Now what all of you are really here for...more pictures.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Merry CHRISTmas!!
That's right, I said it! Merry Christmas, not "Happy Holidays" or some other term. In light of current events, I'm even more pro-CHRISTmas and more anti-everything-that-takes-away-the-focus-from-Jesus this year. As some of you may know, I'm not a fan of Santa Claus. You won't see any Santa decorations in our house. Don't get me wrong, we'll still let Santa visit Bella, but we won't be focusing on Santa. Our society has done everything possible to take Christ out of this time of year. Santa has become the emphasis of the season, not our Savior. The "Holiday" has become more focused on Santa than Jesus...I refuse to be part of that trend, and may even be leaning further the other direction than necesary. Nona can still read "The Night Before Christmas" but we'll also be supplementing that with reading the Nativity story starting this year.
Now what all of you are really here for...more pictures.
Now what all of you are really here for...more pictures.
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2 comments:
First of all, a slap on the wrist for taking a week after Bella's first holiday to post picures. Tsk Tsk, you must be more dilligent in the future.
Now, for a serious comment (OK, so it is a little more than a "comment").
I find your expression of your sentiments regarding the nature of Christmas a bit ironic. It's hard to believe, but this is the 40th anniversary of the Charlie Brown Christmas special. That show, 40 years ago, expressed the same frustruation over the commercialization of Christmas that you express. Linus, the show's hero reminds everyone why we celebrate Christmas.
I love Christmas and embrace many of the secular traditions of the holiday. I drag out Christmas CD's as soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over and I enjoy the decorations in the stores and around town. But I certainly understand the frustration you have with what Christmas has come to mean to many people.
However, I think that phenomenon is the result of a variety of forces. You first mention your choice to say Merry Christmas rather than some other phrase such as "Happy Holidays" or "Season's Greetings". I think the rise of those phrases has come from the PC crowd that wants to negate the Christian celebration of Christmas. A focus on Christmas might offend someone too much. This effort to homogenize the winter holiday season for all has led to the ironic result that many associate the secular emblems you are pushing away with the religious part of the holiday. No Christmas trees or Santa Claus in a public display because they would signify a preference to the Christian holiday. And you certainly can't have a creche in your display! I think it is more than appropriate to respond to this by emphasizing and celebrating the religious origin of Christmas.
I don't think the mass commercialization of Christmas is driven by some desire to destroy or eliminate Christ from Christmas. I think it is a natural result of having a gift giving holiday in a capitalist society. It has become necessary for many businesses to survive. But I don't think the commercialization is driving the loss of focus on Christ, but is a response to it. I think the commercialization is a response to people's materialism which I definitely think is a result of a loss of spitituality in our country. Christmas marketing just feeds the beast which is alive year round.
What I find truly ironic relates back to Metz's recent post regarding how even Christian retailers (i.e. Lifeway) are as commercial "secular" retailers. I think Christians, in response to the first phenomenon, sought religious symbols to include in their holiday decorations. The Christian retailers bought into that desire and are now as commercial as any retailer offering shoppers all kinds of kitcsh and detritus such Santa Cluas kneeling at a manger. How does that rub you?
Of course, when examining what has happened to Christmas, our own denomination is as guilty a grinch as any in removing Christ from December. The Church of Christ has a history of denying or ignoring (call it what you want) the religious roots of the holiday. It was special when we got to sing Joy to the World and for goodness sake, don't sing it any other time of year because it is a Christmas carol (as opposed to a hymn?). Personally, I think the C of C response to Christmas (and Easter) was as much about anti-Catholic bias as it was about accurate biblicl scholarship regarding the true timing of Christ's birth.
Now that I have rambled endlessly, I should say that I appreciate your desire to give Bella an appreciation for the meaning of Christmas. Julie and I, since we got to Miami, have included in our tradition attending Christmas Eve services at different churches. So far, we've been to a Methodist church, a Pentecostal church and Woodmont for Christmas eve services. It has been very interesting and has added new meaning to our celebration of Christmas.
Thank you for allowing me to contribute this, but more importanly, thank you for the pictures of Bella. I can't wait to see her.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
Hey Brian, good comments on Christmas. I agree with where you are coming from. I feel myself more and more content to stay out of the political discussions revolving around Christmas as much as I do the public display of the Ten Commandments, prayer in school, and those kinds of arguments. They are really based more on the changing identity of the country than some liberal conspiracy to wipe out Christianity.
I have been helped this year by a couple that Mary Beth and i have become good friends with over the past year. He is Jewish, from a Jewish family, and she is a proselyte (adult convert) who converted for their marriage. Being friends with them has quickly made the "Christmas" discussion more relevant than it has been before.
They, obviously, celebrate Hannakah (a holiday I am so unfamiliar with I cannot even spell it correctly). We have bought them Hannakah gifts. Does that mean we have sold out our own tradition? I don't think so. As a result of our friendship with them, I have become especially aware of the public bias towards Christmas.
This issue of the commercialization of Christmas is a very separate one. Sojourners (a religious left organization) supports a boycott of retail purchases on the day after Christmas as a way to reject the prevailing wind of materialism that is so rampant in America. I didn't participate in the boycott, but appreciate what is stands for.
I think your point to read Bella the nativity story for Christmas is very admirable, and something rooted in the Spirit. Is that not what Israel was instructed to do upon the Passover (cf. Exodus 6?) The rationale should be the same for all of our "religious" holidays. Our family should know why we are doing this.
Merry Christmas to you as well. Thanks for the pictures and the post!
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