Hopefully that title got your attention. Now that it's December, you can find articles galore about the "war on Christmas" and many will argue that we need to "keep Christ in Christmas." Often what they are referring to is the use of the phrase "Happy Holidays," which they say denies the real "reason for the season."
Christmas has been corrupted and watered down, just as Christianity has. Just as there is now a brand of American Christianity, we have a corresponding American Christmas. Both are a bit more selfish and secular, taking elements from the Prosperity Gospel and capitalism.
The commercialization of Christmas isn't really something I lose sleep over. While I don't really think it's appropriate to take a religious holiday and try to turn it into a cash cow, it only works because we fall for it. If it's the job of companies to make a profit, there really isn't anything wrong with selling us stuff. Plus, spending creates tax revenue, which provides money for programs for many citizens in need. And having an active economy is generally a good thing. Some people practice secular Christmas, doing all the decorating and shopping while holding no beliefs about God or Jesus. That's not really a threat to Christmas either.
The real "war on Christmas" is happening from within. It is happening by those same people who want to put "Christ back in Christmas." Some have called it- "the sentimentalization of Christmas." We say that Christmas is about family, hope, joy, peace, and giving. But the problem is that is a lie. Christmas is the Feast of the Incarnation.
Christmas is not a season for giving, it is a season for receiving; namely for receiving Jesus into our world and lives. This is what Emmanuel (Hebrew for "God with us") is all about. It's not that we made a manger for God and said, "hey, come down and join us." No, it's that God disrupted us (and mostly Mary) by coming. God did not come for us to give a glimpse into what it's like to be a human. But rather, we receive through the Incarnation. We received a closer glimpse of God, teachings, and Resurrection, all because of the events of Christmas.
The "war on Christmas" has nothing to do with the use of the phrase "Happy Holidays," but instead the false premise that Christmas is a season of giving. Christmas is a season of receiving. Receiving God's presence in our lives. Receiving God's grace and God's dream.
How we respond to what we receive makes all the difference. And it makes a difference what story we tell. Do we focus on the (fictional and created by marketing strategists) modern-day Santa Claus who is all about giving gifts to good children (suggesting that you can earn things such a love or grace)? Do we tell the story of industry and consumerism in the narrative of the North Pole workshop? Do we tell the story elves on shelves who decide whether or not we are "worthy" of a gift? The story of joy being equated with presents piled high? The story of a family gathering where all the children are consumed with screens instead of spending time with family? A story about spending money and rushing around frantically to get it all done?
Or do we focus on another story? We could instead focus on the story of Jesus' birth, which I think is a good enough story on it's own, no need to supplement it with reindeer or wish lists. Instead of focusing on wanting what we don't have (and don't often really need), we could focus on what we have received already. And then we can respond in a very incarnational way, by showing that love of God to those who truly need it- the poor, the captive, the homeless. We can even respond by telling this story of God's love by giving in the same way that God showed us love. God came by giving of the self- what if our gifts were relational? Instead of just buying stuff, what if we made our gifts, or gave the gift of time and memories? What if we told the story of Jesus on Christmas instead of the story of Santa?
The war on Christmas is that we've sentimentalized it, turned it into something it's not. It's no different that what has happened to Christianity in general in America. Christianity isn't about personal salvation, going to heaven when you die, or getting your blessings through faithful living- but many American Christians hold that belief. In the same way, Christmas is not about love, or joy, or peace, or any of those other sentimentalized ideas, nor is it about giving. Instead, Christmas is about Jesus, and it's about receiving him. It's easy to get that mixed up in our world of mixed messages and advertising, and, at least in my opinion, that's the real war on Christmas.
