Each Christmas for the more than 70 years that I can remember, there has always been some cranky-pants Christian who will make the whiny comment that, “Well, they have taken Christ out of Christmas…again.” The comment always comes as a disparaging criticism of the commercialization of Christmas as well as the completely secularized celebration of the birthday of Jesus. Humbug.
From the perspective of a pastoral ministry that spanned over 40 years, I spent the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas Day immersed in writing – and then leading – worship services preparing for the birth of Jesus as well as the all-consuming effort of designing and leading the highly anticipated candlelight services on Christmas Eve. Christ was never out of it and the experiences were wonderful.
Except for Bobby Helms 1957, “Jingle Bell Rock” and the 1964 recording of Eydie Gorme singing “Happy Holidays,” I have been most grateful for, and spiritually warmed by, all the Christmas trappings that are outside of the church experience which contribute to the joy of this happy season.
The pervasive lament by cranky-pants Christians that Christ has been removed from what they believe to be an exclusively holy season is as uninformed by history as is the disingenuous culture war now being waged to restore a Christian America that never existed in the first place.
For the first nearly four hundred years of Christianity, Jesus’ birthday was not even widely observed. If, when, and where Christmas was observed, there was little unanimity on the date of his birth.
Around 400 AD, the month of December was voted by the religious authorities as the month of Jesus’ birth. In addition, the formal celebration of Christmas to be observed on 25th was set in place because it seemed like a good time to pair it with Roman End of Year festivals and the joys of Jewish Hanukkah feasts.
Regardless, from those ancient times until the 1600’s in Western Culture, Christ was out of Christmas often. So much so that the birthday was not even observed at all for centuries. Then, finally when a growing number of people wanted to have a break from dark days and nights as an occasion to be joyous about life, a Christmas observance in late December began to be seen by more and more folks as a pretty good idea.
But even then, there were the ubiquitous cranky-pants Christians such as Protestant, Puritan prudes labeling Christmas as nothing more than an invention by catholic popes. The infesting spirit of self-righteous exclusion and condemnation never sees a holiday it likes.
The holiday history goes on and thankfully the Puritans did not have their way. So, here we are today with an enormously varied Christmas observance that includes wonderfully rich and happy traditions by remarkably diverse and engagingly happy people.
It is all because no matter what, expressions of joy, hope, happiness, and good cheer have a way of breaking out of dull, human litanies. Good cheer cannot be repressed for very long. We need such times. We need such times to affirm that whether born in a manger or other poor places or even amidst great privilege, the birth of a child should be a joyful, blessed, and hope-filled moment.
After all, we certainly get enough of the sad and tragic moments along with all manner of examples that life is thought cheap, like Putin bombing hospital maternity wards. The 24-hour news cycle chronicles real-life hate and horror with unrelenting efficiency.
So like Charles Dickens voiced though Tiny Tim, “God Bless us, everyone” in this diversely celebrated and observed holiday season. My advice to Cranky-pants Christians or all others voicing humbug, “Find an empty stocking and stuff it.”
The opportunity to put Christ in Christmas or just light a candle as an affirmation of hope, love, meaning, kindness, peace, and joy in these late December days, is as it has always been, up to us.