|
I am a “Merry Christmas” guy rather than a “Happy
Holidays” person, but no matter what you are the rituals of the
season are in full swing.
On the cultural front, debate rages over which new
Christmas movie is the worst. My money’s on “Bad Santa,” in which
Billy Bob Thornton may have succeeded in out-weirding himself. That
sets the bar high, though my daughter thinks “Elf” may be a
contender; her review boils down to “lame and clichéd.” Coming from
someone who thinks “Dude, Where’s My Car?” is the epitome of modern
filmmaking, that’s harsh.
In economics, televised talking heads predict the
biggest travel season since September 11 and bicker over whether
Christmas sales will be up or down. I saw my first store displays
in September, so retailers are doing their part. Consumers are
gearing up too; one die-hard shopper, knocked to the ground and
trampled during a day-after-Thanksgiving sale at a Florida Wal-Mart,
was found clutching a $29 DVD player under her unconscious body.
That is a heck of a bargain. I hope she got to keep it,
assuming paramedics were able to extract the thing.
The president’s surprise Thanksgiving Day visit with
U.S. troops in Baghdad is the top political story of the season as
pundits decide whether the trip was a morale boost for our men and
women in arms or a cheap publicity stunt. Some even believe the
trip will be a major issue in the 2004 presidential race, which if
true would mean we are almost out of issues. Good news indeed.
Then there’s all that “a child is born, peace on earth,
goodwill to men” stuff, but who has the time? Doing battle at the
shopping mall (“maul” might be the better spelling), getting those
all-important cards mailed to people we haven’t seen in years, and
attending parties with folks with whom we associate only because we
have the same employer doesn’t leave much room for anything else.
Christmas hasn’t always been like this, but American
ingenuity does tend to overcomplicate things. For instance, there
is a story circulating on the Internet that NASA spent millions of
dollars during the early years of manned space flight inventing a
pen that could write in zero gravity, from any angle, and in frozen
temperatures beyond the earth’s atmosphere. After months of
development the ideal space-age writing instrument was created.
The Russians used a pencil.
I have no idea whether the story is true but it should
be. It is also a perfect metaphor for what we have done to
Christmas.
The idea of Christmas – and I mean Christmas, not “the
holidays” – is pretty straightforward. Literally “Christ’s Mass,”
from the Old English “Cristes Maesse,” the birth of Jesus was first
celebrated around 200 AD. There was feasting, but other than that
most of us wouldn’t recognize the observance from what it has
become.
To truly celebrate the birth of Jesus is to celebrate
his life and why he came to give it. It has nothing to do with Game
Boys, greeting cards, or parties and everything to do with his love
of people, his desire to serve, and his yearning for all to know the
truth he offered. This can be followed 365 days a year and needn’t
cost a dime.
Please do not send emails arguing Jesus was born during
the summer or that December 25 was originally some pagan festival or
another. His exact birth date is just a day on the calendar and
people are free to celebrate any pagan festival they wish.
Christmas means something because Christ means something.
So have a merry Christmas. I wish you the best the
season truly offers.
|
