The last Christmas?

This may be the last Christmas as a national public holiday. There are people lobbying to get rid of Christian holidays. And we know very well that with the South African parliament and the Constitutional Court anything is possible.

Ascension Day as a public holiday is gone. Nevertheless, many Christians continue to observe this day in the privacy of their worshipping space.

Abortion is free yet fervent citizens do not do abortion.

Many people have observed that fewer and fewer people attend Christmas services in Church. People would rather celebrate somewhere else.

This phenomenon is not unique to Christians. The secular media, to the dismay of politicians, have noted that many citizens do not bother to observe or commemorate important national days such as March 21 (Sharpeville Massacre), June 16 (Soweto Uprising), April 27 (Freedom Day) and December 16 (Day of Reconciliation or Dingaan’s Day).

Why do we react if we hear about the possibility of removing Christian holidays from the national calendar?

Some of us may see this as an attack on our Christian faith and tradition. Others may only moan because free days are being reduced. What is the main reason that we would like to keep these special days for Christians?

In the mad rush of the holiday season, the true meaning of giving is often forgotten. What is meant to be a time of blessing and joy becomes instead a time of stress and depression. Many people die or get injured in the Christmas season?

Jesus Christ has been taken out of Christmas. A number of Christians have adjusted to the commercialism of the holiday season. The business world is always looking for ways to shift attention from God and people to material things, and we’re naïve enough to go along.

By the time we realise that our whole direction has been diverted, as it has been at Christmas, we believe it’s too late to change, so we give up.

Think about days which have been celebrated to honour others: Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day. The emphasis is no longer on the “other”, but on the “thing”. The way Christmas is celebrated today is a gross commercialism of the most important birth in history about 2000 years ago.

Ban Santa Claus.

Lead your whole family in doing things together.

Let families pray together. Keep the spiritual heart of the season: peace and joy.

Find happiness in reaching out to others and giving yourself away.

Share love with the poor, the naked, the widow, the orphan, and the prisoner.

Be aware of the advertisement and commercial demons.

The holiday season provides the opportunity for families to reunite and also provides a pleasant break from our routines. It is an opportunity to visit friends who are much too busy at other times in the year to just stop and relax.

Most importantly, let Jesus Christ be the centre of Christmas and of life.

What if this is the last Christmas?

I wish the readers of this column a God-filled Christmas season and a better 2005.