Taking Back Christmas
By Kristin Johnson
John Grisham wrote a book called SKIPPING
CHRISTMAS. Amazon.com reports: “John Grisham turns a satirical eye on
the overblown ritual of the festive holiday season, and the result is
Skipping Christmas, a modest but funny novel about the tyranny of
December 25...."
My friend Dessa Byrd Reed, author of the
poetry books THE BUTTERFLY TOUCH and SEVEN BRIDGES, prefers
nontraditional holidays. She wrote in THE DESERT WOMAN that as a widow
she often spends time with friends over the holidays, take trips, or
simply goes out to eat on Christmas (not necessarily turkey). It’s
easy to see why, especially if you grew up with traditional Christmas
expectations of warmth, family, and usually, expressions of faith.
Christmas is under attack in this country. I think it was my high school
AP Government class that asked us about cases involving removing
Nativity scenes from public places. At the risk of revealing my ripe old
age of 32, that was in 1990.
First we had the trend of saying Xmas for
Christmas. Then Christmas sales started way back before Halloween. Now,
the holiday season is more about parties, overeating and drinking, and
commercialism than expressing spirituality, in particular and especially
the Christian faith.
The secularists don’t much like church,
whether because of parents who used religion as an excuse for too-strict
disciplines (or hatred and prejudice), drug trips in the ‘60s, or
fanaticism (never mind that Christ welcomed everyone). This secularist
attitude got wonderful treatment in a recent episode of "Jack &
Bobby" co-created by Brad Meltzer, best-selling author and a
friend.
When we try to kick Christ out of a
holiday named for Him, our society has a problem.
What's been the result of using the
euphemism “holiday” and banning the Nativity? Congress may not be
making any law about the free expression of religion, but the elite
brain trust is acting like the Church of England kicking out the
Puritans. What’s the result? Clashes over religion. Holiday
depression. Loneliness around the holidays, especially in nursing homes.
Suicide.
What's lost among the way? The spirit of
giving. Warmth and compassion. Communion with family, friends and
neighbors. And yes, that pesky expression of faith the secularists on
the far left moan about. Ever notice that when it comes to their free
expression of faith or lack thereof, they scream “racism” or
“[fill in the blank] phobia” whenever Bill O’Reilly or anyone for
that matter dares to pray or remind them that there is a God beyond
their ideology? They accuse Christians of proselytizing but don’t
hesitate to lecture on what is and what is not offensive today.
President George Bush is mocked for his faith, and Senator John Kerry, a
Roman Catholic, seems to have his usual difficulty sticking to a point
on thorny social issues. No wonder the conventional wisdom was always
not to discuss religion and politics, and for whatever God’s sake,
don’t mix the two (even though it happens time and again), and let’s
just all get along and sing carols at Christmas.
It seems that people are rebelling. The
success of "Passion of the Christ," the Da Vinci Code and the
Left Behind Series, as well as “Joan of Arcadia,” “7th Heaven,”
and “Touched by an Angel” indicates a movement in popular culture.
Instead of skipping Christmas, let’s
take back Christmas in our homes and families. Unless your family
members and friends are Orthodox Jews or Muslims, you can celebrate
Christmas with them.
After all, Judaism and Islam recognize
Jesus Christ as a prophet. Every religion celebrates the spirit of
giving, from Kabbalah to Hinduism. We all agree we have too much stuff,
too much food (as our overweight society proves), too much alcohol, too
little kindness, patience and respect. We all want connection, love,
belonging, and a place in the manger.
Top ten tips for taking back Christmas:
1) Make homemade gifts. Skip the malls.
You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to give something from the heart.
2) Invite friends or relatives to dinner
instead of trying to give expensive gifts that no one uses anyway.
3) Don’t roll your eyes when someone
says, “Peace on earth, goodwill toward men.” And for Goddess’
sake, don’t use the “men” part to launch an anti-male rant.
4) Whatever your faith, speak up and say
that Christian-bashing (or bashing of any kind) offends you, especially
around the Christmas season.
5) Get together with friends and family
and make care packages for homeless shelters, nursing homes, etc. Make
that your gift to each other.
6) Call those friends or relatives you
usually avoid talking to. Hearing about your old college roommate’s
third marriage might not thrill you, especially since you can’t get a
word in edgewise, but it’s a good way to give of your time, something
we all feel we don’t have enough of but make for friends anyway.
7) If you’re just dying to cook that
turkey dinner but your parents or mother-in-law insist on doing it THEIR
way, give in. This is not a “me me me” time.
8) Rent or watch “A Charlie Brown
Christmas.” Linus’ recitation of the Bible and the gang’s
rendition of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” could make even Scrooge
smile. And even Lucy van Pelt admits, “Charlie Brown is a blockhead,
but he did get a nice tree.”
9) Take quiet time to think, meditate,
and yes, pray. Consider it the mental vacation to Tahiti you can’t
take because the family has camped out at your house.
10) Appreciate your children’s gifts,
especially the homemade macaroni ornaments. The first gift of Christmas
was a child.
We’ve taken back our streets. We’ve
taken back the night. Let’s all take back Christmas, and we won’t
have to skip it. But if you do feel like skipping Christmas to restore
your faith, do it. The gift of one less stressed grumpy person around
the holidays is priceless.
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