Riverside Country

Have Christians Sold Out To The Secular Christmas?
By: Dennis Daily

Several years ago I wrote a column in which I explored the ever-expanding way that Christmas is being celebrated, at least as far as the calendar is concerned. At that time I suggested that we in the Christian world don’t have a leg to stand on when we blast the secular world for “stealing Christmas.” I said that, instead of letting it be stolen, we had actually GIVEN away the holiday and failed to fight for its original meaning. I further suggested that if one of the jobs of a Christian (particularly an evangelical Christian) was to “witness” the faith, then most of us are doing a lousy job of using Christmas as a time to not only demonstrate our faith, but to show others that we are believers.

Since the publication of that article I have gotten a lot of response. Most people agree that it’s become absolutely incredible the way Christmas seems to start even before Halloween.

I mentioned that one sign that Christmas traditions are dying is the way The Twelve Days of Christmas have been hijacked by secular advertising. This Christmas I went to a local shopping mall with my radio microphone. I took an “on-the-air” survey of people’s understanding of Christmas traditions and especially their understanding of the Twelve Days of Christmas. I spoke to more than 75 people. I asked all of them: “When in the 12th Day of Christmas?” Only five got it right … January 6th. All five were of retirement age. The others were positively sure that the Twelve Days of Christmas END on Christmas day not start then. When I explained, most were skeptical. A few told me I was crazy.

Additionally, I thought it was time to canvass a cross-section of Christian radio stations around the country. I called stations in Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami and Boston. I got the same answer from all of them. None planned to play Christmas music or even mention Christmas after the weekend following the holiday. One announcer at a Miami station noted that the problem was that the satellite provider of the station’s programming (including much of its music) was pulling the plug on Christmas on the 29th … after drastically reducing mentions of Christmas after the 25th. It is interesting to note that the supplier of this station’s satellite-delivered programming is a well-known national Christian network. Many of its commentators spend a lot of their time asking for “a return to basics and adherence to traditions.”

One radio station, in the Louisville area, was even more secular-esque. It is shutting off the music at the end of the broadcast day on Christmas, just as 99 percent of secular stations do.

So, let me ask the same question I asked years ago: “Why are we bowing to secular pressure and forgetting how the Church originally celebrated the holiday?

In the early days of the Church Easter was the main holiday. But Easter, as it has come down to us, is confined to a single day, after Lent and Holy Week. It is preceded by a Saturday of stark realization… many churches stripped of decorations, all candles doused. It is followed by a season of new life and festive colors and song.

Christmas, on the other hand, was its own, self-contained nearly two-dozen days, nestled between the end of Advent and Epiphany. It was the shortest recognized period of the liturgical calendar and was NEVER before the day itself. It was the world’s emphasis on buy, buy, buy, impress, impress, impress that started the march of the perceived Christmas season farther and farther back into Advent.

The Catholic Church makes a clear distinction between Advent, the Christmas season and Epiphany in the color of the vestments worn during mass. Advent, like Lent, is a time of violet-colored vestments and decorations. The first mass of Christmas, at sundown on the 24th, sees a dramatic change as the priest and other celebrants wear white vestments for the first time in a month. Epiphany brings out gold decorations and vestments to celebrate the coming of the royal Magi to Bethlehem.

Then, to prove that Christmas is over, on January 7th — and from then until the beginning of Lent — the color is green. This period is what the Church calls “Common Time.” So, at least in official liturgical colors, a definite delineation of just when Christmas is… sundown to December 24th until sundown on January 5th.

But, the coming of the electronic media brought a new method of sharing the holiday and its sounds. And, since radio and TV are driven by sales, what a nice gift to advertisers … a constant barrage of Christmas music and specials to put people into the mood of buying. Somewhere, amid all of this, our celebration of Christmas, in Christian churches, fell more in step with the secular. We hold our concerts and our festivals BEFORE Christmas. We defy the very basis of Advent (a time of waiting) by “jumping the gun,” celebrating Christmas BEFORE it happens. How did this change come about?

Maybe a better question would be: “Can we ever reverse the trend and reclaim Christmas?”

If the job of a Christian is to “witness” then why are we witnessing at the wrong time. Suppose we were to celebrate Christmas during the Twelve Days of Christmas. We would stick out like sore thumbs. If we held our Christmas concerts on the 6th or 7th Day of Christmas we would be right in time with the season, but viewed as kooks by those who are so sick of the holiday they want to put it away for another year.

But, if we DID observe the season when it was meant to be observed, there would be another benefit… a monetary one. Gifts would be cheaper and all the meeting halls and restaurants we rent for our parties would be empty and CHEAPER.

I may be a voice crying in the wilderness, but I’m presenting the following challenges:

1, some clothing manufacturer should make 12 really cheap T-shirts, each marked as one of the Twelve Days of Christmas, with the date (such as January 3rd) and the appropriate gift from the song.

2, Christian churches and schools should schedule at least one concert or special service between December 25th and January 5th.

3, the tradition of Twelfth Night (January 5th) should be reactivated as a time to wrap-up the Christian season and pray for the best in the coming year.

4, church Nativity scenes should not include the Three Wise Men until 12th Night.

5, churches should, in doing all of this, alert local media and seek out interviews and mentions to explain what they are doing.

6, stations should lobby their network radio providers to actually BE Christian and prove they are playing Christmas music not just for advertisers but for the sake of the season.

7, more emphasis should be put on Advent as a time for preparation, a time of learning Scripture anew, a time of intense Bible classes in the basics of the Christian faith to prepare for the coming of the Messiah.

8, launch a national drive to spell the secular “christmas” with a small “c” as it’s initial letter, since it’s become just a “sound” with no tie to Christ. We Christians would reserve the right to keep a capital “c.”

Call me overly pragmatic or just someone locked in the past if you wish. But I really believe that we have given away the season. It’s time to take it back.

This article has been reprinted by permission from ASSIST Ministries.

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I thought this article was quite interesting and worth sharing. The story is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect all of my personal views, but I must admit I have often thought about how secular Christmas has become. Feel free to leave your comments below. I’d be interested to see what you have to say.

- Jason