One More Christmas Blog

 

People celebrate Christmas in a number of ways.  Some are very traditional and celebrate the same way every year.  For others, something a bit different each year is their preference.  To some, Christmas is celebrated as a very religious event, and the birth of Jesus is the central tenet of their season.  Others celebrate Christmas as a very secular event.  Most of us, I suspect, are somewhere in the middle on this.  We happily combine the secular and material side with some adherence to the religious meaning.  How it is celebrated is an individual affair for some people or, more probably, a family affair. 

As with most things, there is some controversy around Christmas, particularly its Christian history.  Some question whether there every was a man named Jesus who was an itinerant preacher.  I am convinced that there was such a man and my conviction is bolstered by a near contemporary of Him, a Jewish historical writer named Josephus who wrote about such a man.  Others question the timing of the Christmas story.  We do not have any written testimony of the actual time of year that the birth took place, just as we do not have any evidence of the time of His death on the cross.  That the dates that we now celebrate these events coincide with pagan celebrations, the winter solstice and spring awakening at Easter, are undoubtedly true, but there may have been a fairly obvious reason for this in the ancient church.  They may have been celebrated in the dark days when early Christians had to hide their faith because of persecution.  To celebrate their holy days to coincide with other events would have given them cover to remain undiscovered and therefore safe. 

There are many things about Christmas other than midnight church, Christmas dinner, family visits and exchanging gifts.  We hear the plea ‘Peace on Earth’ as part of Christmas greetings although it should be a plea all year round.  But to hear it highlighted at this time is very heartening.  In addition we almost all wish people a Merry Christmas or a Seasons Greetings, even strangers.  The feeling of fellowship that permeates this time of year shows that people really can rise to the occasion and have good feeling toward others.  It’s amazing how a smile and a “Merry Christmas” can make the most harried sales clerk feel better.  Oh that that feeling by all people could last the whole year.  But that it does, in general, happen at this time of year is something else to celebrate. 

And then there is Christmas music.  Oh, I know of the shlock that blares at you in malls and stores, but that should not detract us from the really good music at Christmas.  We have traditional Christmas carols which are best heard with a good choir like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir although I always feel that the best rendition of ‘Silent Night’ is by a solo boy soprano (admission – that used to be me when I was young).  There are also some very good popular songs and arrangements.  My favourites include Carly Simon and Willy Nelson’s duet of ‘Pretty Paper’ and Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers’ duet of ‘Once upon a Christmas’ among many more.  Of course I also like Handel’s “Messiah’.  So when the stress of Christmas gets you down, sit down for half an hour and listen to some soothing Christmas music.

So let us go forward and celebrate Christmas as we each see fit.  To my non-Christian friends, I send you Seasons Greetings.  And let’s see if we can extend the good feelings of this season all year round.