Christmas Time Is Here

Christmas time is here. It is the time of the year when Christians become very afraid. You see, to the Christian world, Christmas is always under attack. There is really no escaping it. In the 80's, it was brought on by the emergence of Xmas. Those crazy secular humanists were actually marking out the name of Jesus by putting an X in His place. I was reminded of this by watching Ernest Saves Christmas, where a bumper sticker inside of his car proudly proclaimed "Keep Christ in Christmas". 

These days, on the day after Halloween, something magical begins to happen. If you walk into your favorite retailer on that day, you will notice that Christmas time is here. The decorations are everywhere, the music is playing over the loudspeakers, and the message is clear: Spend Money! In fact, the worry has changed faces. Instead of worrying about Xmas, now we have to worry about the Holidays. Happy Holidays is the new phrase, produced by retailers in order to keep things simple for them. They get to put out their signs and play their music, and conveniently lump Thanksgiving and Christmas (along with others like Hanukkah and Kwanzaa) into one category and celebrate them all with one phrase. This, of course, drives Christians crazy. It has driven me crazy in years past. Christian groups began to call for boycotts of retailers that were marketing with the phrase Happy Holidays. It worked and retailers began to change their marketing phrase back to Merry Christmas. Nobody wants to lose out on those sales, especially with the current state of the economy. So, Christians are able to walk away with a big smile on their face, loving the great feeling of victory. I am afraid however, that Christmas has actually lost in the midst of all the struggle.

This idea never really crossed my mind before this year. The fact is, that the birth of Christ has been lost in the midst of all the consumerism, Santa, Christmas trees, and presents. For years, the battle has been to try and bring Christmas back to its Christian roots and allow it to escape from all the consumerism that has plagued it along the way. We are now missing an opportunity to make that happen. I say let Happy Holidays come and hang from the banners of the stores. Let the Holiday songs play over the loudspeakers. Let the chiming of the cash registers make music as the Holidays are celebrated. And somewhere in the midst of Happy Holidays and all of the consumerism that goes with it, something interesting might happen. Christmas might become Christmas again. With retailers and consumers feeding their money and Santa and turkeys into the Holidays, the celebration of the incarnation of Jesus Christ could return. Imagine the possibility of a celebration of the birth of Christ unhinged from all of the money and stuff. So Christians, let us welcome the Holidays, all the while celebrating the true meaning of Christmas and living out a Spirit of love to our family, friends, and neighbors!