Many people lock horns arguing about whether to wish each other happy holidays or merry Christmas. Some nonbelievers who staunchly prefer “holidays” aren’t comfortable even uttering the word Christmas because it has, after all, the name of Christ in it.
I find the whole debate rather odd, because no matter how hard people deny what the season is really about, the fact remains that you simply cannot remove Jesus Christ from the festivities.
The word “Christmas” comes from Christ’s Mass, and refers to the Catholic worship service, but even those who shun this term in favor of “holiday” are referring subtly to Jesus because that word comes from holy days — and for Christians his birth marks the most sacred moment of all.
Still, many folks get flustered about keeping Christ in Christmas, and I get that. As for me, I won’t send cards that show a dog wearing antlers or a penguin sporting a red hat. I have nothing against dogs or penguins, but they are far removed from the religious celebration that takes place on the big day.
In truth, many things that seem secular really are not. The tree, for example, might be seen as something fairly neutral that even non-Christians can enjoy. And of course they can — but they might want to know that evergreen trees refer to the eternal life Christ came to bring us.
As for the pile of gifts beneath the tree, that tradition comes from St. Nicholas, a Christian bishop in Turkey who gave to the poor anonymously. Candy canes bespeak Christ because the white represents purity and the red stripe signifies the blood he shed on the cross.
And even a practice as seemingly secular as stringing lights brings to mind the one called the light of the world.
Still, many who embellish their homes with lights and munch on candy canes don’t believe God became man, nor do they believe he died on the cross and was resurrected three days later.
To them it’s all one big fairy tale, and they turn their backs on it.
Oddly enough, though, even fairy tales reflect a deeper story that seems imprinted on the human heart by bigger hands. In fairy tales, often a person that seemed dead is brought back to life. Seemingly impossible odds often are overcome at the last minute. Frequently, someone is rescued by the love and sacrifice of someone else.
In fairy tales children get lost in the woods but then are saved. In fairy tales a poor maiden who is mistreated by her family finally finds a life of love and treasure beyond compare.
Christ came into the world to wake us up with his love. He came to rescue us from the dark world of sin. His story is one of love and sacrifice that seemingly ended on the cross — but his story actually shows us the ultimate happy ending. The poor become rich, the dead find life.
He said we had to become like little children to enter the heavenly kingdom. And children readily embrace Christmas, whether they know the deeper story or not.
The good news of Christmas is eternal. Lighting a tiny candle can banish the darkness, and a small act of love can awaken the hardest heart.
No matter how far we stray in life’s dark woods, there is always hope of being rescued again. So no matter what you call it, that is what Christmas is all about.
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