Putting Christ in Christmas, the Red Cup Controversay, and Why It Doesn't Matter

Looking back at my very sporadic blog postings I see the holidays seem to be a dominate theme.

Thanksgiving Thoughts….

“Holiday” Thoughts

Which Christmas do you Celebrate?

Which Christmas to you Celebrate? Revisited

I find myself suddenly pulled back to this topic as I see the first “Put Christ back in Christmas” posts and of course all the fuss about Starbuck’s red cups and the “War on Christmas”.  You can read my past posts to get a feel for my general feelings on this topic and how they have changed over time.

As a Christian I find myself terribly conflicted by my reactions when these statements and controversies flare up.  I’m conflicted because I want to yell back at those folks.  I want to tell them to get over themselves.  I want to tell them that the Christmas they think they’re defending has precious little to do with Christ.  I want to tell them that aggressively insisting people celebrate the holidays in a way that that doesn’t impact their expectations isn’t terribly Christian.

Of course reacting like that is being guilty of the thing I’m complaining about.

It also isn’t very Christian per my understanding of Christianity.  It certainly isn’t very loving and is only being of service in a very aggressive interpretation of that term.

So I’ll take a deep breath and try to find a better response.

What is Christmas?

In this case I’m not interested in talking about the secular holiday or the mercantile holiday.  I am talking about the religious celebration.

I will start with the negative.

Christmas is not:

1.       Presents under the tree

2.       Decorated trees, other borrowed pagan symbols, or any other decoration

3.       Family gatherings

4.       Christmas Carols and other holiday music.

5.       TV Christmas specials

6.       Christmas pageants

7.       Christmas cards and letters

8.       A chance to celebrate backing the right horse and winning a get out of hell free card.

I could go on, but I think the point is made.  There are many things that delight us about the holiday.  There are many things that put is in a joyous mood.   I’m not saying they aren’t important, but they have nothing to do with the religious holiday.

All too often those are things that are really bothering people when they talk about the war on Christmas.  

So what is at the core of this holiday?  What do we need to keep our eye on to avoid getting distracted when others go about this holiday in different fashion?

For me what’s central to Christmas is very simple.

Christmas is a promise.  Not just a promise that something very special happened 2000 years ago.  It’s a promise that something very special is still going on today.

Yes, there’s music that’s particularly meaningful to me.  Yes, there’s one particular Christmas show I watch every year.  Yes, I’ll do everything I can to spend time with my family and friends.  And yes, there will be some negative impact on my mood if those things don’t happen.

But none of that changes the promise.

May the promise be in your heart through the whole season, and may its presence heighten your joys and carry you through the lows.