rethinking christmas

In the days leading up to and following Christmas Brooke and I have had several conversations regarding the observance (or at least the traditional Western observance) of this holiday. The basic gist of these conversations is that we don’t like it. We have talked through how we might approach Christmas if and when we have children.

We have been in agreement since before we were married that we would never teach our children to believe in Santa Claus. This isn’t because we want to be stingy grinch-ish parents. We would never push other parents not to indulge their children in the fable of the jolly fat man. However, to us it seems a bit dangerous to encourage our children to believe in and have faith in an imaginary being. I realize that for almost everyone this is just a bit of well-intended fun but just because it’s fun doesn’t mean that it’s healthy for the development of children. In a sense, aren’t we teaching our children that belief in people you can’t see, and who are said to perform miraculous feats, is something you can cling to while young and naïve but it should ultimately be outgrown? How much of a leap would it be for a generation of former Claus followers to determine that Jesus is just a grown-up version of Santa? How much of a leap would this be since we hear more about Santa than Jesus during the holiday that supposedly celebrates the birth of Jesus?

My other issue with the whole Santa enterprise is that children (and all too often, adults) are being encouraged to behave properly because of what it will get them. I don’t have children, but when I do I want them to obey me because they love me not because they want to get something from me (or Santa). God wants us to act properly because we love him and because it is the truly human way to act. I also don’t want my children to think that if they are naughty I won’t love them anymore or that I will withhold the gifts of my love. I am a person who is naughty instead of nice everyday. In spite of this God forgives me, accepts me, and lavishes me with his love. I want my children to know that God and I love them in the midst of their most broken, rebellious, naughty moments.

Though I have other issues with him, I’ll leave Santa alone for now. Ultimately I think he is merely the observable symptom of a larger disease that has infected our observance of Christmas. The celebration of Christ’s birth on December 25th came about in an attempt to supplant pagan celebrations on or around the same day. In our times a more virulent form of idolatry has supplanted the Christian observance of Christmas. It seems to me that the god most worshiped on December 25th is the Western deity named Materialism. Brooke and I have both lamented our allegiance to this false god. Though we have tried to leave the church of greed we have found it difficult since the rites and rituals of this faith have been inculcated in us since our youth.

Brooke and I are wrestling with all of this and are struggling to determine what a faithful yet gracious response should be. It is almost certain that Jesus was not born anywhere near December 25th and even if he were there is no biblical command to set apart a holy-day in order to observe his birth. Part of the difficulty in responding to what we perceive as problems with Christmas is that we don’t want to alienate friends and family members who like the present form of Christmas. We also don’t want to suggest that there is anything wrong with exchanging gifts. So how should we proceed?

We’ve talked about the possibility of only giving one gift or just not practicing gift-giving on Christmas. Some friends of ours have mentioned the idea of giving their children three gifts because Jesus received three gifts from the wise men. We’ve discussed the idea of asking relatives to put any money they would spend on presents into a college fund for our children. We could observe December 25th as Annual Present Day and simply celebrate Christmas on another day. We could continue with Christmas the way it is and just try to add in more time for teaching, thought, and reflection on the birth of Christ. The only thing that’s not an option is ignoring our conscience on this issue.

I put this blog post up with much fear and trembling. I tremble not only because I realize I have probably not communicated as clearly as I would have liked in this long post but also because I realize how easy it would be to misconstrue these words as the ramblings of a miserly joy-killer or as the ultimate bah-humbug. They are not intended to be so. As a Christian I believe the birth of Jesus is one of the greatest causes for celebration. Too many Christians have promoted and accepted a view of Christian faith that is overly somber, bland, desiccated and lifeless and I would hate for our thoughts on Christmas to reflect this view of Christianity. Wherever we end up on this issue I would hope that our observance of Christmas would promote and inspire more joy, more of a giving mindset, more goodwill, and a more vibrant love in our own lives and in the lives of all those who celebrate the birth of Jesus.

I would really like to hear all of your thoughts on this issue. So please, let the comments begin.