Taking Back Christmas
The world is a very different place than it was when some 40 years ago. Everything moves faster, and that includes the lead-up to Christmas. Years ago, Christmas tree shops and lots didn’t start popping up until the beginning of December. Several years ago, it seemed that Thanksgiving was barely put to bed before fake Christmas trees were in every drugstore and retail chain.
A few years ago, Halloween merchandise was fighting for shelf space with Christmas decorations. Now it looks like that before long, the Fourth of July half-off sales will be competing with “Christmas pre-holiday” specials. Yes, retailers, are anxious to plump up their bottom lines, want to extend the holiday sales season to maximize the period during which people are focused on spending—so they inch up the holiday sales season bit by bit to accomplish this. But in the midst of all that inching, some of the magic of Christmas wears away.
Part of what makes Christmastime so special is that it only happens once a year—the little kids in us fondly remember the agony and the ecstasy of waiting for Christmas to finally, finally come! That abbreviated time period was magical because it was here for a few glorious weeks and gone almost before you knew it. Having Christmas on the shelves for at least a quarter of the year detracts from that specialness, not to mention that the constant ringing of the cash register has taken the emphasis off the “Christ” in Christ-mas. Let’s not forget the reason for the season!
Read MoreOrigin of the Christmas Tree
When did Christians first begin using pine trees as a symbol of Christmas? This is a long debated argument, with fact and legend intertwined to give us a variety of answers. An easier question to ask is when did artificial pine trees, or fake Christmas trees, come into use.
Many sources indicate that Germany was the first country to use and decorate pine trees, sans lights, in the sixteenth century, around the year 1521. Legend had it that Martin Luther was the first to set up a lighted Christmas tree, but this is mostly unsubstantiated. Scholars point out that in the eleventh century, Europeans performed “Paradise plays,” using a Paradise tree as a symbol of Adam and Eve, and their departure from the Garden of Eden.
One thing is for certain; the tree was used as a religious symbol honoring the birth of Jesus Christ. But with the commercialism of the holiday during the early 20th Century, it has lost most of its religious meaning.
Boss Creations about two years ago unveiled the Christ-mas tree in an attempt to renew the religious connection between the holiday and Jesus Christ’s birth. The Boss Creations campaign for the restoration of Christmas as a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ used social networking, such as Facebook and Twitter, to get the message out that they were selling artificial pine trees, named “Christ-mas” trees for this exact purpose.
Read MoreMerry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Seasons Greetings
Over last ten years, cities, communities, and school districts in the U.S. have banned religious holidays symbols – Christmas trees, nativity scenes, etc. – from being displayed in their Capitols, town squares, and school properties. Companies have gone from sending out Christmas cards to wishing people a happy holiday or the ubiquitous “Seasons Greetings.”
For example, in 2010, a school in Seminole County, Florida banned just about everything associated with Christmas; in 2009, in Washington State, there was a government-mandated removal of Christmas and Hanukkah symbols and displays at the Capitol Building; and in Maplewood, New Jersey in 2004 schools banned instrumental-only versions of Christmas carols, while the school district of Mustang, Oklahoma banned the annual Christmas pageant; in Baldwin City, Kansas, in 2003 “Santa Claus visits” were banned from schools while in Indianapolis, Indiana, Christmas trees were banned from a law school campus; in Covington, Georgia in 2002, the word “Christmas” was banned from the school calendar; in Plano, Texas in 2001, the school district banned the colors red and green; and in 2000 in Eugene, Oregon, Christmas trees were banned from municipal offices.
Some blame the atheists for this effort to un-do Christmas. Some blame the liberals, saying there is a concerted plot to ban the sacred Christian holiday.
Yet more Christian groups are fighting back and making some inroads, whether it’s a community leader retiring as a result of backlash based on a decision to “ban” Christmas, or schools reversing their stance. As we approach the holiday season, the issue of whether schools and governments can/should display religious symbols comes to the forefront, with the debate in full force on both sides.
So this year will it be Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, or Seasons Greetings for you and your town and school districts? Will there be real Christmas trees? Fake Christmas trees? Or no Christmas trees at all lighting your downtown communities?
Read MorePutting the Spirit Back in Christmas
It’s already starting – the further commercialization of Christmas. Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) is being promoted on television, on-line, in the papers – everywhere you go – in mid-November. And this year retailers such as Target, Toys “R” Us, Macy’s, and others are racing to advertise deals and their extended hours. In fact, many of the major retailers will open at midnight or earlier on Thanksgiving!
Just turn on the radio and you’ll hear Christmas carols through the airwaves – all in an effort to get people in the spirit of buying. It seems that every year we move further and further away from what Christmas is all about – the celebration of the birth of Christ. Instead it’s about that long list of toys (whether for kids or adults) that everyone wants.
Even our Christmas trees for the most part lack any religious symbols – except for the obligatory angel gracing the top of the tree. They’ve become holiday trees, which is why Boss Creations in 2009 designed a Christ-mas Tree that has a cross in the center of it. This Christ-mas Tree was in response to people’s frustration over the secularization of the holiday and an effort to remind individuals about what we’re celebrating.
Whether we have real trees or fake Christmas trees with gifts underneath waiting to be unwrapped, let’s try to remember what this time of the year means to Christians all over the world. It’s not only about the gifts under the tree, the lights in the windows, the cards in the mail, dinners with family and friends, snow in the yard, stockings hanging in the living room. It’s a season of great joy – a time for God to show His great love for us. It can be a time of healing and renewed strength. Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of Christ, who brought great joy to the world. When we remember this, we help to put the spirit back in Christmas.
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