Yes, it's late, I know, but I hope everyone had a merry Stuffmas or happy Stuffnakuh or whatever shopping-induced, gift-fueled holiday you choose to celebrate. We tried hard not to have Stuffmas and to have Christmas instead and I think we did well for the most part, but we will need to continue to work at removing the Stuff and inserting the Christ into the season.
The adults in the family have pretty much been able to refocus the holiday (Elizabeth and I anyway) but even we need to get better at it. The problem is everybody likes stuff and gifts are free stuff. Kids understand stuff and don't have the social graces to mask their excitement about presents. Don't get me wrong - I love presents, too - it's just that presents have become the entire focus of the holiday.
I suppose if you remove Jesus, you have to replace Him with something and since the official state religion in the US is commerce it makes sense that stuff would be the replacement. If there is a war on Christmas, which I doubt, it has been waged covertly from Madison Avenue for years. It isn't the removal of nativities from the public square (although, even here in Portland we still have a very public Christmas tree) or the inclusive "Happy holidays!" (Oh fine, let's greet Jews, Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Taoists, Atheists, etc. in a way that includes them, never mind it's way shorter than Merry Christmas and happy new year...) that have devalued the religious origins of the holiday. Those things are only a recognition of a multicultural society and represent common courtesies to all American citizens.
No, it is the full-embrace of commerce as the reason for the season rather than Christ that has caused its meaning to be lost. We like to pretend that we are noble by saying that it is giving or family or helping the less fortunate that embodies the spirit of Christmas, but in our hearts those things are just indulgences that mask our true desire for stuff. I have talked to many people this year who are just tired of the buying, the hustle and the focus on what's under the tree rather than the reason there's even a tree at all.
So while the covert operatives at Stuffmart and Madison Avenue are even now preparing their next holiday campaign, I am declaring open war on Stuffmas! Even now, families across the country are joining me in rejecting the stuff-focused holiday and are looking for ways to once again bring true meaning to season. It starts with new traditions, or maybe old ones rekindled. It makes the season a special one, but not because of acquisition, but because of acquaintances. The magic of Christmas is God come as man, to redeem the lost, to bring peace and to bring true love to all. This is a special season, a supernatural one - let's not continue to debase and devalue it with the material.
Who's with me?
No comments:
Post a Comment