In Defense of Christmas
Lights! Family! Action! It's Christmastime once more, and the hallmarks of decking the halls are all around us.
Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra, with the occasional touch of Michael Bublé, serenade us over the airwaves. Snow spreads a soothing marshmallow coating over rainbow-lit towns. Hot chocolate feels extra nice in a mittened grip, and everyone seems a bit nicer, charitable, even. It's a wonderful feeling, and it truly only does come once a year.
Regardless of one's personal motivations for celebrating Christmas, the holiday encourages goodwill toward mankind, celebrating generosity, tenderness, and kind-heartedness.
Families gather for elaborate feasts. Friends and loved ones exchange gifts and greetings. Churches receive an abundance of Gospel-eager attendees; volunteer organizations and other charities experience surges in donations and hands-on involvement. Overall, society softens and slows its rapid-fire roll to honor the most important aspects of life while giving special attention to the disadvantaged or disenfranchised—be they people or animals.
No one (not even edgy internet trolls) really wants to be called a Grinch during the holiday season, nor a Scrooge: such monikers conjure unpleasant images of hard-hearted Christmas haters who care little for the spirit of the season. Some of the cynicism is understandable; stress levels account for degrees of Christmas crabbiness, and interpersonal strains also take a significant toll. But if I may speak anecdotally here—this is, after all, my blog—I've noticed an uptick in outspoken, mean-spirited Christmas opposition just about everywhere I go.
I've heard the mutterings, the mocking laughter, the outbursts at how "stupid" everything Christmas-related is, and how it's nothing more than a commercial gimmick aimed at emptying American pockets. Sadly, some of this is true. Christmas, like most holidays, gets abused for big bucks. Corporatization hollows out the core of many time-honored traditions, evoking perfectly natural protests from those traditions' participants.
But no one needs to bop people's red noses for loving this holiday dedicated to goodwill and good cheer—and when Christmas cynics crawl out of the woodwork, their comments often aim to assert moral and intellectual superiority over the rest of us foolish, materialistic Westerners who enthusiastically celebrate.
"I don't like the big business crud," some say.
"I can't stand Evangelicals monopolizing this season to push their agenda," others grumble.
The truth, of course, is that no one is obligated to celebrate Christmas. This is as optional to the general public as it is to Christians, some of whom also decline to deck the halls. But I'd like to make a defense for Christmas. It's a defense anyone can get behind because it doesn't require religious solidarity, candle-lit ceremonies, or outrageous generosity to partake.
My heart plea is this: let Christmas be a time of tenderness again. Let it burst forth with loving light, grateful reflection on a year come and gone, forgiveness, compassion, and setting aside of differences.
Maybe your days aren't so merry and bright; if this is the case, don't concern yourself with putting on a front. You don't need a perma-grin. You don't need to decorate the house to the nines or play "Hostess with the Mostess." But do yourself, and everyone around you, the favor of being a little kinder. Dare to indulge a spritz (or twelve) of child-like joy.
Observe bits of beauty in your surroundings, whether seasonal lights or latte art from your local café. Spare a dollar or two for an organization that moves you. Offer a helping hand to someone less fortunate than you—for it seems we can always find one person—and let that act warm you, stirring compassion for other needy people in your vicinity. Refrain from yelling at drivers on the road, or snapping during irritating moments. Tip generously if you have the means. Stop by a soup kitchen and offer your hands.
Above all, cultivate a humanitarian sensitivity during this season. Let it transform you, turn your weary gaze from corporate nonsense and existential troubles to doing good to those around you, and allow yourself and others an extra measure of grace. You don't have to be Buddy the Elf (though I personally wouldn't mind seeing someone with that level of cheer and Christmasy spirit), and you don't have to have perfect, Instragram-worthy dinners, houses, or family relationships to contribute to the beauty of this holiday.
For Christians like myself, Christmas (or "Christ's Mass") represents the celebration of our Savior's birth. (Fun fact: the word "holiday" literally means "holy day.") Though Jesus Christ likely wasn't born on December 25th, this is the date established for honoring Him as we thank Him for His birth, death, and resurrection on the cross for humanity's sins. Fewer people today observe Christmas's sacred overtones, but everyone has a responsibility to treat their fellow man with the dignity and love we have come to associate with Christmas.
It's the one period of the year we're allowed to be sentimental. It's given to us so we can give back to others. It's the "season to be merry" and the "most wonderful time of the year" because it's the time we let love show itself behind the carefully collected, deadpan stoicism we've associated with adulthood.
During the Christmas season, you're allowed to marvel at lights, build snowmen, throw snowballs at your goofy brother's head, soothe yourself with a cup of cocoa, daydream beside blazing hearths, curl up in warm blankets, skate on frozen ponds, enjoy seasonal treats (like sugar cookies and gingerbread!), shop for/create thoughtful gifts, take time off work for family gatherings and relaxation, eat banquets of exquisite homemade food, and bask in the awe and splendor of the collective do-gooding spirit.
Christmas won't always be joyous or magical. What it can be, all season long, is a month of striving for positivity and making intentional impacts on the world around us. In the still whisper of winter, we have a choice: stay stoic and cynical or embrace a bit of Christmas cheer. What's better for us in the long run? Our communities and families?
Dear reader... you don't have to celebrate Christmas outright to partake in its cultural significance and help make spirits bright each year. Corporate America has no bearing on your relationship to Christmas; interpersonal bitterness has no sway over your decision to make the world a sweeter place; broken hearts and downcast spirits can be mended... including yours.
So, maybe you won't hang the stockings this year, or staple thousands of twinkle lights to your house (better leave that to Clark Griswold). What you can do is defend and promote Christmas as society intended: a day, and season, of giving, tenderness, and good cheer.
Cynics create laughter for like-minded cynics, but the pure in heart leave legacies as beautiful as this cherished holiday. Will you continue the tradition of invigorating cheer this year and all the ones to come?
