Putting Christ Back In Christmas, Is Jesus the Reason for the Season?

by DevonMcBride 6 Replies latest jw friends

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  DevonMcBride

  Putting Christ Back in Christmas: Is Jesus the Reason for the Season?

  A ustine Cline

  Is Jesus the Reason for the Season?:

  Many conservative evangelical Christians at this time of year want to “put Christ back in Christmas” and insist that “Jesus is the Reason for the Season.” With these slogans, they hope to remind people that Christmas is a Christian holiday and that without Christ, there would be no Christmas in the first place. Such Christians are offended that so many people enjoy the holidays without any reference to Jesus or Christianity and want it to stop. Unfortunately, they don’t have much of a case.

  Christmas Wars:
  Not having a case doesn’t seem to matter, though, and conservative Christians have been pursuing their so-called Christmas Wars with great vigor. A few influential conservatives are using Christmas as a political weapon against liberals, secularists, and non-Christians by claiming that a secular, anti-Christian conspiracy has removed Christ from Christmas.

  Pre-Christian Reasons for the Season:
  If Jesus is the Reason for the Season, why are so many aspects of the season pre-Christian and pagan? Christians took over the Decemer 25th Roman holiday of Natalis Solis Invicti, festival of the birth of the invincible sun, as well as Saturnalia. Christians took over German mid-winter festival celebrations which used evergreen trees and holly as symbols of eternal life. Where is Christ in all of this? How is Jesus the reason for the season of mid-winter festivals that pre-date Christianity? Pagan Christmas Trees:
  The most central and recognizable symbol of Christmas today is the Christmas tree — and it has nothing to do with Christianity, Christ, or Jesus. It’s a purely pagan symbol taken from ancient German mid-winter festivals. Even if people hang religious ornaments on the tree, the hanging of ornaments is originally pagan, not Christian. The practice of cutting down trees and taking them home to decorate them with gold and silver is even condemned by God in the book of Jeremiah.

  Christian Aspects of American Christmas:
  Christmas as it is celebrated in America has just two Christian elements: nativity scenes and Santa Claus. Nativity scenes are unquestionably Christian, but their role is smaller than symbols such as pagan trees. Only Christmas carols which reference the nativity continue to be very important. Santa Claus is central to Christmas, but while his roots are Christian, he has become completely secularized - there is nothing recognizably Christian about him anymore.

  Secularization of American Christmas:
  Christmas as we know it today is not at all like how Christians used to treat the holiday — for most of Christian history it was a minor holiday, if celebrated at all. Contemporary Christmas has become so secularized that it’s difficult to find the Christian elements sometimes, and this means that for most people Jesus just isn’t the reason for the season today — if he ever was. Christmas is more about a secular Santa than Jesus the Christ and Savior.

  Commercialization of American Christmas:
  Christmas is more a commercial enterprise than a religious observance – Jesus isn’t the reason for the season, buying consumer goods is. Heavy commercialization of Christmas took off in WWII when people had to buy early to get gifts to troops, but the early shopping season didn’t end with the war. This was when campaigns to “put Christ back into Christmas” started, and look at how successful they’ve been: the buying season is not only longer, but more central both to Christmas and the economy.

  Christmas Doesn’t Need Christ or God:
  It’s true that for many Christians, Christmas is so religious that there would be little point to the holidays without their religious perspective. At the same time, however, there are millions of non-Christians and godless people who celebrate and enjoy the holidays without much problem. It’s possible to go through the whole Christmas season while encountering few, if any, significantly Christian elements. There is nothing odd or difficult about having a Christmas without Christ or God.

  Atheists Celebrating Christmas:
  The fact that Jesus is not the Reason for the Season and that there is no particular place for Christ in Christmas doesn’t mean, however, that all atheists are comfortable with celebrating Christmas. Some argue that it would be better to ignore the holiday. Some continue to celebrate it because they aren’t out as atheists or don’t want to rock the boat among religious family members. Should atheists celebrate or ignore Christmas? Read More...

  Jesus is not the Reason for the Season:
  What is most mistaken, and even offensive, about the slogan “Jesus is the Reason for the Season” is that Christians are attempting to claim ownership of and priority over the entire holiday season, not just Christmas. There is, however, no reason to imagine that there would be no mid-winter holidays in the absence of Christ or Christianity.

  Modern Christmas celebrations have little or nothing to do with Jesus, the Feast of the Nativity, or the Incarnation. Consider some popular Christmas traditions: erecting and decorating a tree, hanging wreaths, sending cards, drinking eggnog, giving presents, hanging mistletoe...where is Christ in all of this?

  Thus we also have slogans about “putting Christ back into Christmas,” but it’s difficult to see how Christ was ever central to Christmas. When Christians celebrated it at all, it was about the nativity of Jesus, not the salvation from Christ. Today, even Jesus has receded into the background.

  Our modern Christmas is a large number of ancient pagan practices, a few pieces of Christian traditions, and a large number of modern creations which are almost entirely secular in nature, no matter where they got their inspiration from. I see little room and little need for any “Christ” in all of this - but more importantly, I see little place where a “Christ” could be put back into the mix.

  This is why Jesus is not the reason for the season for non-Christians. Whether non-Christians celebrate some form of Christmas or something else entirely, the reason for the season is whatever meaning they invest in their holiday — and that is up to them, not to Christians.

  To put it simply, Christians who insist that Jesus is the reason for the season and that Christ needs to be “put back” into Christmas are seeking to assert their cultural superiority over everyone else. It’s yet one more example of attempts to reassert Christian privilege in an America that has moved on to religious pluralism.
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  under74

  Very interesting article. I lean towards atheism myself but like Christmas and don't think of it at all in a religious way. I don't like all the "buy me this. buy me that" crap. But it's a good time to be with family and enjoy a large meal.
  
  I've been hearing scattered things about some trying to bring a religious theme back...at least US. Also that people like Bill O'Reilly are claiming Christmas is under attack because people tend to use the term "Happy Holidays." I say "happy holidays" "Happy Thanksgiving" and "merry christmas" and "happy new year" and "happy hannakah" "happy kwanzaa" and "happy" or "enjoy Ramadan"...they all take place in the same two months though...so I usually rely on "Happy Holidays." And it works...because everyone says the same in responxe.
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  DanTheMan

  The article makes some excellent points. I don't see why Evangelicals get so worked-up about it anyway.

  The "secular liberals" that they so deeply despise -- simply because they are a significant hurdle to their goal of establishng an overarching Jesus-land culture in the USA -- are all going to burn in hell forever and ever according to their theology.

  I just don't understand why people who subscribe to God-as-a-Punisher theologies have such deep spite for people who don't share their beliefs.
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  DevonMcBride

  Here's a letter from Rev Barry Lynn, American's United For Separation of Church and State.

  AN OPEN LETTER TO JERRY FALWELL
  December 2005

  Dear Jerry:

  Here’s some news: There is no “war on Christmas!”

  I’ve seen you on various television news shows claiming that there is but, in fact, there simply isn’t. Even as I write this, millions of Americans are erecting Christmas trees and nativity scenes at their homes, and thousands of churches are planning special Christmas services.

  And, if I might say so, most of them are planning their lives without getting permission or encouragement from you.

  I am deeply disappointed that you have chosen a time that Christians observe as a season of peace and good will and turned it into a time of religious divisiveness and community conflict. Your “Friend or Foe” campaign may be great for fund-raising and publicity, but it has sown discord unnecessarily.

  Contrary to your wild allegations, Jerry, neither Americans United, nor any other civil liberties organization that I know of, is waging any kind of war on Christmas. The First Amendment of our Constitution ensures every American’s right to observe religious holidays or to refrain from doing so. We can wish each other a “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays,” and it’s really none of your business which term we choose. We can call our decorated tree a “Christmas tree” or a “holiday tree,” and that’s our right. (We can observe the holidays of other traditions as well.)

  I think we all know what’s really going on with your campaign. You want an America where there is no separation of church and state and where your rather narrow interpretation of Christianity is forced on everyone. If you can convince Americans that their cherished Christmas traditions are under fire, you think maybe they will join your nefarious crusade to tear down the protective church-state wall that guarantees our freedoms.

  Well, it won’t work, Jerry. Americans are, by and large, a tolerant lot, and they are quite unlikely to join forces with someone like you who is so far out on the political and religious fringes. Many people remember the outrageous comments you made after the 9/11 terrorist assaults, suggesting that America had it coming because of our (in your opinion) sinful ways. They also remember your dire warning that Tinky Winky, a kids’ TV character, was brainwashing our children into homosexuality! You can’t rehabilitate an image like that by trying to depict yourself as Father Christmas.

  I am particularly outraged that you are attacking our public schools as part of your misguided project. Our public schools serve children from 2,000 different faith traditions and some who follow no spiritual path at all. They generally do a tremendous job of helping each of these students without imposing any particular religious viewpoint. They steer a careful course, broadly allowing student religious expression while trying to avoid school endorsement of specific faiths. That means there are sometimes disagreements about what songs should be sung in the winter concert or what decorations should go in the hall. We can work through those decisions by applying common sense, the Constitution and plain old civility.

  Thanks to the crusade by you and your allies, however, some of these schools are being targeted for venomous attacks. After the Alliance Defense Fund unfairly maligned a public school in New York for its holiday observance policies, education officials there received hateful mail of all sorts. One e-mail said "You are either bigoted Jews who hate Christians or mindless secularists."

  Since I debated you about the Christmas issue on Fox News Channel’s “O’Reilly Factor,” I have received 66 nasty e-mails, including two death threats. Observed one of my correspondents, “Hope you die soon. Merry Christmas.”

  Jerry, this is the kind of interfaith and community hostility that you are stirring up, and I implore you to stop it now. You are polluting the public square with animosity and anger. And at Christmas, of all times!! Have you no decency?

  You’ve dubbed your latest round of antics a “Friend or Foe” campaign. Well, Jerry, I am a friend of the Constitution and a foe of intolerance. You should be too.

  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays,

  The Rev. Barry W. Lynn
  Executive Director

  PS: I saw on a couple of the news shows that you are again questioning my ministerial credentials. I believe the expression that you used on Fox News Channel’s “The Big Story with John Gibson” is that I am “about as reverend as an oak tree” and that I never “preached in” a church. Drop me a line, Jerry, and I’ll send you (again) a copy of my ministerial credentials from the United Church of Christ. And by the way, I’d be happy to come to Thomas Road Baptist Church and deliver the sermon on the Sunday of your choice. Your congregation might like a change of perspective every now and then.
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  stillconcerned

  For me? YES.
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  Elsewhere

  For me, no... but I still enjoy the holidays and exchanging presents and christmas and holiday cards.

  Tis the season!

  It bothers me when I see the fundie Christians demanding that everyone use the word "Christmas" instead of "holidays". They claim that by using the word "holidays" the Christians are being persecuted... yet, ironically, at the same time they demand everyone use "Christmas" which is a form of persecution in of itself!

  Using the phrase "holidays" is more inclusive and encourages more people to enjoy this time of the year. Demanding that these celebrations be only a Christian holiday is exclusive and excludes those who are not Christian.

  If a Christian wants to call their celebration "Christmas", that is great! I encourage them to enjoy their Christmas and have a great time... but please don't try to impose your religion on me. Let me be so I can enjoy my "holiday" season as much as you enjoy your "Christmas" season.
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  jaffacake

  Christmas is a time when I think of the birth of the Messiah a lot and what it meant. My kids also enjoy carol singing to raise money for a local orphanage & do a tour of old folks homes, hospitals etc.

  We also spend time getting carried along with the secular side, but we try to achieve a balance.

  Although December the 25th is probably not the date of Christ's birth, the important thing to remember is 'what' the date and the celebration actually represents. When Christians join together in an attitude of worship at this time of the year, they are simply thanking God for this special event, in the same way that the angels praised God when they appeared to the shepherds after Christ's birth on that first Christmas:

  "And the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths, and lying in a manger." And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God, and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." (Luke 2:10-14).

  It appears that the true reason the Watchtower object to Christmas is that the celebration marks a time when people worship Christ. The Watchtower strongly object to the worship of Christ as can be seen by the following quote:

  "...it is unscriptural for worshippers of the living and true God to render worship to the Son of God, Jesus Christ." (Watchtower, 1 Nov., 1964, p. 671.)

  . But contrary to the opinion of the Watchtower, it is certainly scriptural to worship Jesus Christ (eg. Matt. 14:33; 28:9, 17; John 5:23; 9:38; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 5:8-14). Worship of Christ is surely the correct, biblical thing to do, not just at Christmas but at all times.