The War on Christmas
Christmas, contrary to popular belief, is a relatively recent holiday. The birth of Jesus has been celebrated for a long time, of course, though not as universally as most modern Christians suppose. The early Protestants preached that it was a pagan celebration and completely inappropriate for followers of Jesus. Even as recently as the American Revolution, most Americans did not celebrate Christmas.
The holiday gained popularity in America in the early 1800s, interestingly at the same time as a great spiritual awakening that swept the nation. Christmas was established as a federal holiday only in 1870, motivated by a desire to find some means for bringing unity to a nation ravaged by the divisiveness of the Civil War.
It is ironic that an American holiday instituted to bring unity should be so controversial today. Opponents to the Gospel want to purge every reference to Christianity from this season. Christians proclaim that Jesus is the reason for the season.
I’ve heard more controversy on this subject this year than I can remember at any time in the past. It has prompted a few random thoughts on the holidays:
• When I say “Happy holidays,” I mean: “Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year.” I haven’t left Christmas out. I’ve just included the others.
• When someone says to me, “Happy holidays,” I choose to take it the same way I mean it when I say it.
• When I see “Xmas,” I read it as an abbreviation. I do not read the “X” as something intended to replace “Christ.” Rather the Greek word for Christ is Christos. The “Ch” is the Greek letter chi, which looks like an English “X.” Constantine used the “X” as a symbol of Christ. I choose to read “Xmas” as an abbreviation consistent with early Christian symbolism. I choose not to be offended by it.
• I acknowledge that the anti-Christmas people are generally right when they point out that a significant portion of Christmas traditions are from pagan origins. Feasting and the giving of presents was a part of the Saturnalia celebrations of ancient Rome. Yule logs came from northern Europe. Even the choice of December 25 was motivated by the fact that a pagan holiday was already celebrated on that day. We took a lot from the pagans. (The Christmas tree appears to be an exception.) Most of the early Christians did not observe Christmas. Origen wrote in the third century that only sinners like Herod and Pharaoh celebrated birthdays. He, like most believers in the first couple of centuries of the church thought it would be pointless to make a big deal over Christ’s birth, because they saw such celebrations as pagan, and besides, they anticipated Jesus returning any time anyway. Why spend time commemorating the past when they could look to the future with such great hope?
So, as we celebrate the birth of the world’s savior, it occurs to me that perhaps the early Christians had a good idea. Rather than participate in the confrontation, throwing the name “Christmas” in the face of those who do not believe in Christ in order to win an argument, let us remember that our mission is not to keep Christ in Christmas; it is to infuse Christ in everything, anticipating his immanent return. Look to the future more than the past. Let us celebrate the real reason for the birth, which was the cross, the resurrection and the return. Without those events, the birth is meaningless.
From Christina and from me, to all of our friends, Happy Holidays, by which I mean, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May we celebrate our anticipation of a year filled with impartation of the life of Christ, who came to this world to set us free.
Don Enevoldsen
No comments:
Post a Comment