Celebrating Christmas

Increasingly over the past couple of decades we see screeds against the Scrooges who attempt to take the celebration of Christmas out of the “holiday season”. This year there is even a book out called The War On Christmas, by John Gibson.

Why the complaints, articles, blogs, and books? Because there is a concentrated effort to force political correctness (as defined by those who are averse to offending anyone except Christians) and substitute anything in place of overt Christianity in the public square.

This is why we see “Winter Festivals”, “Holiday Festivals”, and “Holiday Trees” in school or public celebrations of the season; and it’s why we hear “Happy Holidays”, “Seasons Greetings”, and other supposedly non-offensive terms in place of “Merry Christmas”.

This week I heard a brilliant response to employees in stores who are instructed to avoid saying “Merry Christmas”, even though retail stores typically count on about a quarter of their annual sales coming from people buying Christmas presents (or are they “holiday presents”?). Here a polite but assertive Christian who is offended by the hijacking of our Holy Days for overtly secular and politically correct “holidays” makes the point.

Store employee: “Happy Holidays”.
Christian customer: “Oh, what holiday is it?”
Store employee: “Uh, Christmas, I suppose.”
Christian customer: “Well, then, Merry Christmas to you.”

Slightly less polite perhaps is a more subtle reference to the wonderful Christmas story starring James Stewart, “It’s a Wonderful Life”. In that movie is the line, “…every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.” In the modern retort to “Happy Holidays” one says, “Don’t you know that every time someone says ‘Happy Holidays’ an elf dies”.

I like the more positive approach myself. Since the ‘reason for the season” is to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, and the name of the major holiday in the United States is Christmas, let’s keep the name of the season and celebrate the Name of the Savior.

And, in celebrating the true meaning of the season, I’m in favor of singing Christmas carols as much as possible—and religious ones at that. Here are some that most Christians, and many non-Christians, know:

Angels We Have Heard On High
Angels, From The Realms Of Glory
Away In A Manger
Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus
Go, Tell It On The Mountain
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Infant Holy, Infant Lowly
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
Joy To the World! The Lord Is Come
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Silent Night, Holy Night
The First Noel The Angel Did Say
There’s A Song In The Air
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks

We can sing those with feeling and conviction. Some more secular Christmas songs may be fun and nostalgic, but hardly have the same message. How many of us really know how fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh? And songs about Santa Claus may be exciting for children, but the message is more about gifts than The Gift.

There are definitely occasions when we have to stand up to those who will supplant Christmas with secular and commercial greetings, so let’s do it with grace, and love, and peace, and goodwill toward all. Politely, but firmly, make it a merry Christmas indeed.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good life!