December 5, 2004

KEEPING CHRISTMAS

For years there has been a statement: “Let’s keep Christ in Christmas.” It was a very good idea. It was a response to the commercialization of Christmas and to all kinds of celebrations of the winter holiday, which had nothing to do with the birth of The Messiah. It is perhaps important to know that the exact date on which our Divine Savior was born is not recorded in the Gospel. For this reason, the very ancient Church selected the birthday of the sun to be the day of the celebration of the Nativity of Christ. It was meant to “baptize” what was a pagan celebration. Unfortunately, to some degree, it failed, and failed completely in modern times. In the course of my lifetime, I have seen Christmas become more and more secularized; more and more moved away from the celebration of the Birth of the Messiah.

Now, with a plea for interreligious understanding and not offending people, we are getting “Seasons Greeting,” and all sorts of other circumlocutions around the word “Christmas.” Even more, is a lack of any reference to the birth of our Lord in songs, celebrations, games and gifts. What should the good Christian do?

This is a time to assert your Christianity. Remind people that it is Christ’s Feast day. If stores have up holiday greetings, tell the manager that you are a little offended that it doesn’t say: “Happy Christmas.” If you get ads for commercial products and they just speak about “the holidays,” write them a letter. The worst offenders, of course, are the media. On television, all kinds of nonsense will be on to mark Christmas, but to mark it as a non-religious holiday. Let’s get together and really remind them that Christmas is the birthday of Christ. Nobody is going to do it but you and I. We are the people who care enough to try to keep Christ in Christmas. You don’t have to be rich to do this, you just have to be persistent with your internet and other ways of contacting people.

Fr. Benedict Groeschel
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