An Advent oasis
When Christians and those of no faith talk about Christmas, they sometimes mean the same thing, and at other times refer to completely separate events.
For Christians, Christmas is the feast of the Nativity at which we celebrate the birth of the Saviour. It is an important feast on the Christian calendar, but secondary to the feast of the Resurrection at Easter. As Christians, we prepare for Christmas throughout the season of Advent, which precedes the 12-day season of Christmas that ends on the feast of the Epiphany on January 6.
In temporal western society, the Christmas season winds down just as the Christian Christmas season begins. The shopping will have been completed, gifts distributed and lavish lunches consumed.
In that form of Christmas, the presence of Christ is not always evident. Indeed, often Christ is being excluded from the feast that takes his name. Many shop windows proclaim Season’s Greetings and Happy Holidays in case customers are offended at being wished a Merry Christmas.
There is no doubt that the public face of Christmas is the bell-ringing commercial figure of Santa Claus (himself based on St Nicholas of Myra), not the infant born to redeem the world.
In the temporal domain, Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer and the infant Jesus have arrived at a measure of cultural equivalence.
Some Christians bravely object. The call to “Put Christ back into Christmas” serves as a timely annual reminder that Christmas is not supposed to be about commercial excess and conspicuous consumption. It prompts some atheists to complain, not always humorously, about the intrusion of religion into Christmas.
Proponents of maintaining a Christian sense of Christmas are not always playing fair either. A decade or so ago, Christians expressed outrage at reports that the city council of Birmingham, England, had replaced Christmas with an event named “Winterval” to appease assorted constituencies of non-Christians. In the years since, “Winterval”—which as a compound of the words “winter” and “festival” has a suitably pagan ring to it—has come to be a symbol for all Christmas-related attacks on Christians, real or imagined.
However, in November this year, the Daily Mail issued an apology for misrepresenting the intentions of Birmingham’s Winterval event, noting that it “was the collective name for a season of public events, both religious and secular, which took place in Birmingham in 1997 and 1998” and not intended to “rename or replace Christmas”.
Such forays into the realms of polemic and lies aside, Christians are right to remind the world, and themselves, of the roots of Christmas.
They must do so by example. For instance, many parishes use the Advent season to step up their outreach to those living in poverty (though one must be sure that outreach programmes should go on throughout the year). And in our seasonal salutations, we should not hesitate to use the word “Christmas”.
In the hustle and bustle of preparations for the feast, one may well neglect the true significance of Christmas, with its profound implications.
Most families cannot opt out of the temporal Christmas celebrations. Indeed, these can be joyous and affirming. It is enchanting, for example, to witness a child’s excitement at a well-chosen gift, just as we delight in God’s gift of his Son to us. And the general sense of good will that accompanies Christmas is salutary.
There is no infidelity to our Christian faith when we take part in what one might call a dual Christmas: the temporal affair, with its commercial activity and consumption; and the sacred feast, which involves reflection, prayer and joy at the birth of our Lord—as well as reaching out to those who will not have a merry Christmas.
When we put Christ back into Christmas in our lives, we encounter the true meaning of Christmas which can provide a spiritual oasis amid the commercial yuletide frenzy.
This Christmas, let us shut out noise of the “Happy Holidays” and turn our focus on the silent night as we contemplate the child in the manger.
- The Look of Christ - May 24, 2022
- Putting Down a Sleeping Toddler at Communion? - March 30, 2022
- To See Our Good News - March 23, 2022
