Respecting Tradition
December is a month of anticipation within our culture, leading up to Christmas on December 25. Everywhere we are inundated with ‘seasonal’ music and decorations, frequently designed to encourage people to spend money on gifts.
But there’s more to Christmas than commercialism. Christmas refers to the birth of Jesus Christ, who is accepted by Christians as the Son of God, born on Christmas Day, crucified on Good Friday and resurrected on Easter Sunday. The holiday is tied to a specific event in history that is celebrated in December. There are many who don’t believe Christ is God, believing instead he was a prophet or wise man, but there is no dispute he is the reason for the season.
There are other holidays in December of course, such as Hanukkah, but they have not had the same impact on our society as Christmas. Our tradition of gift giving began with the first Christmas and the gifts of the Magi and continued through the work of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) in the fourth century to our Christmas gift-giving today.
That is why it seems well-meaning but rather misguided to replace the sending of Christmas cards with ‘holiday’ cards, or to wish someone ‘happy holidays’ or ‘season’s greetings’ instead of saying ‘Merry Christmas.’ It looks like an attempt to avoid the fact that Christmas is about Christ, as if bringing his name into it somehow makes many people uncomfortable.
The message of Christmas, of ‘peace on earth and good will to all’ remains just as universal today as when it was first proclaimed. There is no reason to remove Christ from Christmas. Save the ‘happy holidays’ for a different time of year.
What do you think?
Please join us for our Christmas Open House at
9111-118 Ave. Wednesday, Dec. 19th 3-7pm