Have we forgotten the meaning of Christmas?
|
But how many children will remember the birth of Jesus Christ this Christmas day? How many will think of the events behind the biggest celebration in our society?
“Most of the holiday season is commercialized. The spirituality is gone,” said Rev. Kenneth Kirby of Victory Free Will Baptist Church. “We need to remember the reason for giving in the first place.”
Kirby has a saying to support his point and he likes it so much, it’s currently the message on his answering machine. It says, “When the last Christmas present is wrapped, there’s still one gift left. It’s the one you should give to Jesus and that is yourself.”
The traditional Christmas celebration we enjoy in America today has seen its share of changes. In the mid-1600s in England, Christmas was a drunken street party that resembled a carnival more than a religious ceremony.
In America, Christmas celebrations were banned as late as 1690, and people were fined if they tried to observe the day. In 1789, Congress met on Christmas ? a practice that would continue for 60 years.
Christmas began to develop its modern-day roots in the 1820s and really hit its stride commercially in the 1950s when Bing Crosby was on the record player, eggnog was enjoyed by the fireplace, and gifts were packed under the tree.
Five decades later, wrapping paper and last-minute shopping are associated with Christmas as much as any church service.
“The real joy of Christmas is the idea that life itself is a gift given to us by God,” said Andy Gay, minister at First Presbyterian Church. “The purpose of Christmas is the joy of our faith and celebration of our life.”
“It’s easy to get caught up in giving, but we should remember giving is not exchanging,” Gay continued. “A gift is something that comes out of the blue and is unexpected.”
When Clement Moore penned the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” in 1822, it provided the first glimpse of what would become an American tradition. In that poem, Moore described a jolly, ol’ elf that shimmied down the chimney and used the services of reindeer.
Another literary milestone was the 1843 Charles Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol,” which featured the snippy Ebeneezer Scrooge. As a mean-spirited boss, Scrooge scowled at his employee, Bob Cratchit, for wanting to take off from work Christmas day.
After being haunted by three spirits on Christmas Eve, Scrooge decides to alter his miserly ways and finds the joy in giving. St. Catherine’s Catholic Church priest Jim Bretl says it’s that joy of giving which remains a positive aspect of our Christmas celebration today.
“Christmas has been distorted with gift giving, but that still lays a foundation,” said Bretl. “Sharing gifts is a sign we appreciate the gift that was given to us by the Father.”
Even after the uplifting story of Scrooge, our Christmas tradition still continued to morph. In 1848, a London newspaper published a photo of the royal family around a decorated fir tree. A few years later, every family in England was decorating what we now know as the Christmas tree.
By the 1850s, Santa Claus was being used in ads to sell all types of merchandise around the holidays. Santa’s image was so effective, store owners decided to take the idea one step further and Santa began making live store appearances. Nowadays, Santa can be found in virtually every mall in the country the day after Thanksgiving.
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is perhaps the final piece of the puzzle, created by a Montgomery Ward advertising representative in 1939. Rudolph showed us what is first thought to be a detriment can actually turn out to be of good use.
Christmas at a glance