We Christians like to lament the "secularization" of Christmas. But what if we were to empower ourselves and each other and look at it from a different way? It occurs to me that Christmas is a sacred holiday and that, no matter how hard the enemy tries, it can never be secularized. That is because it remains sacred in the hearts of believers.
It has been incredibly commercialized, but I think we should look upon that as an evangelistic opportunity. When we see Santa Claus, SAINT Nicholas, Father Christmas, or the other names by which he is commonly known, instead of lamenting him as some sort of idolatrous manifestation, perhaps we could look at him as a popular iconic representation of Jesus Christ. Santa is commonly depicted as dressed in red and associated with giving gifts. Is that not a perfect opportunity to speak of Jesus Christ, whose birthday is celebrated as Christmas Day? Jesus is the ULTIMATE Giver of the Ultimate Gift, which is Eternal Life. Just as Santa's suit is red, we should remember the precious blood that Jesus shed so we might all have a right to that Eternal Life.
In a popular Christmas song, children are told that Santa will find out who's been naughty or nice, much as Christians are told there will be an ultimate judgement. Santa is often said to come to our homes through a chimney, which reminds me of the fact that our Divine Christ had to enter into a sinfilled world, taking on human form, in order to give us this Ultimate Gift.
Christmas time is filled with lights. Rather than decry the commercialism, we should be reminded that Jesus is the light of the world. Likewise, when we see the Christmas tree, it should remind us that Our Savior hung on a tree for the salvation of the world.
This re-attaching of sacred symbolism to "secularized" Christmas objects is not new. Consider the popular story of the candy cane. The story goes that the white in the candy cane symbolizes Jesus' sinless nature, the hardness of the candy symbolizes the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God. The candy is shaped in the form of a "J," either to represent Jesus (if you speak English) or to represent a Shepherd's staff. The smaller stripes on the candy represent Jesus' stripes by which we are healed, and the large stripe represents the Blood that was shed on Calvary. Lately, there have been many variations on this story, and there are debunkers who denounce as untrue the theory that a candy maker created the candy cane and intentionally adopted the above symbolism. At the end of the day, to me, at least, it does not matter whether the candy was intentionally created with that symbolism -- it matters that the symbolism exists and can be used as a tool for sharing the message and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
I see the same opportunities with other popular Christmas images. The air of excitement and anticipation we see and feel during the Christmas season is (or should be) a direct reflection of the joy and excitement felt in the hearts of Christians as we anticipate the coming of our New Born King!
It seems we have choices. We can sit back and complain about how commercial Christmas has become, and how people focus more on Santa than on Jesus, or how "Christ", "Jesus" and "Lord" are seldom used when speaking about the holiday that celebrates His Birth -- OR we can re-co-opt the Christmas symbols and use them to continue spreading the Good News and telling the Christmas Story.
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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