Fighting for Christmas

Et Verbum caro factum est et habitavit in nobis (And the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us). This is a great demonstration of the love and humility possessed by Our Lord, Jesus Christ, yet I find myself walking the streets of Singapore surrounded by an endless barrage of sales and secular symbols of Christmas. How my heart laments over the disregard of a such a momentous sacrifice bestowed upon man by a loving God who has found himself replaced by idols of materialism and capitalism.

Our great Creator humbled himself to come into human form and as if this action were not enough, He came into this world in the most humble of circumstances; the son of a carpenter, born in a manger, destined to lead a life of simplicity. Being the King of Kings, He could have easily come into this world in a prominent social family, but He chose to lead by example. Humility and charity would also be demonstrated by the Virgin Mary, His most blessed and chaste mother. Their humility and love would be maintained even until His death on Calvary, where Jesus as he hung from the cross prayed for his enemies asking His Father to forgive them for they know not what they do. It is the during this season of advent that we are supposed to remember his coming and Christmas that we remember his birth, but society has embraced anything but this.

The antithesis of humility and charity seems prevalent as I walk the downtown streets. There are Christmas trees around; however, few if any recognize the connotation with the Trinity that is associated with the Douglas Fir. Wreaths abound and what some would call 'Christmas music' is playing in most places of business, but there is nothing Christ like about it. People have forgotten that Christmas is centered on Christ; hence, Christmas = Christ Mass, the celebration of Christ's birth, the savior of the world. Yet, the celebration that I have seen have nothing to do with His coming or His birth. Then, my question must be, what are people celebrating?

From what I gather, it would seem that people are now celebrating consumerism. People go out and seek sales and buy lots of things. They decorate their houses, play some music, plan for dinner and presents, but are they really focusing on the arrival of Jesus Christ? How has such a religious and deep meaning holiday (Holy Day) become so secularized? Sadly, the bounds of the secularization transcends even Christianity, as I now encounter Buddhists who claim that they celebrate Christmas, but they only believe the holiday to be a day of present exchange and errors extend even further than that, as some actually equate Santa Claus as Jesus Christ. These errors of religion not only detract and destroy Christian religion fervor, but also corrupt the opinions of the other faiths toward our own. It is time to reclaim what has been taken from us.

As Christians, we cannot sit idly by and observe our culture be destroyed by the idols of materialism and capitalism; rather, we should begin to set an example by being counter cultural. There is no need for us to buy a multitude of presents to give to our family and friends if they are not in need, so if we really want to give, we should donate to charities or buy items for the needy. We should imitate Our Lord, who is the epitome of charity. We should give as much as we can without reserve and love our neighbor unconditionally. If we act in this manner, we will indeed be the antithesis of modern culture who encourages people to buy, buy, buy for no apparent reason than to fill the empty void which has been created for lack of love in society. Let us put Christ back in the center of Christmas and remember that advent is the time leading up to his arrival and prepare ourselves spiritually by works of mercy. Let us be giving of ourselves, as Our Lord is daily to his flock, and with this take back our holy day and light the world by Christian example.

Pax tecum.