnate without the noise and clutter. Unfortunately, once a tradition’s been around for 1700 years it’s hard to change.
5. The “Twelve Days of Christmas,” according to traditional church calendars, corresponds to the difference between Christmas Day observances on the Julian calendar (Dec 25) and the Gregorian calendar (Jan 6 or 7). Many in the Eastern and Russian Orthodox traditions celebrate Christmas on this later date, while the Western church calendar marks January 6 as Epiphany, celebrating the arrival of the magi to Bethlehem. And so, in my family’s northern tradition, we bring a tree inside the house during the week before Christmas, decorate it on Christmas Eve, and take the tree down on Epiphany. We're always the last ones in the neighborhood to take our tree down. But we are better able to savor the season after all the static has dissipated. It also builds excitement when we resist the urge to blow out too soon, letting the mood build through Advent.
6. Which Christmas to Celebrate? Contrary to the winds of debate I don’t believe we are faced with an either/or proposition. Of course, genuine Christians will prefer to focus on Jesus and the observance of His nativity. Genuine Christians will be wise to guard their hearts against getting caught up in the pre-Christmas frenzy. Gospel-wise, the overwhelming cultural aspects of Christmas make society hard to penetrate no matter how wonderful is news of eternal consequence. But, as with the above thoughts on music, things tend to settle down dramatically on December 26 – and there are still ten or eleven days of Christmas left! Perhaps we could take a page from the judo book and let the energy flywheel of the onslaught pass us by so that we can proceed in peace afterward. Imagine how peaceful a Christmas celebration could be on January 6 once the entire rave has sunsided!
We call this the Christmas Season, but really, it’s not Christmas (in the Christian sense) that’s being celebrated by the world around us – nor should we expect that to be the case. It's a celebration of all kinds of things, sharing a common theme of hope, joy, fellowship, and good will. Much of that we owe to Jesus' influence. Other stuff like seasonal burdens and pressures are voluntary, and that includes the choice to participate, resist, or stand by and observe. I have no problem with Cultural Christmas, since I know the reality of personal Christian Christmas and we’ve kept the observance in our family. We did not celebrate (nor perpetuate) Santa Claus with our children, but we do recognize St Nicholas, Father Christmas, etc. as a cultural icon and figure. I believe it's helped them grow to early maturity in comprehending Christmas and the truth of the gospel. And, that personal faith goes a long way in helping us to be a calming presence amid the societal flurry. It’s a fun, exciting, and joyous time of year for all kinds of people and it’s great to be a part of it. Just don’t forget to share the Greatest Gift after the dust settles.
All the fake, all the phony, all the christmas music, all the disappointed recipients of presents, all the people complaining that everything is too commercialized, all the religious factions jockeying to spread their messages, all the high calorie parties, all the complicated gift giving scenarios....is finally over.
I find it strange that people complain of the secularization of Christmas, yet there are very few complaints about Mardi Gras. Maybe because it's a Catholic holiday.
The people who have made an issue of our traditional holidays having religious roots and have pressured our government and retailers, etc. to abandon them in the name of PC tolerance for diversity and fear of insulting others . . . are trouble making rabble-rousers with an over-developed sense of their own importance and the self-righteous so-called principles they claim to represent. Traditions are just that . . . traditions and there is no honor or dignity or decency in those self-righteous busy-bodies who insist on redefining them on some pseudo-sensitive constitutional separation of church and state basis.
It's often declared that many bad things are justified in the name of Christianity.
So here's another occassion to lay blame.....for greed,expecting to get things you don't really deserve, going into debt/ruining your budget.
How many times have you heard...."After all, it's Christmas"
(Unfortuantely, it isn't only Christians that get sucked into this part of the whole thing)
I do love me some more "War on Christmas" posts. What is that, 4 so far this week? Christians are so politically powerful that they get basically a whole week off for their big religious holiday this year and they still find ways to complain that everyone else isn't Christian-ing it up enough to satisfy them.
Come on people, keep this worship stuff to yourself like Jesus told you to.
I find it strange that people complain of the secularization of Christmas, yet there are very few complaints about Mardi Gras. Maybe because it's a Catholic holiday.
Mardi Gras is a religous holiday?? I thought it was specific to New Orleans, and was about getting fat and drunk. Kinda like Cinco de Mayo doesn't have any other meaning in the US but getting drunk.
Well, I love Christmas, my favorite time of the year. Always have.
The best thing about it is that it is an Americanized Holiday ans as such we in America can celebrate it in any way we choose (or not celebrate it if we so choose)
The people who have made an issue of our traditional holidays having religious roots and have pressured our government and retailers, etc. to abandon them in the name of PC tolerance for diversity and fear of insulting others . . . are trouble making rabble-rousers with an over-developed sense of their own importance and the self-righteous so-called principles they claim to represent. Traditions are just that . . . traditions and there is no honor or dignity or decency in those self-righteous busy-bodies who insist on redefining them on some pseudo-sensitive constitutional separation of church and state basis.
You know, I guess there is some aspect of the holiday season I do enjoy after all.
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