Christmas II

If you have not read Christmas I, that should be read before the following.


This is a follow-up to yesterday’s “Christmas I” blog regarding Christmas music on the radio and concerns about Christmas becoming a secular holiday. In 1994 I found myself asking this question, “Is Christmas really a Christian holiday?” My thoughts continued to take form during 1995 and 1996. In 1997 while in Iowa there was a controversy regarding Christmas lights and Christmas tree being put up in Iowa City and called “holiday lights” and “holiday tree.”

The Press Citizen interviewed various business and religious leaders who were considered opinion shapers. Why I was selected to be one of nine people interviewed perplexed me then and still does today. One of the questions went to the issue of secularizing Christmas. Another question that I was asked went along the lines whether I felt that my faith and the faith of those in our congregation were being compromised by the secularization of Christmas. Fortunately, both questions were asked together.

I said that neither myself nor anyone in our congregation’s faith was compromised or under assault by the “holiday lights” and “holiday tree.” I noted that the assumption behind the question was that Christmas is a Christian holiday and that I did not hold that assumption. I stated that Christmas as we understand it with all its trappings and celebrations is a cultural holiday and has always been a cultural holiday with religious message attached.

Needless to say the response I had several calls and letters. Surprisingly most were favorable…and kettles and direct mail increased significantly. At the January meeting of the Consultation of Religious Communities numerous members responded with warmth. I was taken back when some said that they appreciated my courage. I did not see it as courage but rather as naively offering my thoughts.

I am sure that many of evangelicals and nearly all fundamentalists (fundamentalists and evangelicals are not necessarily the same) as well as those who are from mainstream of the theological continuum would respond that Christmas has for the most ceased being a Christian holiday. It is claimed that commercialization compromised Christmas. It was further eroded as America and Canada became more multicultural and that the political correctness of the last decade his putting the nails into coffin. That was not my response. My response is that Christmas has always been a secular holiday, not a Christian holiday. And before my family members think that I have gone off the deep end, I hope you will take time to continue to hear me out.

Our image of Christmas has become increasingly romanticized over the years. Almost all of us are romantics at heart. Most of also enjoy parties and gathering with our family and friends. We seek to have a special moment in time with family gatherings and special activities which fuels our romantic feelings. The excitement of seeing the joy of child’s expectations warms our hearts. Music such as “White Christmas”, “Sleigh Ride”, “Holy Jolly Christmas”, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”, “Winter Wonderland” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” underpin the dreamy feelings about Christmas. And we naturally do not want to see that which we enjoy and hold dear disappear. I argue that it is our culture that has romanticized Christmas, not our faith tradition.

Does this mean that Christmas will disappear? Far from it. Christmas is healthy and strong. Christmas as we know it in North America will not disappear for many many generations, if at all. It will not disappear because it is a strongly held cultural event, an event that is celebrated and embraced by community that transcends the Christian community.

An ahistorical view and our faith cries out that even within all the trappings that Christmas is a Christian holiday. It is argued that its roots was in a pagan celebration and it has become a Christian holiday. I beg to differ with that view.

Rather, Christmas is a secular holiday that the Church adopted. We adopted it and have used the secular celebration to proclaim Christ. It is our faith that uses the day to celebrate the entrance of our Savior into this world as a babe.

In Christmas we see the Church using various cultural celebrations and using it as an instructional tool and a faith celebration. Much of what we hold dear to us at Christmas has it roots outside the Church…the day, the lights, the decorations, the feasts and the party gatherings with friends. My faith is not threatened by the secular roots and elements attached to Christmas. My faith is not under attack because of all the commercialization and parties. My faith comes under attack not from what happens “out there” but from the internal battles I do not address and fight victoriously.

I am not threatened that the Church has used a cultural event and filled the winter solstice celebrations with additional meaning. By doing so we are doing only what God Himself has done with his people.

In Scripture we see God doing that with the Egyptian religion. In the Deuteronomy, Leviticus and Numbers we see that He took Egyptian rituals and forms that were already familiar o the Israelites, simplified them and filled them with new meaning. The sacrificial system was no new…they knew of it from Egypt. God took that which was known, transformed it and gave it new meaning. Our heavenly Father and His Son kept using real life stories and situations to instruct us about His grace. He started with the known and familiar as a basis to point us to spiritual truths about ourselves, about Him and His work.

Today, why is the Church fighting over whether Christmas is a Christian holiday or a Christian holiday? Why fight that battle as it will be one we will loose. We will loose the battle because the world at large sees such a battle as irrelevant. Our bemoaning and crying on this ground only marginalizes the Church. It only puts another barrier between us and those outside the Church. It only leaves those on the margin of the Church scratching their heads as we are not addressing their issues. We will loose because Christmas has been a cultural event and will continue to be a cultural celebration.

Instead, we need to use this celebration as a touch point for communicating with those outside the Church. It is our opportunity to communicate a plethora of powerful messages from hope to peace to redemption. It is a means to communicate the values of family, affirming each other and generosity. We can use the celebration as means to show that people of faith can party joyously but in a judicious balanced manner. And above all we can use it to speak of peace and love while pointing to the source for ultimate peace and love, our Lord. Why fight the wrong battle when we have an opportunity to be God’s conduit of grace and messenger of love?