In spite of all the joy the Christmas season brings, I find myself very annoyed this year. The reason being is because the secular world has taken over a faith-driven observance and has practically turned it into a meaningless spectacle.
I have gradually noticed how the politically correct society has gotten so many people away from saying “Merry Christmas,” to simply saying “Happy Holidays.” Schools are no longer on Christmas vacation, but winter break. What took the cake was when I read some department stores are now saying “holiday tree” instead of Christmas tree.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought we celebrated Christmas on December 25, the birth of Jesus Christ. There are many who say Jesus was not born in December, and my response to them is “who cares!” It matters not the day or month he was born. What matters is that we set aside a time to recognize the birth of our Lord and Savior.
If we indeed celebrate Christmas, we ought not to be ashamed nor afraid to let the world know. For without Christ, we were all destined to Hell. But by his birth, death and resurrection, we each have equal access to eternal life.
To those who feel as though they can eliminate Christ and still celebrate Christmas, I’m sorry, but it can’t happen. It’s an oxymoron. Christ is the root word. Like it or not, Jesus is the reason for the season. You can spread good tidings and go broke buying gifts all you want, but without Christ, it’s all in vain.
This holiday season, I admonish you not to get caught up in the secular hype of Christmas. Take the time to say thanks to God for the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and make sure you share with your children and family members the true reason why we celebrate Christmas.
2 comments:
Ah, Ryan. I am missing the wonderful conversation that we would have had about this, were I still working at MPS. As a devoted atheist who celebrates a secular Christmas with my family, I thought I would comment on your post about secularization of Christmas.
Our family celebrates Christmas as a time to reflect on how much our friends and relatives mean to us. How the distance between us is really a minor challenge to us, urging us to stay connected. We share gifts and put thought into what our friends and relatives would find joy from, what would provide special meaning or even fill a need. We share a meal as a family, and remember that it is important to connect and talk and take the time to enjoy food together, which we are lucky to have. We think about the many who are far less fortunate than us. We donate money to an organization that provides holiday meals to homeless people who live right in our city, and feel guilty about not doing more to share our relative wealth.
We enjoy decorating our tree, hanging a wreath and watching our children enjoy in the Santa legend, knowing that it is a way of introducing the concept of the annual refocus on family and what is really important to us. The holiday season will become more complicated in years to come, and we look forward to explaining to our children the many ways in which people choose to celebrate the very same values: traditional Christian celebrations, Jewish Hanukkah, the more recent African-America Kwanzaa, and the many others--including the ways that atheists such as myself chose to mark the occasion. There is so much for them (and us) to learn, and we will teach them to not be ignorant of the many other beliefs but to understand that each person, family, country--whatever--has a belief structure (or lack of) that is relevant, important and has something to teach us all.
We do all of these things because they are important, they teach our children lessons of morality, and because it feels right. Surely, you see value in this.
Happiest wishes to you and your family, Ryan. I miss you and truly think of you very often. Holly and I send well-wishes to you, Jen, young Nathan and the rest of your family this season, and hope you are having a wonderful, fulfilling break from work.
All the best!
Josh
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