from the archives
December 8, 2018
Welcome, God and All...
In some ways this Advent season began by living up to its predecessors. The ghosts of Christmases Past were serving up the same pablum again with runs of TV movies that started before Halloween, reminders of “Black Friday” specials that ran from the beginning of November through last weekend, and the same old tunes on the radio that have little if anything to do with the anticipated coming of Christ. On the plus side, there had not much beyond the usual social debate over whether to greet others with ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays’, and - so far - there have been no reports of vandalism or thefts at Nativity scenes being put up wherever the bold and the brave are doing so.
I wish I could tell you that this was good news…but this season’s war against Christmas (and by extension, each other) has moved into previously uncharted waters.
-- A contestant family from New Jersey in the 2017 season of ABC’s Great Christmas Light Fight is being fined $3000 per day that the lights are on this season, because of the lack of crowd control. Neighbors insist that the family pay for such control, so any potential emergency might be handled in a proper and organized manner. The family can’t afford this, but rather than shut it down they’ve taken their light fight to court, on First Amendment grounds.
-- A Virginia school district has banned the singing of any holiday music mentioning the name of Jesus - which, if taken to the logical extreme, would ban any song with the word “Christmas” in it.
-- A radio station in Cleveland started the most recent nationwide social debate by banning from its holiday playlist the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” after receiving numerous complaints that the duet sang blissfully about sexual predators and date rape. This last one spawned an avalanche of additional comments about pulling Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer off TV because Mrs. Claus promotes obesity, Santa and other reindeer are bullies, and cries of discrimination because the ‘misfit’ elf Hermie can’t fulfill his dream of becoming a dentist.
--In my home state of Illinois, the holiday display at the state capitol includes a statue belonging to a satanic cult. Now that’s diversity for you!
It brings to mind other things that we should do away with, maybe just out of spite. Who would like to stop hearing Deck The Halls and Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas because each has a ‘gay’ reference? Or Eartha Kitt's classic 1953 holiday hit Santa Baby, covered in 1987 by Madonna, where the venerable Mr. Claus is seen as a ‘sugar daddy’? Not to mention the growing list of seasonal music that I really dislike!
And what about that fruitcake? Seems it’s been taking criticism on the chin for a long time.
Yeah, I’m pretty much convinced that the war against Christmas picked its first battle and won its first victory in modern times by humiliating the fruitcake. My dear departed grandmother would buy one the size of a Bundt cake from Walgreen’s every year and made sure we got it. Now you’re lucky to find one the size of a stick of butter.
The strategy has changed. We’ve grown tired of ‘keeping Christ in Christmas’. The political winds aren’t blowing as strong in that direction this year. Advertisers seem to have backed off the gas pedal a bit; maybe the midterm elections and that we had a full week in November after Thanksgiving have something to do with it; possibly the failure of Sears/Kmart and ToysRUs, coupled with more online shopping is changing the playing field. But the strategy has definitely changed, as one by one, two by three, and 4 for $5, our traditions are being ripped apart.
Traditions (small t) are what we think of when it comes to major events like my concatenated “Hanulfestimazaa.” Should my Jewish friends stop celebrating Hanukkah because the lit menorah is a potential fire hazard? Or because spinning the dreidl is not unlike shooting craps? Should we abandon celebrating the Winter Solstice because it happens to be cloudy on December 21? Or give up on Santa Claus because he can’t give us the gifts we really want? Where’s that fruitcake when you need it???
I’ve barely touched on the Tradition (big and small T) associated with Jesus’ birth. These bear great importance. Lose these, and it’s as if Jesus never came to earth. But the distracting traditions I mention (and a bunch I don’t simply out of time/space consideration) should not be overlooked. They help set a mood…and maybe, if they’re approached with true love and devotion, and prayer, can help light the way toward understanding just one of the reasons “Christ’s Mass” is recognized as one of the biggest events of this or any year.
I know it’s not easy…but please try to overlook the social debate right now. It’s too emotional, and really does threaten to do the one thing the Grinch couldn’t do. Enjoy what you can, when you can, for as long as you can. The pent-up stress of holiday preparation disappears in the smile of a child’s face. Remember that when it’s all over that it’s here and beginning and thriving because “God loved the world so much, that he gave us His only Son, that whoever believes in him might have eternal life” (John 3:16). Otherwise, we may find ourselves with nothing left but an aluminum pole, a long list of grievances, and a closet filled with ugly sweaters.
Until we meet again, may God and God's peace be with you...
+the Phoenix
No comments:
Post a Comment