Advent Week 2: War and Peace
Lately, every year, around this time, we start seeing people post angry rants on social media about a so-called "War on Christmas." This is especially ironic, considering that, on the first Christmas, angels appeared to the shepherds proclaiming peace (Luke 2:8-20), celebrating the birth of the one who was called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6-7).
A friend of mine shared on facebook a month or so ago an article on The Guardian, chronicling the backlash against a British grocery chain's Christmas ads. One of the issues people had with the commercial was their portrayal of a Muslim family celebrating Christmas. At first, I have to admit, I did think it was a bit odd... and I started to wonder why it didn't seem incongruous to everyone to have people of one faith celebrating a holiday from another faith, when I realized something.
Christmas is really three different holidays that have all got mixed up. I don't mean Hanukkah and Kwanzaa; I mean three different holidays that all go by the name Christmas. We have the pre-Christian winter festivities like Yule and Saturnalia (where we get some of our traditions), we have the Christian religious celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and we have the modern, secular commercialized celebration. Reindeer and stockings, turkey and Christmas crackers all have nothing to do with the birth of Christ. It is the latter, of course, that the grocery store ad portrayed--and there is absolutely no reason why a Muslim family wouldn't participate in that.
As a Christian, I think that the most important of these is the birth of Jesus. Yes, it's true that we don't know exactly when Jesus was born, but dates are all a little arbitrary anyway. What is important, I think, is to take time to reflect on the fact that He came, and what that means and why---and also to celebrate, because as the angels proclaimed, this is news of great joy for all the people!
Is it a problem, then, that some of our traditions come from pagan rituals that worship Odin and Saturn? Some of these traditions have been part of Christian celebrations for thousands of years, and have been thoroughly Christianized, being re-assigned Christian significance. People these days don't think I'm worshiping Odin if I burn a Yule log. I don't think it is the rituals and traditions themselves which have power, but the significance that we ascribe to them. In many ways, I think Paul's logic about eating meat sacrificed to idols applies here as well (1 Corinthians 8:4-8).
That third holiday---the commercialized one---is a bit more intrusive, though. And if there is a war on Christmas, I think that's where the battle is fought.
While the religious celebration is all about preparing ourselves to meet God, the commercial celebration is all about money. And they have many tricks up their sleeves to make us spend more of it. Sappy Christmas movies that make us all nostalgic and drive us to attempt to create the perfect Christmas, brightly coloured featured displays, all lit up in red and green, piped in Christmas music on repeat, and the endless stream of commercials and jingles and flyers and sales.
They have succeeded in taking this time of waiting, of anticipation, and making it into a rat race where you do not have time to think, let alone prepare.
One of the tweets in the article I linked to above complained that the entire 'Christmas' shelf did not have the word 'Christmas' on it once. But what's the big deal? If you think it matters how many times the word 'Christmas' is used in the seasonal section of the grocery store or how Starbucks promotes their holiday drinks, then the War on Christmas is already lost, and you are not on the side you think you're on.
So here's my question for you: Which of the three Christmases do you celebrate? Do you think we should try and keep them separate?
Note: this is part two of a series on Advent. You can also read parts one and three.
A friend of mine shared on facebook a month or so ago an article on The Guardian, chronicling the backlash against a British grocery chain's Christmas ads. One of the issues people had with the commercial was their portrayal of a Muslim family celebrating Christmas. At first, I have to admit, I did think it was a bit odd... and I started to wonder why it didn't seem incongruous to everyone to have people of one faith celebrating a holiday from another faith, when I realized something.
Christmas is really three different holidays that have all got mixed up. I don't mean Hanukkah and Kwanzaa; I mean three different holidays that all go by the name Christmas. We have the pre-Christian winter festivities like Yule and Saturnalia (where we get some of our traditions), we have the Christian religious celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and we have the modern, secular commercialized celebration. Reindeer and stockings, turkey and Christmas crackers all have nothing to do with the birth of Christ. It is the latter, of course, that the grocery store ad portrayed--and there is absolutely no reason why a Muslim family wouldn't participate in that.
As a Christian, I think that the most important of these is the birth of Jesus. Yes, it's true that we don't know exactly when Jesus was born, but dates are all a little arbitrary anyway. What is important, I think, is to take time to reflect on the fact that He came, and what that means and why---and also to celebrate, because as the angels proclaimed, this is news of great joy for all the people!
Is it a problem, then, that some of our traditions come from pagan rituals that worship Odin and Saturn? Some of these traditions have been part of Christian celebrations for thousands of years, and have been thoroughly Christianized, being re-assigned Christian significance. People these days don't think I'm worshiping Odin if I burn a Yule log. I don't think it is the rituals and traditions themselves which have power, but the significance that we ascribe to them. In many ways, I think Paul's logic about eating meat sacrificed to idols applies here as well (1 Corinthians 8:4-8).
That third holiday---the commercialized one---is a bit more intrusive, though. And if there is a war on Christmas, I think that's where the battle is fought.
While the religious celebration is all about preparing ourselves to meet God, the commercial celebration is all about money. And they have many tricks up their sleeves to make us spend more of it. Sappy Christmas movies that make us all nostalgic and drive us to attempt to create the perfect Christmas, brightly coloured featured displays, all lit up in red and green, piped in Christmas music on repeat, and the endless stream of commercials and jingles and flyers and sales.
They have succeeded in taking this time of waiting, of anticipation, and making it into a rat race where you do not have time to think, let alone prepare.
One of the tweets in the article I linked to above complained that the entire 'Christmas' shelf did not have the word 'Christmas' on it once. But what's the big deal? If you think it matters how many times the word 'Christmas' is used in the seasonal section of the grocery store or how Starbucks promotes their holiday drinks, then the War on Christmas is already lost, and you are not on the side you think you're on.
So here's my question for you: Which of the three Christmases do you celebrate? Do you think we should try and keep them separate?
Note: this is part two of a series on Advent. You can also read parts one and three.
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