Well, the run up to Christmas has certainly begun in earnest!
First of all the hotel Christmas Trees appeared in late October for the
famous 'Turkey and Tinsel' breaks.Then the TV ads began - one after the
other offering all kinds of Christmas foodstuffs and potential presents
of all kinds - so many of them that I don't think anyone could possibly
remember which was which! Then the Christmas lights started to get
switched on in town centres all over the land - and at the time of
writing Advent hasn't even begun yet! One blessing though - I have yet
to hear my first 'Merry Xmas Everybody' of the season - I'm referring
of course to the song by the group Slade - which I have to say is one
of my least favourite of all songs ever and which seems to sum up the
banality of much that passes for the celebration of this important
festival.
Well, I sound a bit like a grumpy old man which is, what Gaynor would
probably tell you I truly am! A bit of a kill joy you might say.
Actually I'm much more laid back about the abuse of Christmas by the
commercial and entertainment worlds than I used to be - it's such an
expected part of this time of year these days that it doesn't really
bother me anymore. And in a way as a parish we are 'offenders'
ourselves by having a Christmas Fayre in the middle of November!
I just thought I would begin my December letter in this way to
illustrate a common feeling among Christians that Christmas has been
hijacked by popular culture as well as by commerce. This feeling leads
to campaigns such as the worthy 'Put Christ back into Christmas'
campaign.At the recent CytOn Conference on the subject of RE in schools
the speaker - Philip Lord - told us that many of the young people in
our schools wouldn't mention the birth of Christ if you were to ask
them what was the meaning of Christmas.At least not until after they
had mentioned lots of other things!
However before we get too firmly fixed on our high horses about all
this perhaps we need to remember that 'Christmas' had a pagan origin
and was celebrated as a Midwinter Festival long before the Church
'baptised' it, and made it the celebration of the birth of Christ.
These pagan roots never completely went away which is why the Puritans
of the 17th century were always suspicious of Christmas and wanted to
abolish it. One might say that in this post-Christian age the pagan
element has simply re-asserted itself.
What then should our attitude to all this be as faithful Christians for
whom the birth of Christ is so precious, so central to our thoughts and
feelings at this time of year? Well firstly 'don't panic!' Let the
world have its pagan Christmas. We can't stop it even if we wanted to.
And let's be honest - we enjoy quite a lot of it ourselves. But as part
of the 'Christmas package', mixed in with all the other stuff - Santa,
reindeer, snowmen, Bing Crosby (and Slade!) songs, eating and drinking,
presents, parties etc etc - the story of the birth of the Saviour of
the world is still there at the heart of it all.
After all, the name - Christmas - is there to remind everyone that this
is indeed the celebration of the ChristMass, the Mass or Eucharist of
the birth of Christ the Word made Flesh. The carols, the cribs the
church bells and so much more remind everyone of the event which we
believe to be pivotal in the history of our world. Even the most
'pagan' of people is likely to pause in the midst of his or her
celebrations to wonder with John Betjeman:
And is it true? And is it true, This most tremendous tale of all, Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,
A baby in an ox's stall: The make of the stars and sea Become a child on earth for me?
(Christmas)
So, yes, we must do our best to put Christ back into Christmas. But the
best thing of all, I think, is to let the story itself, which still
speaks powerfully at the heart of the modern 'Christmas package', do
its quiet work in the minds and hearts of the men and women of our
communities.
Some of them may indeed turn aside to kneel in silent wonder with
shepherds and Magi and the crib of the Lord of all the earth.
