The Glory Of ChristmasSample

Yuletide Myths

In the twentieth century, many Jews arrived in America as immigrants and refugees, determined to make a place for themselves in the land of the free and contribute to the well-being of the country. In assimilating into American culture, they needed to figure out whether or how to celebrate Christmas. Unsurprisingly, artists took the lead. Christmas was too American to ignore and asserting their Jewishness in the entertainment industry had only limited appeal. So instead of insisting that people not wish them Merry Christmas or sitting out the holiday in sullen resentment, they invented a new set of Christmas traditions based on winter and snow and Santa Claus and created new Christmas myths that would not be threatening to the religious or non-religious sentiments of non-Christians. 

They wrote monster hit songs like “Winter Wonderland,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “White Christmas,” “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” “Let It Snow,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire,” “Silver Bells,” and “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” They created new myths like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman. All in all, they created a secular way to celebrate Christmas.

So, what should a Christian’s response look like? Paul offers a key: “Everything is pure to those whose hearts are pure.” As Christians, we should be well aware of our indebtedness to Jews for everything they have contributed to our lives. Celebrating winter and snow and sleigh bells and family certainly count as purehearted things. Charming moral stories like Frosty and Rudolph do no harm. Unlike the Cretan Christians of old who took religious myths seriously, no one takes the children’s myths of Christmas seriously.

Christian leaders since the first century have recognized that followers of Jesus have no choice but to participate in the cultures they live in. While evil must be rejected, harmless things can be enjoyed. Ensuring that Jesus receives honor at Christmas does not depend on whether the entertainment industry or secular people celebrate the birth of Jesus or remain silent at Christmas. It depends upon Christians showering their neighbors with love and friendship, so that everyone knows and enjoys our observation of the real reason for the season.

O Father of our Lord and Savior, season our lives with love and grace so that as we celebrate Jesus this year at Christmas, we should be worthy to be seen as the sweetest and most affectionate of people. Let all sour attitudes fall away, all rivalries cease, all bitterness fade. Make us living testimonies of the love for all people that moved you to send Christ into the world. In Jesus’ name, amen.