Keeping Christ in Christmas

Tis the season for Christmas controversies again, when the spirit of peace and good will all too often turns into one of anger and recrimination over public celebrations of this holy time of year.

The problem begins, of course, with modern day secularists who insist — ironically, in the name of “tolerance” — that societal pluralism means not only that we respect the public religious displays and observances of  minority faith groups — something with which we all should agree; but that we must also expunge from our public life any celebration, observance, or even acknowledgement of the faith practices of the vast majority of Americans for whom Christmas is the celebration of the birth of our Savior.

Perhaps even more problematic, however, are those in positions of influence who, while energetically exploiting the spirit of Christmas for their own benefit, readily accede to these extreme demands to expunge the season of its true meaning.

We’re thinking of course of retail outlets that seize on the generous spirit of Christmas giving to browbeat us all into spending and spending on their products; yet in their advertising, their choice of “holiday” music and symbols, and even their employees’ greeting of customers, scrupulously avoid any reference to the true meaning of the season, or even any mention of the word “Christmas.”

We’re thinking of public schools and other entities that seize upon this festive season to hold fundraising concerts, pageants, etc., while likewise steadfastly refusing to acknowledge the deeply held spiritual beliefs that are the true “reason for the season.”

And we’re thinking of public officials — like Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee — who wouldn’t dream of passing up a politically beneficial “tree-lighting” photo op, but insist — in the name of “inclusion” — on excluding “Christmas” from such events, renaming the Christmas tree a “holiday tree.”   

Happily, there are signs that some of this intolerance of Christmas is abating. Many commercial stores seem less reticent in recent years to acknowledge and even celebrate the Christmas season that brings them our business. And as the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights notes, the state of Wisconsin has now gone back to calling its Capitol rotunda tree a “Christmas tree,” as it had done for 70 years until falling into the “holiday tree” secularism beginning back in the mid-1980s.

There is a lesson here for the vast majority of us  for whom Christmas is the celebration of Christ’s birth.

We need to make ourselves heard — NOT with anger and recrimination, which, coming from Christians, would do even more to undermine the true meaning of Christmas than anything secularists could do.

Rather, we need to respond lovingly but firmly to efforts to exploit this holy season while at the same time perverting or expunging its true meaning. We can do so in simple ways, by displaying the “Keep Christ in Christmas” car magnets and lawn signs produced by the Knights of Columbus, by wearing “Merry Christmas” lapel pins, or by taking the initiative in — kindly — wishing a “Merry Christmas” to department store personnel who do not proffer the wish to us first.  

We may wish to go further, “taking our business elsewhere” when commercial outlets refuse to acknowledge Christmas, and letting them know — respectfully — what we are doing and why. We can let our public officials know that showing respect for the faith traditions of others does NOT require them to disrespect, or disregard, Christian faith traditions. And we can let our public school districts know that true inclusion and tolerance means encouraging students to share their own faith traditions with others, and to be open to learning about other such traditions from their peers of differing beliefs.

Most important is how we, as Catholic Christians, bear witness to the true meaning of Christmas in our own preparations during Advent. If we get caught up in the materialism, and chaotic frenzy, of the shopping season; if we neglect our spiritual preparation, or fail to keep Christ at  the center of our celebration of Christmas, how can we expect others, who do not share our faith, to appreciate the true meaning of this most holy time of our year?
So as we strive to lovingly remind the world to “Keep Christ in Christmas,” let’s be sure that we ourselves do so — in our homes, our families, and our interactions with those around us.