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I read something the other day about
all of the stress and racing around during the Christmas
season. The writer was complaining about the ???trappings??? of
Christmas and expressed the feeling that Christmas had
become too commercialized. ???The whole thing is like a huge
commercial to get people to spend their money. Except for
going to church, Christmas is all Santa Claus, trees, candy
canes, and shopping.???
As I pondered her words, I began to
consider some of the traditions and ???trappings??? of the
Christmas season. It seemed to me that all of the things we
associate with this greatest holiday of the year were
actually Christian based. We should remember these things
as we close in on the special day this year.
Consider these elements of Christmas
tradition:
Christmas Tree
Legend has it that Martin Luther began
the tradition of decorating trees to celebrate Christmas.
One crisp Christmas Eve, about the year 1500, he was walking
through snow-covered woods and was struck by the beauty of a
group of small evergreens. Their branches, dusted with snow,
shimmered in the moonlight. When he got home, he set up a
little fir tree indoors so he could share this story with
his children. He decorated it with candles, which he lighted
in honor of Christ's birth.
The decorations have changed, and many
Christmas trees are artificial today, but as we decorate our
trees this year ??“ Let us remember that the tree is lit in
honor of Christ??™s birth.
The Star atop the Christmas tree
The star represents the Star of
Bethlehem that guided the wisemen to Bethlehem over 2000
years ago. The Gospel according to Matthew mentions the
star pointing to the birthplace of Christ. Let us enjoy the
beauty of the star at the top of our Christmas trees??¦??¦??¦.and
remember
Exchanging Gifts
According to the Bible, 3 kings (or
wisemen) brought gifts to the Savior at the place of his
birth. 33 years later, Jesus would give us the gift of
life, the gift of salvation. When the hustle and bustle of
Christmas shopping begins to ???get you down??™, and wear you
out; when trying to find the perfect gift for someone, you
may remember that the whole idea of exchanging gifts is
Biblical. Jesus said ???What you do for the least of them,
you do also for me.??? Therefore when you give a gift, you??™re
giving it to Jesus, too.
Candy Canes
The legend is that the candy cane was
fashioned in the shape of a ???J??? to represent Jesus. The
color white was used to signify purity. Then three thin red
stripes were added to symbolize the scourging Jesus received
which allows us to be healed. A thicker red stripe was
added to represent the blood shed by Christ so we could have
eternal life. Some say that the shape could also represent
the shepherd??™s staff.
So when you place candy canes in your
children??™s stockings this year, remember that this simple
candy treat represents Jesus and His gift to us.
Santa Claus
There are those who feel that endorsing
the idea of Santa Claus is ???non-Christian???, because ??“ in
part - the letters in ???Santa??? can be rearranged to spell
???Satan???. The letters in the word ???Live??? can be rearranged
to spell ???Evil??? too, but I don??™t think living is a bad
thing. The whole idea of Santa came about from ???Saint
Nicholas???, a real person who distributed gifts to children
and needy.
St. Nicholas was born during the third
century in the village of Patara, in what is called Turkey
today. His parents died of an epidemic when he was very
young, and he inherited a great fortune and became the
Bishop of Myra. Obeying Jesus??™ words to ???Sell what your own
and give the money to the poor,??? Nicholas used his whole
inheritance to help the needy, the sick, and the suffering.
The story is told of a poor man with
three daughters. In those days, a young woman??™s father had
to offer prospective husbands a dowry. The larger the
dowry, the better the chance of a good husband. Without a
dowry, a woman was unlikely to marry, and she would often be
sold into slavery. As the story goes, on three separate
occasions, a bag of gold was tossed through an open window
and landed in a shoe or stocking drying above the
fireplace. The bags of gold were used as dowries to find
husbands for the three daughters.
When you take photographs of your
children sitting on Santa??™s lap at the mall this year,
remember that Santa represents St. Nicholas who started the
idea of Santa Claus because he followed the command of Jesus
over 300 years earlier. So you see, even ???Santa Claus???
stems from Jesus, and we remember.
It's been a long journey from the
Fourth Century Bishop of
Myra, St. Nicholas, who showed his devotion to God in
extraordinary kindness and generosity, to America's jolly
Santa Claus. However, if you peel back the accretions he is
still Nicholas, Bishop of Myra, whose caring surprises
continue to model true giving and faithfulness. In the
United States there is growing interest in the original
saint to help recover the spiritual dimension of this
festive time. For indeed, St. Nicholas, lover of the poor
and patron saint of children, is a model of how Christians
are meant to live.
(For more information, visit http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38)
So, you see, all of the ???trappings???
really are symbols of the ???Reason for the Season??? I hope
that when you select that perfect tree this year and
decorate it with lights and a star, you??™ll remember the
reason we have Christmas trees.
When you put candy canes in the
stockings above the fireplace for your children, remember
why we have candy canes and why we put them in stockings.
My prayer for you is that when you
exchange gifts with loves ones this year, you will remember
Jesus??™ words and remember St. Nicholas giving gifts to
people 1700 years ago. It may make the stress of crowds,
choosing the perfect gift, and the hustle and bustle of
shopping a bit easier to bear.
When you??™re assembling toys by
referring to directions that you don??™t understand in order
to be ???ready for Santa??™s visit???, and placing the milk and
cookies out for Santa, remember where the Santa tradition
originated, and rejoice.
Have a very merry Christmas this year ??“
and every year ??“ and??¦??¦??¦remember
?© 2003 Don Carroll
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May you be blessed today.
Bob Johnston
Editor / Publisher |
