The Santa Claus Story: The Gateway Drug of Christmas
First there was the Scrooge, then, the Grinch. Now, a new Hobgoblin of Holiday Cheer appears. Behold! The dreaded secular, multicultural society!
The editor of the Goderich Signal-Star, Rob Bundy, identifies the enemy with a line of reasoning that reflects conventional wisdom in certain circles:
Even some local schools are avoiding any religious reference to Christmas during their annual concerts. Though there is no specific direction from the school board to do so, some schools are erring on the side of caution and are going out of their way to avoid ruffling anyone’s faith feathers. You may hear Jingle Bells but not Silent Night or Little Town of Bethlehem. What’s next, Higher Power Rest Ye Merry Gentle Persons?
And what are we teaching our kids by doing this? To bow to pressure from an increasingly secular minority? To ignore tradition and faith?
The holiday we observe in December is a faith-based celebration. It’s Christmas and without Christ in it, all we’ll be left with is a reat big mas. And that’s just not right.
Read It:
Don't worry. This holiday season I bring you tidings of comfort and joy...but mostly comfort.
Have no fear, little flock. The Grinch will not steal Christmas.
Cynics have been batting the baby Jesus around like a tetherball for a millenia, and yet the season remains a festive, spritual time for Christians and non-Christians alike.
The Angels spoke to Mary, and their first words were "Be not afraid".
That's the crux of my Christmas homily. Be not afraid. A multicultural, tolerant society will not abduct the baby jesus from the manger. Christmas is indomitable. After all, a guy who says "turn the other cheek" should be able to take a few hits.
The fact is, Canada is becoming a more diverse, multicultural society, and we can't confuse the natural course of events with some grand conspiracy. Christians aren't going to forget "the reason for the season" if there isn't a nativity scene on courthouse square. They won't forget Jesus, Mary, and Joseph because the clerk at Zeller's said "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas". Nobody's soul will be banished to Hades because some Public school music teacher decided to sing "Frosty the Snowman" rather than "O Holy Night". Could it be that forced expressions of Christian dogma do more to turn people against religion than toward it?
This latest Holiday Boogeyman will be no more successful than the last. In my youth, I remember people railing against the commercialism of Christmas. Some pious Christian sects even shun the Santa Claus story as a pagan addendum to the story of Jesus' Birth. What they may or may not realize is the Christmas iteslf is somewhat of a tag-along. Christmas was originally the Roman holiday Saturnalia, and many of the rituals associated with Christmas predate Christianity itself.
Has Santa mugged the baby Jesus? Humbug! While I'm sure there are many aspects of Christmas, such as excessive materialism, that Jesus would object to, Jesus is to Santa as Eminem is to Dr. Dre: They have a mutually beneficial relationship. Fans of Santa become interested in Jesus and vice-versa. In a sense, Christianity owes him. His nonthreatening pagan jolliness is sort of the gateway drug of Christmas; a prelude to what Marx referred to as "the opiate of the masses".
In any event, I love Christmas; deep spiritual Christmas, pagan Christmas, gluttonous, sugary Christmas, and all other manifestations of holiday cheer.
Happy Holidays to all!
