Last week was Rosh Hashannah. I admire Jewish holidays because they are so steeped in tradition and culture. I often wonder why as Christians we don't really celebrate holidays with our Jewish brothers and sisters. As the cliche goes: Jesus was Jewish.
I'm not going to lie, though. I really wanted skip school Wednesday last week, and for a brief, infantile moment, I thought about pretending I celebrate Rosh Hashannah. The thought was not a serious one and quickly passed, as I immediately recognized all the levels of wrong involved with doing something like that. However, it did get me to thinking about how there are so many non-Christians who take off and, in fact, celebrate holidays such as Christmas and Easter. Is that right? How is that fair? Shouldn't we "take back" Christmas? Yes, but not in the way Pat Robertson would have us.
It seems every year there is a vocal group of Christians screaming about the desecularization of Christmas. Happy holidays. Holiday trees. Holiday parades. Give Jesus a back seat to his own celebration, will you? It is frustrating, but what should the response be? Some get snarky and spread Jesus' love by abruptly retorting "Merry Christmas" to anyone who says "Happy holidays", using the greeting as less of a blessing and more of a dagger. Instead of truly encouraging someone in honoring our Lord and Savior, we use His birth as a counterpoint; a political statement.
Other times we boycott stores. Sadly, I've fallen prey to this in the past. If a store removes all signs of "Christmas" and expects us to hand over Benjamins, Ulysses, and Andrews, well then I'm sorry I'll take my business elsewhere. But aren't we to give to Caesar what is Caesar's? And isn't this country intended to be free-market? How then can a business be "Christian"? I don't see how we can hold a business accountable for the Gospel. A business has no soul to be redeemed. There is no reason to expect an entity designed on profit-making to adhere to values and beliefs that have been etched into our hearts by our Creator.
So how did we get to this point? Why have we allowed the secular world to hold one of our holiest days captive? After all, people who don't even believe that Jesus was anyone special celebrate. And that's okay. Because we are at fault for the modern interpretation of Christmas, and the modern interpretation is not what we ought to be celebrating.
There are basically two positive responses that we can have towards what Christmas has become. The first is to simply accept what "Christmas" is and let it be. Celebrate with friends and family in meaningful ways and let the corporate Christmas be what it is. Purchase presents, sit on Santa's lap, and watch It's a Wonderful Life. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach. You keep the meaning of the holiday and understand that the secular version is what it is.
The second approach is far more radical, and possibly (but not definitely) more redeeming: Reject all, or at least most, aspects of secular Christmas. For starters, if we so strongly dislike the way Jesus' "birth" is being celebrated, why do we create a false idol in Santa Claus? We want our children raised to be thankful for what they have and to know the "true meaning" of Christmas, yet we offer to them an imaginary person who will give them whatever they want...if they are good. Isn't this a hindrance to what we believe? Isn't this exactly what Jesus taught against? We link the "birth" of our redeemer who brutally died on a cross to freely give us undeserving wretches salvation with the false Gospel of works begetting reward. The hypocrisy of condemning a store for not using the word "Christmas" and yet taking the five-year old to the mall to sit on a red-suited stranger's lap and tell him what toys need to be under that tree the morning of December 25th is unnerving. It cannot go both ways.
If we want to be honest with ourselves, so much more needs to be eliminated or at least toned down. Trees-real or fake (although I think Jesus would especially dislike plastic trees)-, lights, presents, and perhaps even music need to be examined. What are their purposes? Is this honoring Jesus? Maybe in some way it is, but know how. Know that these actions aren't just "tradition". Although very meaningful and a way to grow closer with friends and family, traditions cannot become false idols. We cannot begin to worship the way we decorate a pine tree or the arrangement of light bulbs on our gutters.
Perhaps I've attacked a few sacred cows here. Well good. We cannot toss the celebration of Jesus' birth into the fire of secular life, worship what comes out, and then blame the fire for "missing the point." We've created this monster. Yes, we need to take back Christmas. But we need to take it back from ourselves.
