Christmas is a secular holiday, and that’s ok. I still love it. I remember as a child seeing the use of Xmas, an abbreviated form of the word Christmas. It was seen as the work of satan, and was met with cries of “keep Christ in Christmas!” Little did they know the X was the Greek letter, chi, which was often used to represent Christ.
Xmas = Christmas
The Catholic church, who created the liturgical calendar, placed the remembrance of Advent during the month of December, a known period of celebration of the sun (the star in the center of our solar system) being reborn, since the daylight decreases each day until the winter solstice, then begins to increase each day after. This practice dates back to a time before the birth of Jesus. Giving Christians an alternative seemed like a practical thing to do. However, this secular celebration did not look anything like our Western celebration of Christmas.
Christmas as we know it today is a relatively new thing. Many of the “traditions” of Christmas were only started within the past 200 years or so. Christmas was declared a national holiday in the United States in 1870. Before that, it was just another day for most. In contrast, the birth of Christ (Advent) has been celebrated for the past 2000+ years.
Before you decide that I have forsaken my faith (some of you may have already decided that), please hear the point of all of this. For me, I have arrived at a place where I can embrace both without any feelings of guilt or condemnation. I celebrate Advent (or Christmas if you prefer) to remember the miraculous process of God (the Word) becoming flesh living among us in order to “show” us the Father. Jesus personified the Godhead and provided a way for us to get back to our origin; to once again know the Creator as a Friend, One we can “walk in the garden in the cool of the day” with, just like Adam and Eve did.
I can celebrate Advent with spiritual fervor while wearing an ugly Christmas sweater, watching a Hallmark movie, drinking eggnog, sitting by a decorated tree. I don’t see them as mutually exclusive. All the trappings of the “holiday” (which literally means “holy day”) do not diminish my faith as a Christian, nor does it dilute my love and worship for the God who provided salvation at Advent.
I fully understand there are some who only celebrate the holiday and not the holy day, but deriding them or ridiculing them will not change that. The way for them to know the wonder of Advent is not do dismiss the tinsel and lights, but to introduce them to the One who brings wonder to life every day, not just at Christmas.
So, chill out when your neighbor’s decorative lights keep you up at night. Don’t fret over the money others spend on gifts for their family and friends. Don’t chastise others for saying “happy holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas”. Keep the peace and joy which Christ brings to your heart and share it with others you meet along the way. It might wind up as a win-win for both you and them.
