100 Sermon Illustrations on Holiday

Atheists need a holiday.

How many people would give flowers on February 14 if it wasn’t for Valentine’s Day? How many people would eat turkey in November if it wasn’t for Thanksgiving? How many people would throw year-end parties if it wasn’t for Christmas?

Christians know how important holidays are to their cause, and they have managed to literally litter the calendar with them. Other religions have done the same. It might not even be legal for the secular American government to declare national religious holidays, but it sure happens.

Nothing makes a movement more mainstream than having its own holiday. But atheism continues without a holiday. Over 25 million American atheists have no day to celebrate. How mainstream do you have to be to have a holiday? We like to celebrate, but we don’t have a holiday. A genuinely atheist holiday would help us gain acceptance, too.

So we definitely need a holiday of our own. But when?

It can’t already be a religious holiday, of course. We do celebrate solstices, and that’s nice, but those are not really atheist days. April Fool’s Day is tempting, but I don’t want people to think that we’re fools.

What we need is a special day that atheist Americans everywhere can recognize as belonging to us, suitable for men and women, that ties us to our American history.

If it was on the 13th of the month, we could stand in the face of superstition about the number 13. If it was in April, we could jokingly tie religious foolishness to All Fools Day. If it was the unrecognized birthday of a towering American historical figure in the battle for the separation of church and state, that would help us gain its approval as a national holiday. And if was the birthday of one of America’s most famous atheists, we should seize the opportunity to embrace that day as our own holiday.

April 13 is all those things. April 13 should be our day.

Thomas Jefferson and Madalyn Murray O’Hair were both born on April 13. Jefferson was not only the author of the American Declaration of Independence from England, but he believed so strongly in the separation of church and state that he ended tax support of churches in Virginia and other colonies. Madalyn Murray O’Hair brought atheism to the forefront of American law, and founded our organization. Her departure is a mystery, but her vision and courage are history, quite clear enough to celebrate.

I propose that April 13 be celebrated as American Atheism Day beginning next year. Informal celebrations need not await national holiday status, and they would help build momentum for national acceptance. I further propose that American Atheists take the lead in campaigning for its eventual acceptance as a national legal holiday, with a goal of its national establishment by the year 2000.

Being Jewish is no reason not to celebrate Christmas, says the writer Howard Jacobson - although he draws the line at putting up a tree.

________

“What does Christmas mean to you?” was the title of an essay we were asked to write in our final year of primary school. I wrote that it meant seeing my father dressed as Santa Claus, getting stuck coming down the chimney. My teacher thought I must have made that up. “Isn’t your family, er...?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied. “We are, er... But my father likes dressing up.”

I didn’t, however, want her to think we had abandoned our faith. “The reason he got stuck,” I explained, “was that he was carrying a Chanukah candelabra.”

“That should be candelabrum, singular, assuming he was carrying only one,” she said, still eyeing me suspiciously.

In for a penny, in for a pound. “Actually, he was carrying three,” I said. Before adding, “and the right word is menorah.”

Don’t cheek your teacher, my parents rebuked me when I told them about this. Shows how long ago it was.

Remembering our mongrel Christmases reminds me of the Tokyo department store which erected on its roof a giant Santa on a cross. Don’t laugh - we can all get our wires crossed. And who’s to say the store wasn’t crucifying Santa as a gesture of multicultural goodwill?

One shouldn’t be purist about these things. Given that Christmas was grafted on to other festivals - some of them self-evidently pagan - and that Jesus was a Jew with no desire to start a new religion, the question of Christmas’s authenticity is moot. Let’s rejoice in the eclecticism, I say, and find in the varieties of ways people choose to mark or miss the point of Christmas the universal love that is its message. We might lose thereby some of the solemnity that once attached to a sacrificial rite, but those who want that can still find it in a place of worship. Let the fervid pursue their fervour and let the half-hearted make merry. If Jesus didn’t quite say that, he said something similar.

I was exaggerating only slightly to my primary school teacher. One way or another my family did acknowledge Christmas, even if, though we knew the difference well enough, we sometimes allowed it to merge with Chanukah, the Jewish festival of lights, which falls about the same time. Hardly surprising - scratch one ancient winter festival and you find another. We’re all hoping for the return of the sun. “Chanumas”, some of my friends called this melange, by way of cheerfully accepting its ecumenical character. Others sternly opted to keep Christ out of it by referring to it as Xmas. We never cared for Chanumas or Xmas. We called Christmas Christmas, took from it selectively, but drew the line at a tree.

A Christmas tree, considered superficially, is just an evergreen, and who can object to the idea of eternal greenery when there is otherwise not a leaf to be seen? But what if - I only say what if - another sort of symbolism was at work and we were meant to be reminded of that tree from which the cross was fashioned, the cross for which Jews will be forever blamed. You can see why, all things considered, we didn’t want a mute, accusatory crucifix-in-waiting winking in the corner of our living room. Yes, the fairy on the top should have made it all right again, but somehow it never quite did.

Those parts of Christmas that were theologically neutral, however, we embraced enthusiastically. Hence my father, who was an amateur magician, dressing up as Santa Claus in a Tommy Cooper fez, wandering in and out of our bedrooms with a wizard’s wand in one hand and three menorahs (all right, one menorah) in the other.

We children saw through the subterfuge - my father was distinctively built, short and square - and it was too much of a coincidence that Santa should be built the same. But we still left requests, addressed to Father Christmas, Iceland, pinned to our Christmas stockings. Santa runs out of presents by the time he gets to Manchester, we’d been warned - which was a nice way of saying that a) he hadn’t made his own mind up about the rights and wrongs of giving Christmas gifts to Jewish children, and b) we were hard-up. Fair enough. Everyone we knew was hard-up. For all that, we passed this holiest of nights creeping downstairs to see if Santa needed a hand clambering out of the chimney.

Our requests invariably went astray. No train sets. No Meccano. No edition of Why I Am A Jew by Cecil Roth. Just the usual - a bar of Toblerone, an India rubber, a small compendium of games comprising Snakes and Ladders (and nothing else), a cardboard belt, and a tangerine with a bit of leaf sticking out of it. The last time I wrote about Christmas past my sister contested my account. Her tangerine, she insisted, came without the bit of leaf. I can’t explain that omission except by reference to an imaginary Talmudic ruling which says that girls below the age of puberty should not be given anything that grows. This, though, is unlikely as we knew as little of the Talmud as we did of Christology. Maybe it was feared the leaf evoked the tree that evoked the cross. But in that case, why did my brother and I get one?

None of it added up. Why fruit at all, given that we didn’t like fruit, in particular the variety you have to peel, and rarely ate it the rest of the year? But the Snakes and Ladders board made a certain sense. It was preparing us for life’s disappointments. One minute you’ve reached the highest rung of the longest ladder, and the next you’re sliding down a snake. Whether that’s a Christian or a Jewish lesson, I remain grateful for it and never punch the air when a team I support goes ahead. The snake is always waiting.

We didn’t sit down to Christmas dinner - turkey felt a step in the direction of apostasy too far - but we listened to the Queen’s message on the wireless and watched Amahl And The Night Visitors on a six-inch black-and-green television. And though we didn’t sing carols, we were moved by them. My mother still loves Silent Night. I still love In The Bleak Midwinter.

Carols bear for me the melancholy of mixed belonging. They were sung at school assembly from the religious part of which Jewish boys were exempted. In an upstairs room a rabbi retold the story about the Jews holding out heroically against the Romans on Masada in the parched Judean desert. Pride stirred in my sandy chest, but the carols called to me of a competing heartland. The bleak midwinter of northern England where the earth stood hard as iron and the water like a stone - there I shivered, wrapped against the snow, my nose pressed to the window, on the other side of which Christian cherubim plumped up with Christmas pudding sang of giving joy to the world.

It would be wrong to call this exclusion, because it was more an enrichment than a deprivation. Had I knocked they’d have let me in. This was my school, my country, and they were singing in my language. But I enjoyed the equivocation of being half in and half out - loving the songs but not singing them. Same when it came to Christmas parties. I attended and I didn’t. I relished the mince pies but abhorred the paper hats. Though that was more about forced conviviality than Christmas, and also about not wanting to spoil my hair. I will, though, willingly pull a cracker, and be content even when a wooden baby Jesus in a crib falls out.

Mongrelism is a virtue in a world made dangerous by the pursuit of purity. But I’m not asking for Christmas to be relativised or apologised for. There is too much apologising. When I hear of Christmas being cancelled in order not to offend people of other faiths or no faith, or when someone wishes me “Happy Holidays” or sends me “Season’s Greetings” so as not to upset my sensibilities, I am seized with a most un-Christian anger. If you are sparing me, thank you, but it really isn’t necessary. A history has accrued to Christmas, a literature of feeling about it, and that is every bit as much my history as anyone else’s. And just because I am not religious, doesn’t mean I can’t peer into religious sentiment with curiosity, affection, and occasionally longing.

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Version in sermon by David Holwick:

Howard Jacobson loved Christmas as a child, and still does. A favorite memory was seeing his father dressed up as Santa Claus and getting stuck in the chimney. The reason his father got stuck is that he was carrying a Hanukkah menorah.

You see, the Jacobson family was Jewish. Not blended Jewish and Christian, just Jewish. And they loved Christmas. His mom thought “Silent Night” was a beautiful song. They put up Christmas stockings with notes to Father Christmas. They were English so their Santa was based in Iceland.

The Jacobsons did draw the line at having a tree - it was too closely related to a cross. (I thought that was interesting, because most Christians do not associate their tree with the crucifixion.) And while they enjoyed Christmas carols, they didn’t sing them. But otherwise they got into Christmas like everyone else.

Most modern people are just like this family. We have all the beloved traditions, but not the most important ingredient - Jesus.

It was Christmas Eve, and the first of fourteen thousand townspeople began streaming through the building's huge double doors. A beam of light shone down from above, as though from heaven itself, highlighting an elaborate Nativity scene. Marble angels gazed down upon the largest pipe organ in the world. As people settled into their seats, the organist struck a chord and led the crowd in singing the first hymn: "O Come, All Ye Faithful."

Does this sound like a Christmas Eve service at a 1990s' megachurch? If you said "yes," you guessed wrong. This spectacular Christmas celebration took place, not in a church at all, but in a department store. It was an annual attraction that drew shoppers to the leading Philadelphia department store, Wanamaker's, from the 1910s to the 1950s. And it illustrates how America's Christmas consumerism has some of its roots, ironically, in our own Protestant tradition.

As strange as it may seem today, Christmas was not always treated as a holiday in America. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, few Americans really celebrated Christmas. Influenced by their Puritan heritage, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists viewed Christmas Day with suspicion, regarding it as a Roman Catholic invention with dubious origins. The emphasis on the Nativity, they believed, grew out of devotion to Mary.

For example, in 1659 the Massachusetts General Court outlawed the celebration of Christmas. In the 1770s a Presbyterian teacher described Christmas as being "like other Days, in every Way calm & temperate. People go about their daily business with the same Readiness." Even as late as the 1880s Methodists insisted that Christmas was simply a day of family reunions and good works. "We attach no holy significance to the day," a Methodist publication boasted.

Protestant reluctance to celebrate Christmas had one major side effect. In his book Consumer Rites, Princeton professor Leigh Eric Schmidt writes that keeping Christmas off the Church calendar helped pave the way for its inclusion in the secular calendar. While clergy downplayed Christmas, businessmen and department store magnates like John Wanamaker stepped in where angels feared to tread, fostering the celebration of Christmas in the marketplace instead of the church. As Schmidt put it, Christmas became "one more market day, a profane time of work and trade."

For some of us, this is shocking news. Could the roots of Christmas consumerism be in our own tradition? Well, history suggests that Christmas became such a commercialized holiday, in part, because Protestants did not make it a holy day.

Of course, the celebration of Christmas in the marketplace is not all-bad. Many of us delight in shopping in stores decked with boughs of holly while listening to Yuletide carols as we select gifts for our friends and families.

So if we're partly responsible, let's make up for it. Instead of just griping about the commercialization of Christmas, let's do something about it. Let's make up for our past errors by filling our churches this Christmas. If we present to the world a worshipping community, they'll be drawn to the real thing -- not a manufactured substitute. If our candle-lit Churches and Cathedrals are full of Christians living in real harmony and love, then nothing in those glittering shopping malls can possibly compare.

Because there, in the community of faith, we can fully grasp the significance of our Savior's birth. And nothing gives us more cause for joyous celebration than that.

___________________________

Copyright (c) 1999 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine - The Easter Bunny is making tracks on Santa Claus' turf, using one of the biggest Christian holidays as an opportunity to lure little tykes and their parents to the mall.

A majority of malls that hire a Santa for December are now hiring a bunny for at least two weeks before Easter, and there's a growing expectation among children who visit the bunny that he'll leave a toy along with candy in their Easter basket.

"We are seeing a lot of pressure through marketing to begin to expect a level of present-giving that (kids) get at Christmas," said Chris Byrne, a New York toy consultant and editor of The Toy Report.

Some see it as the crass commercialization of a day set aside to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But for many parents, it's just springtime fun for their children.

Amber Carr's 4-year-old daughter Anastasia even wrote a letter to the Easter Bunny asking for gifts and treats.

On Easter Sunday, she will get a basket and a present, but she won't be going to church.

"It's too complicated," said Carr, of Randolph. She and her husband were raised with different religious backgrounds and decided not to participate in either as adults, she said.

Dr. Daniel Akin, dean of theology at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Ky., sees the arrival of the mall bunny as just one more example of the commercial exploitation of Christianity.

"When Easter is reduced to nothing more than a bunny, Easter eggs and chocolate, we have reached a tragic day, because that is not what Easter was about to begin with and it's not what it should be about today," he said.

But the Rev. Eric Shafer, director of the Evangelican Lutheran Church in America, says the Easter Bunny is a golden opportunity to spread the Christian word, like a good ad campaign.

"Many churches have Easter egg hunts," he said. "The real question is, do you complain what secular society has done with religious symbols or do you use it as an opportunity. I say the latter."

According to retailers, Easter has become the second-biggest toy-giving holiday after Christmas.

The big bunny is a way for malls to lure customers, said Bonnie Fluck, spokeswoman for Cherry Hill Photo Enterprises in New Jersey, which provides Santas and bunnies for more than 230 malls across the country.

"It's not really the same draw as Santa," she admits.

Nonetheless, more parents seem to be making special trips to shopping centers to line up with their toddlers hoping for a photo with the white-tailed, pink-eared bunny.

Peggy MacLeod of Newfield repeatedly pushed her 2-year-old daughter, Casey Monahan, toward the bunny at the Maine Mall, hoping to get a photo - typically ranging from $9 to $35. But little Casey, like many other toddlers, protested.

"Noooooo! I don't like the bunny," she cried.

"I'm more excited to have a picture with the bunny than she is," MacLeod admitted, leaving empty-handed.

The Easter Bunny waves and sits in a festive spring village, but there's no cheery "Easter music" or bustling shoppers. And the bunny is quiet compared to Santa's "Ho ho ho!"

"Typically, the Easter Bunny really can't talk. Have you ever seen a talking bunny?" said Rick Eggesiecker from St. Louis-based SantaPlus, the other big company that provides Santas and bunnies to malls across the country. "It's more animation and being very energized. It's a different type of approach. There's a lot of shaking your bunny tail."

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A "NO EXCUSES" SUNDAY

A certain church made the following announcement in their magazine:

"To make it possible for everyone to attend worship next Sunday, we

are having a special "No Excuses" Sunday:

"Beds will be placed in the aisles for all those who say, "Sunday is

the only day I'm able to sleep in late."

"Eye drops will be provided for all those who watch TV too late on

Saturday night.

"Steel helmets will be handed out to all those who say, "The roof will

fall in if I ever come to church!"

"Blankets will be provided for all those who say, "The church is too

cold," and fans for those who say "It's too hot."

"We will have hearing aids for all those who say, "The minister speaks

too softly," and ear plugs for those who say, "The organist plays too

loudly."

"Score cards will be available for all those who wish to keep a record

of the hypocrites present.

"There will be TV dinners for all those who find it difficult to

attend church and prepare the Sunday lunch at the same time.

"One section of the church will be devoted to trees and grass for

those who like to see God in nature.

"Finally, the church will be decorated with Christmas decorations and

Easter flowers for those who have never seen the church without them!"

If you're not careful, your past, your traditions can be the enemy of God's New Year's plans for your life and for your church. Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not trying to say that traditions are necessarily bad or that we can do without them. Traditions have several valuable elements.

TRADITIONS BRING US JOY

Traditions bring us joy. During the Christmas season, for example, I love the peacefulness of singing “Silent Night.” I treasure the lights on the tree and the warm memories of Christmases past represented by the unique ornaments our family has collected over the years. I enjoy gifts under the tree and Christmas cookies and getting all the children together around the table. And my wife and I look forward to spotting some mistletoe to give us an excuse to kiss passionately and shock our children a bit.

Traditions are comfortable because they are familiar -- comforting in the way that an old shoe is more comfortable than a new one. They fit us well and don't cause us discomfort.

TRADITIONS EMPOWER US

Traditions are powerful, too. We humans are creatures of habit. Habits structure our days in productive patterns. Get up, comb your hair, eat breakfast, get going with the tasks of the day. And habits keep us from the futility of perpetually reinventing the wheel. Have you ever tried to teach a skill to a child or a new worker? It may take them a while to grasp it, but when they do, this learned skill, habit, or “tradition” of how to perform a task enables them to accomplish a lot more than they could before. Much of the accumulated wisdom we humans possess consists of a statement of what works and what doesn't work, learned through painful trial and error.

TRADITIONS REMIND US OF IMPORTANT TRUTHS

Traditions function as a way of fixing patterns of behavior in order to preserve what is best. For organizations like churches and businesses, traditions are institutional memories or guideposts that keep us from straying from the values and productive patterns of the past. The people of Israel, for example, were commanded to commemorate Passover every year so they would remember how God delivered them from Egypt. Some churches recite the Apostles Creed or a Church Covenant. Businesses paper their halls with mottoes and slogans that encapsulate the founder's unique insights on which the company was based. Traditions help preserve for us important truths and values.

TRADITIONS CAN BECOME HOBBLES

But tradition can become an empty shell that are devoid of meaning and vitality. A tradition used to have value, perhaps, but not now. Once traditions were guideposts, now they may have become hobbles.

If you've ever been a leader, you've faced the frustration of trying to lead people to do something new. It is said that the Seven Last Words of the Church are: “We've never done it that way before.” Corporations suffer from the “Not Invented Here” syndrome. They'll never consider this program, that option, or a kind of music or training that doesn't conform to their past. Tradition-bound churches, businesses, and organizations are so straight-jacketed by the past that they are unable move into the future. In such a case, past traditions severely limits present possibilities. Organizations that cannot reinvent themselves to be relevant in present-day life are doomed. If they can't respond to change, these organizations will die -- not quickly, perhaps, but inevitably.

TRADITIONS RESIST CHANGE

But it's not just organizations that must be able to change. We as individuals must change, too. In this new year:

• CULTURE will change in response to current opinion makers, current events, fads, and fashions.

• CIRCUMSTANCES will force us to do things we've never done before.

• A shifting ECONOMY will change the way we do our jobs -- and whether we have a job at all.

• PHYSICAL CHANGES in our bodies will affect our desires, our abilities, and our lifestyles -- sometimes dramatically.

• RELATIONSHIPS will be severed or renewed as friends and relatives react to circumstances or move miles away.

If you are a tradition-bound person, this new year will be miserable for you. You will interpret each change as a loss. You will either adapt or you will retreat further into your shell of traditions that no longer work in today's world.

TRADITIONS FOCUS ON THE PAST

Traditions essentially focus on the past -- the values of the past, the methods of the past, the glories of the past. They help preserve value in a world that's constantly changing. But if we're tradition-bound, then we are unable to embrace the present or embrace change. Even worse, we are unable to embrace Jesus himself.

CHRISTIANITY IS A RELATIONSHIP, NOT A TRADITION

The Christian faith is not essentially about a building a denomination, or an institution hoary with tradition. At its heart, Christianity is not a set of rules or a religious structure. The Christian faith is essentially about a “now” relationship with God through Jesus Christ. The essence of Christianity is not about the past but about right now.

Of course, faith has an important component that REMEMBERS the past. We recall God's saving acts on the cross, for example. We remember what God has done for us in the past. But faith is only alive when it impels us to continue to live out our faith in the present, in the now. St. James said, “Faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26).

TRADITIONS CAN KEEP US FROM LISTENING TO GOD

Sometimes I find myself interrupting my wife and starting to answer before she has finished speaking. Oh, that makes her mad! But when we are tradition-bound, we do that to God. We stop listening because we assume we already know what he'll say and that he'll never say anything new in the future.

By our traditions we second-guess God about what he wants us to do tomorrow or about how he wants us to react to a situation we're faced with today. Dear friends, this is not just wrong, it is deadly!

The religious, tradition-bound Pharisees of Jesus' day resisted him more strongly than anyone else. And he didn't mince words when he confronted them:

Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it

is written:

'These people honor me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

They worship me in vain;

their teachings are but rules taught by men.'

You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the

traditions of men....You have a fine way of setting aside the

commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!

Mark 7:6-9

Wow! What would Jesus say to YOUR CHURCH today? What would he say to YOU?

LISTENING TO GOD ON NEW YEAR'S DAY AND EVERY DAY

Now let's get personal. Is your own personal faith focused primarily on the past, on the traditions of your upbringing? Or is it focused on God in the present, right now? Are you listening so hard to your past that you can't hear God in the present? Are you hard of hearing -- spiritually? Your God longs to speak to you afresh today.

Jesus wants to renew his personal relationship with you today, this week. Not just to get together to talk about old times and tell war stories, but to talk about tomorrow, about your future. About the exciting plans he has for you in the new year. We can never let the traditions we value become a substitute for a present day relationship with the living Christ, since the essence of the Christian gospel is that Jesus is alive today!

Why don't you pray right now. Be sure to ask God what he wants you to think about and to do today. Ask what he wants you to do in this New Year. Ask God to share with you his dreams and visions for you and share your dreams with God, too. As you discuss your dreams with the God of the Future, he will guide and mature them.

Prayer:

Lord, I confess that sometimes I have confused traditions with present-day faith. I've coasted on the memories of a past relationship while neglecting to earnestly seek you and your will for me in the here-and-now. Forgive me. Let me hear and enter fully into your New Year's plans for me. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.

___________

Copyright by Ralph F. Wilson . All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #1697]

On Feb. 2 many Americans celebrated Groundhog Day, but most of them failed to recognize the connection that the holiday has to the early life of Christ. What is this connection?

In Luke 2:22-40 the parents of Jesus took Him to the Temple in Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord and also to give a purification offering of two doves or pigeons for the mother of Jesus. In Leviticus 12:3-4 it reveals that this must occur on day 40 after the birth of a male Israelite.

When fourth century churchmen declared that the nativity of Jesus was to be celebrated on Dec. 25, a festival eventually evolved to celebrate his presentation at the Temple on February 2nd. This holiday went by many names, but in the English-speaking world it popularly came to be called Candlemas. The popular name came about because many churches blessed all the candles to be used throughout the year within that church on that day. This custom, too, possessed origins during the Lord’s presentation at the Temple when Simeon the prophet declared Jesus to be “a light for revelation to the Gentiles” (Luke 2:32).

During the Middle Ages, Candlemas, like many Christian holidays, acquired many popular customs associated with it that had little basis in historical Christianity or the New Testament. One custom speculated that the weather on Candlemas could predict weather for the rest of the winter. One traditional Scottish poem relates:

If Candlemas Day be dry and fair,

Then the half o’ winter will come to mair,

But if Candlemas Day be wet and foul,

Then the half o’ winter is gone at Yule.

If Candlemas Day be fair and bright,

Then winter will have another flight,

But if it be dark with clouds and rain,

Then winter is gone and will not come again.

Essentially the popular custom stated that a dark cloudy day on Candlemas would predict a short winter, while a sunny day meant that winter would continue for some time. The nice weather on Candlemas was thought to be only a brief interlude that would not last. Furthermore, it was also thought that animals able to see their shadows on this day would foreshadow a continuing harsh winter.

When English-speaking settlers arrived in what would be the United States, many of them tended to be Puritans or members of Christian communities that largely rejected many of the Roman Catholic or Anglican sanctioned holidays. They possessed little desire to celebrate Christmas, let alone related festivals like Candlemas. So Candlemas failed to develop into a major religious holiday in America in spite of its link to the visit of Jesus to the Temple on day 40 of His life.

Nevertheless, many of the popular customs associated with Candlemas survived in colonial America. Feb. 2 still was thought to have some significance in predicting the winter weather and Americans of European descent now transferred the animal custom of seeing its shadow to the American woodchuck (the groundhog). Slowly a popular winter festival evolved, but one largely shorn of its Christian roots.

Today Groundhog Day takes its place as a growing phenomenon in the United States complete with school observances, greeting cards, trinkets and paraphernalia for purchase, and even a federally-sanctioned “official” groundhog in Pennsylvania. The holiday was also commemorated in a popular Hollywood movie of the early 1990s.

Hopefully, most Americans and many Christians can be educated to recognize that Groundhog Day once celebrated an important event in the early life of the Savior. The day commemorates the first New Testament promise that Christ would also be the Savior of the Gentiles.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #5232]

Let's say that on December 20 you were to meet a friendly space alien. That is, let's say that his space ship discreetly drops him off in your back yard while you are looking out your window. You walk outside to meet the visitor, and you find out he's a pretty nice guy. His name is Gorg, he is wearing a costume that makes him look passably human, he speaks reasonable English, and he explains that his goal is to spend a week on the planet to learn about America and its people. He asks if you would consider being his guide for the week, and you decide to take on the job.

So you take Gorg around and start showing him your town. Since it is December 20, one thing is for sure - Gorg is going to ask about Christmas. And he is going to ask a LOT of questions, because Christmas is a pretty complicated tradition. Think about all the different questions Gorg might ask.

If Gorg can assimilate all of that and make sense of it in a week, then obviously he is a member of an highly advanced species! You may find that you yourself don't know the answers to half of these questions. Where DID Rudolf come from? And why DO we deck the halls with boughs of holly? In this edition of How Stuff Works we will answer all of these questions so that you can understand how Christmas works and where all of these kooky Christmas traditions come from!

WHAT IS CHRISTMAS?

The word Christmas comes from the words Cristes maesse, or "Christ's Mass." Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus for members of the Christian religion. Most historians peg the first celebration of Christmas to Rome in A.D. 336.

Christmas is both a holiday and a holy day. In America it is the biggest event of the year (especially for kids), and for members of the Christian religions it is an important day on the religious calendar. The federal government, all state governments, all schools/colleges/universities and the vast majority of businesses in America give employees one or two days off at Christmas, making it an important holiday (other federal holidays are: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving). In the Roman Catholic calendar, Christmas is one of six holy feast days celebrated in America, the others being: Circumcision (New Year's Day), Ascension, Assumption (Mary's Assumption into heaven, August 15), All Saints (November 1), and the Immaculate Conception (December 8).

WHY IS CHRISTMAS SUCH A BIG DEAL?

There are two reasons why Christmas is such a big deal:

- According to the 1994 Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year, there are 1.8 billion Christians in a total world population of 5.5 billion, making it the largest religion worldwide. In America, 241 million out of a total population of 281 million people are Christians (85 percent). Because Christians follow Jesus, the birth of Jesus is important to them.

- In America, the weeks leading up to Christmas are the biggest shopping weeks of the year. Many retailers make up to 70 percent of their annual revenue in the month preceding Christmas. Therefore, retailers hype the event beyond belief.

According to Daniel Boorstin in his book The Americans, Christmas was largely a non-event in America until the 1860s. 1867 was the first year that Macy's department store in New York City remained open until midnight on Christmas Eve. 1874 was the year of the first window displays with a Christmas theme at Macy's. It has snowballed from there.

WHY DOES EVERYONE GIVE EACH OTHER PRESENTS ON CHRISTMAS DAY?

The tradition of gifts seems to have started with the gifts that the wise men (the Magi) brought to Jesus. As recounted in the Bible's book of Matthew, "On coming to the house they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."

As mentioned in the previous question, however, no one was really in the habit of exchanging elaborate gifts until late in the 1800s. The Santa Claus story (described below) combined with an amazing retailing phenomenon that has grown since the turn of the century has made gift giving a central focus of the Christmas tradition.

IS DECEMBER 25TH REALLY THE DAY JESUS WAS BORN?

No one really knows. What is known is that Christian leaders in A.D. 336 set the date to December 25 in an attempt to eclipse a popular pagan holiday in Rome (Saturnalia) celebrating the winter solstice. Originally, the celebration of Christmas involved a simple mass, but over time Christmas has replaced a number of other holidays in many other countries, and a large number of traditions have been absorbed into the celebration in the process (as we will see in sections below).

WHY IS THERE A SMALL EVERGREEN TREE IN YOUR LIVING ROOM?

This is a German tradition, started as early as A.D. 700. In the 1800s the tradition of a Christmas tree was widespread in Germany, then moved to England and then America through Pennsylvanian German immigrants.

WHY HAVE YOU DECORATED THIS EVERGREEN WITH ORNAMENTS, LIGHTS, FAKE SNOW AND MYLAR PLASTIC TINSEL?

In Victorian times, people had already started decorating trees with candies and cakes hung with ribbon. In 1880 Woolworths first sold manufactured Christmas tree ornaments, and they caught on very quickly. Martin Luther, in the 16th century, is credited as being the first person to put candles on a tree, and the first electrically lighted Christmas tree appeared in 1882. Calvin Coolidge in 1923 ceremoniously lit the first outdoor tree at the White House, starting that long tradition. Fake snow and tinsel... Who knows? It's probably related to the song "White Christmas".

WHY DO YOU HAVE HOLLY DRAPED OVER THE MANTEL AND STAIRCASE?

Mistletoe has apparently been used as a decoration in houses for thousands of years and is also associated with many pagan rituals. According to the book Extraordinary Origins of Ordinary Things by Charles Panati, "the church forbade the use of mistletoe in any form, mindful of its idolatrous associations. As a substitute, it suggested holly. The sharply pointed leaves were to symbolize the thorns in Christ's crown and the red berries drops of his blood. Holly became a nativity tradition. The Christian ban on mistletoe was in effect throughout the Middle Ages. Surprisingly, as late as the 20th century, there were churches in England that forbade the wearing of mistletoe sprigs and corsages during services."

WHY IS MISTLETOE HANGING OVER THE FRONT DOOR?

For Scandinavians, the goddess of love (Frigga) is strongly associated with mistletoe. This link to romance may be where our tradition of kissing under mistletoe comes from.

AND WHAT ABOUT THIS NATIVITY SCENE IN THE CORNER?

The star, the manger, the swaddling clothes, the shepherds, the angels, the heavenly host and the wise men all come from the books Matthew and Luke in the Bible.

WHY IS THERE A BIG LOG IN THE FIREPLACE?

According to the book "The Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins" by William and Mary Morris, "Yuletide for Christmastime is a term derived from the yule log, which in olden days was a huge log used as the foundation of the holiday fires. Bringing the yule log in was, as recently as the 19th century, as much a part of the pre-Christmas festivities as putting up an evergreen tree today. Yule can be traced back to the Middle English Yollen (cry aloud) and is thought to date from early Anglo-Saxon revels in celebration of the discovery (after the winter solstice) that nights were becoming shorter."

According to this page, "Up until the 19th century, the custom of burning the Yule log flourished in England, France, Germany and among the South Slavs. Out of oak, families carved a heavy wood block. They placed it into the floor of their hearth. It glowed throughout the year under the flames of household fires. Gradually it became ash."

WHY ARE THERE POINSETTIAS ON THE HEARTH?

Poinsettias were attached to Christmas starting in 1828. Joel Roberts Poinsett, then the first U.S. ambassador to Mexico, imported the plant from Mexico. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "In warm climates the poinsettia grows outdoors as a winter-flowering leggy shrub about 3 metres (10 feet) high; as a potted plant in northern areas it rarely grows beyond 1 metre. What appear to be petals are actually coloured leaflike bracts that surround a central cluster of tiny yellow flowers. A milky latex in the stems and leaves can be irritating to persons or animals sensitive to it, but the claim that poinsettias are deadly poisonous is greatly exaggerated." ("Poinsettia", Britannica CD, Version 97. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1997.)

AND WHAT ABOUT THESE FRUITCAKES?

According to "The Joy of Cooking" by Irma Rombauer and Marion Becker, "Many people feel that these cakes improve greatly with age. When they are well saturated with alcoholic liquors, which raise the spirits and keep down mold, and are buried in powdered sugar in tightly closed tins, they have been enjoyed as long as 25 years after baking."

No word yet on how they got attached to Christmas...

WHY ARE THERE OVERSIZED SOCKS HANGING ON YOUR MANTEL?

According to a very old tradition, the original Saint Nicholas (see below) left his very first gifts of gold coins in the stockings of three poor girls who needed the money for their wedding dowries. The girls had hung their stockings by the fire to dry. See this page (http://www.holidays.net/christmas/stocking.htm) for a version of this story. Up until lately, it was traditional to receive small items like fruit, nuts and candy in your stocking, but these have been replaced in the last half-century by more expensive gifts in many homes.

According to this page (http://www.notti.italiane.com/natale/welcomeb.html) the tradition of a lump of coal in the stockings of naughty children comes from Italy.

WHY ARE CHRISTMAS CARDS SCATTERED ALL OVER THE COFFEE TABLE?

Christmas cards started in London in 1843 and in America in 1846. Today about two billion Christmas cards are exchanged every year in the United States.

WHY DO I KEEP HEARING THE SAME SONGS OVER AND OVER AGAIN?

There is a set of songs that are played continuously during the Christmas Season. Here's a pretty complete list:

- Away In A Manger

- Carol of the Bells

- Deck The Halls

- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

- Jingle Bells

- Joy To The World

- Hark, The Herald Angels Sing

- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

- I'll Be Home For Christmas

- It Came Upon A Midnight Clear

- Little Drummer Boy

- O Come All Ye Faithful

- O Holy Night

- O, Little Town of Bethlehem

- O Tannenbaum

- Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer

- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

- Silent Night

- Silver Bells

- The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)

- The First Noel

- The Twelve Days of Christmas

- We Wish You A Merry Christmas

- What Child Is This?

- White Christmas

- Winter Wonderland

Since this list is so short, you tend to hear each song 700 times over the course of the few weeks leading up to Christmas.

WHAT, EXACTLY, ARE THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS?

The 12 days of Chistmas are the 12 days that separate Christmas day on December 25 from Epiphany, which is celebrated January 6. Depending on the church, January 6 may mark Christ's baptism (the Catholic tradition), or it may mark the day that the wise men visited the baby Jesus with their gifts.

In the past, there was a tradition of giving gifts throughout the 12 days, rather than stacking them all up on the morning of December 25. That tradition, as you might imagine, has never really caught on in America! We just aren't that patient. The song, however, demonstrates that some people once stretched out their gifts (and gave some fairly elaborate gifts...) over the full 12 days.

Drennon's Twelve Days of Christmas (http://www.cvc.org/christmas/12days.htm) offers some interesting perspectives on the 12 days of Christmas and the song of that same title. This page (http://www.ewtn.com/library/FAMILY/12DAYXMA.TXT) also contains a thesis full of information!

AND WHY DO CHRISTMAS CAROLERS WALK AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD SINGING?

According to this page (http://www.chin.gc.ca/christmas/carol.htm), "In the Middle Ages in England and France, carols were dances accompanied by singing. In the French Midi, for example, the "carol" was a kind of round dance. In time, the word "carol" changed its meaning, referring only to certain kinds of songs. The Anglo-Saxon tradition favoured gathering together small choirs on the village green to sing carols and Christmas songs for the pleasure of passers-by. A number of currently very popular American Christmas carols come directly from France and England."

WHY IS THE DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS, CHRISTMAS EVE, CELEBRATED?

Christmas Eve is a big deal for religious reasons, such as the midnight mass, and also for retail reasons. 1867 was the first year that Macy's department store in New York City remained open until midnight on Christmas Eve.

A HSW reader was also kind enough to point out the following: "All Jewish holidays start at sundown the evening before (not at calendar midnight). Our holidays start with ceremony the evening before: rituals, candle-lighting, whatever... at sundown and they last until the following sundown, and then they're over."

WHO IS THIS SANTA CLAUS PERSON? AND...

- Why is Santa characterized as a short, fat and jolly pipe smoker?

- Why does Santa wear such outlandish clothes?

- Why does he ride around in a sleigh? Pulled by reindeer? That lands on rooftops? So he can climb down the chimney? With a big sack full of toys? Which he leaves under the tree for good girls and boys?

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Santa Claus started with a real person, Saint Nicholas, a minor saint from the fourth century:

"According to tradition, he was born in the ancient Lycian seaport city of Patara, and, when young, he traveled to Palestine and Egypt. He became bishop of Myra soon after returning to Lycia. He was imprisoned during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians but was released under the rule of Emperor Constantine the Great and attended the first Council (325) of Nicaea. After his death he was buried in his church at Myra, and by the sixth century his shrine there had become well known. In 1087, Italian sailors or merchants stole his alleged remains from Myra and took them to Bari, Italy; this removal greatly increased the saint's popularity in Europe, and Bari became one of the most crowded of all pilgrimage centres. Nicholas' relics remain enshrined in the 11th-century basilica of San Nicola, Bari.

Nicholas' reputation for generosity and kindness gave rise to legends of miracles he performed for the poor and unhappy. He was reputed to have given marriage dowries of gold to three girls whom poverty would otherwise have forced into lives of prostitution, and he restored to life three children who had been chopped up by a butcher and put in a brine tub. In the Middle Ages, devotion to Nicholas extended to all parts of Europe. He became the patron saint of Russia and Greece; of charitable fraternities and guilds; of children, sailors, unmarried girls, merchants, and pawnbrokers; and of such cities as Fribourg, Switz., and Moscow. Thousands of European churches were dedicated to him, one as early as the sixth century, built by the Roman emperor Justinian I, at Constantinople (now Istanbul). Nicholas' miracles were a favourite subject for medieval artists and liturgical plays, and his traditional feast day was the occasion for the ceremonies of the Boy Bishop, a widespread European custom in which a boy was elected bishop and reigned until Holy Innocents' Day (December 28).

After the Reformation, Nicholas' cult disappeared in all the Protestant countries of Europe except Holland, where his legend persisted as Sinterklaas (a Dutch variant of the name Saint Nicholas). Dutch colonists took this tradition with them to New Amsterdam (now New York City) in the American colonies in the 17th century. Sinterklaas was adopted by the country's English-speaking majority under the name Santa Claus, and his legend of a kindly old man was united with old Nordic folktales of a magician who punished naughty children and rewarded good children with presents." ("Nicholas, SAINT", Britannica CD, Version 97. Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1997.)

It is amazing but true that the common, popular view of Santa that we all have today, along with all the crazy things around Santa like the sleigh, the reindeer and the chimney, all came largely from two publishing events that occurred in the 1800s and one advertising campaign in this century. Clement Moore wrote "The Night Before Christmas" in 1822 for his family. It was picked up by a newspaper, then reprinted in magazines and it spread like wildfire. Moore admitted authorship in 1838. If you read the poem you will find that he names the reindeer, invents the sleigh, comes up with the chimney and the bag of toys, etc. Nearly everyone in America has been able to recognize or recite this poem since the 1830s.

Then, between 1863 and 1886, Harper's Weekly (a popular magazine of the time) ran a series of engravings by Thomas Nast. From these images come the concepts of Santa's workshop, Santa reading letters, Santa checking his list and so on. Coca-Cola also played a role in the Santa image by running a set of paintings by Haddon Sundblom in its ads between 1931 to 1964.

The red and white suit came, actually, from the original Saint Nicholas. Those colors were the colors of the traditional bishop's robes.

See also A Brief History of Santa (http://www.santalady.com/history.html) for a good set of Santa pictures.

WHO IS THIS ONE REINDEER AT THE FRONT NAMED RUDOLF, WITH THE BIOLOGICAL ABERRATION OF A RED, GLOWING NOSE CAPABLE OF PENETRATING THICK FOG?

The whole story of Rudolf appeared, out of nowhere, in 1939. Santas at Montgomery Ward stores gave away 2.4 million copies of a booklet entitled "Rudolf the Red-Nose Reindeer." The story was written by a person in the advertising department named Robert May, and the booklet was illustrated by Denver Gillen. The original name of the reindeer was not Rudolf, according to the book Extraordinary Origins of Ordinary Things by Charles Panati. The original name was Rollo, but executives did not like that name, nor Reginald. The name Rudolf came from the author's young daughter! In 1949, Gene Autry sang a musical version of the poem and it was a run-away best-seller. The Rudolf song is second only to "White Christmas" in popularity.

WHY DOES EVERYONE, EVEN FLORIDIANS, DREAM OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS?

The song "(I'm Dreaming of a) White Christmas," written by Irving Berlin for the movie "Holiday Inn" (1942) and sung by Bing Crosby, is one of the best selling songs of all time.

WHY IS CHRISTMAS SOMETIMES SPELLED XMAS? ESPECIALLY WHEN COMBINED WITH THE WORD "SALE"?

According to the book "Did you ever Wonder..." by Jeff Rovin, the word for Christ in Greek is Xristos. The use of the shortened form Xmas became popular in Europe in the 1500s.

The word Xmas is so common in advertising most likely because "Xmas" and "sale" have the same number of letters, and "Xmas" is significantly shorter than Christmas.

AND WHY ARE STORES AND MALLS SO GEARED UP ABOUT THIS HOLIDAY? WHY DOES EVERY MALL HAVE A SANTA VILLAGE, AND WHY DO KIDS COME SIT ON SANTA'S KNEE?

As mentioned above, stores and malls have been revved up about Christmas since the late 1800s. In America today, the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are, by far, the biggest retail sales weeks of the year. The survival of most retail stores depends on the Christmas buying season. Therefore, retailers do whatever they can to whip people into a Christmas buying spirit and to attract them to their stores. Festive decorations, big ads, Santa's Villages and all the rest are a part of that process.

Many of us struggle to make conversation at Christmas gatherings, whether church events, work-related parties, neighborhood drop-ins, or annual family occasions.

Sometimes our difficulty lies in having to chat with people we rarely see or have never met. At other times we simply don't know what to say to those with whom we feel little in common.

Moreover, as Christians we want to take advantage of the special opportunities provided by the Christmas season to share our faith, but are often unsure how to begin.

Here's a list of questions designed not only to kindle a conversation in almost any Christmas situation, but also to take the dialogue gradually to a deeper level. The questions can be used in a private conversation or as a group exercise, with believers or unbelievers, with strangers or with family.

1. What's the best thing that's happened to you since last Christmas?

2. What was your best Christmas ever? Why?

3. What's the most meaningful Christmas gift you've ever received?

4. What was the most appreciated Christmas gift you've ever given?

5. What was your favorite Christmas tradition as a child?

6. What is your favorite Christmas tradition now?

7. What do you do to try to keep Christ in Christmas?

8. Why do you think people started celebrating the birth of Jesus?

9. Do you think the birth of Jesus deserves such a nearly worldwide celebration?

10. Why do you think Jesus came to earth?

Of course, remember to pray before your Christmas gatherings. Ask the Lord to grant you “divine appointments,” to guide your conversations, and to open doors for the Gospel. May He use you to bring glory to Christ this Christmas.

The Affirmative Action Office at Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, laid down the law. In a “Christmas Warning” titled “How to celebrate Christmas without offense”, the AAO suggested “It is inappropriate to decorate things with Santa Claus or reindeer or other 'Christmas' decorations. Good ideas for decorations during this time are snowflakes, snowpeople, [and] poinsettias to give a feeling of winter.” The AAO did not provide “warnings” for other winter holidays, such as Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. “So if the multicultural Gestapo remove Santa, what do they do if they stumble on a Nativity scene,” asked Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights President William Donahue -- “smash it with their clubs?” After Donahue complained to the university, it rescinded the advisory.

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Saginaw News

In Austria, labor unions were up in arms. No, they didn't want higher wages or better benefits. They wanted the stores where their members work to stop what they call “psychological terrorism”: The incessant, nonstop playing of Christmas carols. And they said stop them or else.

Gottfried Reiser, a leader in the anti-music campaign, said that after ninety-nine repetitions of “Frosty the Snowman,” store employees “become aggressive and develop an aversion to Christmas music.” By Christmas Eve, at home with their families, “they can't stand 'Silent Night' or 'Jingle Bells' one more time.”

Well, I can relate. Every year, we seem to hear Christmas carols earlier and earlier in November. By December 25, you become tone-deaf — I mean, I love Christmas carols, but too much of a good thing is too much.

The sad result is that even our most beloved holiday hymns are stripped of their power to move us. They become trivialized by the sheer, endless repetition.

May I suggest that you and your family spend some time this Christmas exploring some unfamiliar holiday music — ancient carols that help us understand how Christians through the centuries have communicated the meaning of Christmas through song.

For example, there's a 300-year-old English carol called “Up Good Christian Folk and Listen.” The song includes these lyrics:

Tell the story

of the glory.

God came down

at Christmastide.

In barely one minute this carol tells almost everything we need to know about Christmas.

Then there's the fifteenth-century German carol, “Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming.” This hymn emphasizes an essential part of God's nature — His faithfulness:

Isaiah 'twas foretold it, the Rose I have in Mind;

of Mary we behold it, the Virgin mother kind.

Through the prophets, God promised that a Savior would arise from the line of Jesse. In the fullness of time, as the apostle Paul put it, God kept His promise.

Reflecting on the meaning of the Incarnation should be the goal of every Christian in this season. It's the season of the year to recall Jesus' first coming in humility and to meditate on His second coming in glory.

Music is a rich part of this tradition, which is why exploring how faith as expressed through song is a wonderful way to meditate on the real meaning of Christmas.

So when the commercialized, overworked sound of, say, Alvin and the Chipmunks attacking Christmas carols makes you want to commit acts of violence to the sound system — or at least say, “Bah! Humbug!” — try sampling some of the music that has brought Christians closer to God for centuries, music that “tells the story of the Glory.”

FOR FURTHER READING AND INFORMATION:

• “Shop workers demand Xmas muzak compensation,” Ananova, 3 December 2003.

• “Xmas cheer makes Austrians sour,” BBC Online, 4 December 2003.

• Listen to “Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming.” You can also listen to it here.

• Visit Beliefnet's “Virtual Choir Festival“ for more recommendations.

• Evelyn Bence, Spiritual Moments with the Great Hymns (Zondervan, 1997).

• See the BreakPoint commentaries, “'The Word' at Christmas,” “Handel's Masterpiece,” “More than Pretty Music,” “The Broken Organ,” and “Recycled Music.”

• M. Moore, “Whatever Happened to Singing?“ BreakPoint Online, 5 December 2003.

• Michael Snyder, “Holy Invasion,” BreakPoint WorldView, December 2003.

• John Fischer, “The Scandal of the Dancing Christ,” BreakPoint Online, December 2001.

• William J. Tighe, “Calculating Christmas,” Touchstone, December 2003.

• Visit the White House “Season of Stories“ web page.

• Candace Z. Watters, “Adding Meaning to the Holidays,” Boundless, 11 December 2003.

• Budziszewski, “Unmerry Christmas,” Boundless, 11 December 2003.

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Copyright (c) 2003 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

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For many people, the Christmas season is filled with anything but peace. Too much rushing around. Too much traffic. Too many activities, crowded stores and long lines. Too much stress. Not enough spiritual reflection and drawing closer to God.

If your disillusionment with Christmas has been growing, one way to resurrect the holiday spirit is to practice the time-honored observance of 12 days of Christmas.

According to most church calendars, the Christmas season actually begins Dec. 25 and ends on January 5. The 13th day, Epiphany, commemorates the wise men's arrival and the revelation of Jesus as Savior to the gentiles.

If you feel spiritually frazzled during December, celebrate these observances, individually or as a family, to reconnect with our Savior and reclaim the holidays:

1. GIVE MEANINGFUL GIFTS. “They opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11). Take time to reflect on the meaning of gift giving. With each gift exchange, you're re-enacting the scene of the wise men bestowing their treasures on Jesus.

2. FORGIVE AND RECONCILE. “You are to name Him Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). As Christ came to forgive us, we're called to forgive others. Who has sinned against you? Whom have you offended? While reconciliation takes time, it can begin on this day with the first thought or act of forgiveness.

3. WATCH FOR GOD. “They will name Him Immanuel, which is translated 'God is with us'“ (Matthew 1:23). Search for God this day. You can see His hands in everything -- the shining sun, laughter, the warm glow of the fire, and your heart. Take time to be still and listen to God's voice. What is He saying to you?

4. SHOW HOSPITALITY. “In those days, Mary set out and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judah, where she entered Zechariah's house” (Luke 1:39). When Mary was pregnant and unmarried, she sought refuge in the home of Zechariah and Elizabeth. Welcome someone into your home who is grieving a lost loved one, going through a divorce or simply feeling lonely during Christmas.

5. HONOR YOUR MOTHER. “Then [Elizabeth] exclaimed with a loud cry: Blessed are you among women, and blessed is your offspring!” (Luke 1:42). Honor your mother on this day. Spend time with her or call her. If she has passed away, reflect on her gift of life. Perhaps you can help an overwhelmed mother in your church or neighborhood.

6. SERVE THE HOMELESS. “And she wrapped Him snugly in cloth and laid Him in a manger -- because there was no room for them at the inn” (Luke 2:7). Mother Teresa once said that to serve the homeless was to serve the living Christ. (See Matthew 25:40.) Serve the homeless this day by helping out in a shelter or soup kitchen.

7. GET BACK TO NATURE. “We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him” (Matthew 2:2). God used nature to guide the wise men. After days of gluttony and sofa sitting, spend time in God's playground. Soak in the divine creativity and presence of God.

8. HONOR CHILDREN. “You will find a baby wrapped snugly in cloth and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). Look for Jesus in the faces of children around you. Spend quality time with little ones, absorbing their playful spirits. If children don't live with you, visit a family with children or volunteer to baby-sit for a friend.

9. REFLECT ON THE PAST. “Mary was treasuring up all these things in her heart and meditating on them” (Luke 2:19). Reflect on the things God has taught you or the ways He has worked in your life during the past year.

10. WORSHIP AND CELEBRATE THE SABBATH. The wise men “saw the child with Mary His mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped Him” (Matthew 2:11). Go to church and focus on worshiping God. Praise Him throughout the service. After church, enjoy God's gift of the Sabbath with family or friends.

11. EXPERIENCE ONE HOUR OF PRAYER. Anna “did not leave the temple complex, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers” (Luke 2:37-38). Go to a peaceful place and dedicate an hour to communicating with God. Savor God's presence and rejoice in His love for you.

12. COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS. “For we have all received grace after grace from His fullness” (John 1:16). Set aside time to name the ways God has blessed you. Write them down. Be specific. The list will provide a reminder of God's grace throughout the year.

The holiday season doesn't have to be stressful and empty. God intends for it to be intimate and peaceful. By celebrating 12 days of Christmas, we can focus on -- and connect with -- our Savior during the holiday that commemorates His birth.

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Adapted from the article, “Resurrecting Christmas: 12 Days of Celebrating God's Way” in the December issue of HomeLife, a Southern Baptist publication

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It is marvelous to consider the amount of information we carry about in our heads. Think for a minute about all of the numbers you have by memory: phone numbers, birthdays and ID numbers, zip codes, appointment times and so forth. Among our many numbers are some so inscribed in our minds with permanent marker that we could not forget the number anymore than we could forget the person or thing they represent. The significance moves well beyond the boldfaced digits themselves - the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, the street number of the house you grew up in, the number of times you failed before you finally passed the test.

A friend remembered recently the kind of number that is quite natural for most people to forget about, even as it is one that quietly holds for me more than I can put into words. But like the number itself, her remembering was more than a recollection of detail. It was distinctly as if she remembered me.

In the days of Mordecai and Queen Esther the people set themselves to remember the days when they received relief from their enemies, the month that had been turned “from sorrow into gladness and from mourning into a holiday” (see Esther 9). And so it was determined: “These days of Purim should never cease to be celebrated by the Jews, nor should the memory of them die out among their descendants” (Esther 9:28). The days were weighted with enough hope to press upon them the need to remember them forever. Moreover, they saw the certain possibility that they might forget.

I suppose there are moments in our lives when we realize that we are beholding the carving of a day into the great tree of history. On the night before my wedding I scribbled anxiously in my journal, “It will never be this day again, but the seventeenth of every August will never be the same either.” I knew from that day forward it would be difficult (and detrimental) to forget that day on the calendar - it would carry the force of forgetting so much more.

God told the Israelites that they would remember the night of Passover before the night even happened. “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast” (Exodus 12:14). Moses and Aaron were given instructions to tell the whole community of Israel to choose a lamb without defect, slaughtering it at twilight. Then they were to take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts of the houses. “The blood will be a sign,” the LORD declared. “And when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike the firstborns of Egypt.”

Celebrating the Passover was nonnegotiable, and with good reason. It was a command passed down from generation to generation: “Remember this day as a statute forever.” But just as we remember more than the wedding itself on an anniversary or the act of birth on a child's birthday, the Israelites were remembering more than the events of Israel's exodus from Egypt; they were remembering God Himself - the faithful hand that moved and moves among them, the mighty acts that shout of God's timely remembering of his people.

As the disciples sat around the table celebrating their third Passover meal with Jesus, an observance they kept before they could walk, everything probably looked ceremoniously familiar. The smell of lamb filled the upper room; the unleavened bread was prepared and waiting to be broken. Remembering again the acts of God in Egypt, the blood on the doorposts, the lives spared and brought out of slavery, they looked at their teacher as he lifted the bread from the table and gave thanks to God. Then Jesus broke the bread, and gave it to them, saying something entirely new. “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”

I have always wished that Luke would have described a little more of the scene that followed. Did a hush immediate fall over the room? Were the disciples once again confused at his words? Or did their years of envisioning the blood-marked doorposts cry out at the Lamb without defect before them?

They had spent their entire lives remembering the sovereignty of God in the events of the Passover and then Jesus tells them that there is yet more to see in this day on the calendar. “In this Passover lamb, in this the broken bread is the reflection of me. As you remember God in history, so remember me. For on this day God is engraving across all of time the promise of Passover: I still remember you.”

From that day forward the disciples knew it would be difficult to forget that day on the calendar. May we also be wary of missing all that weights that moment with hope. For indeed, to forget what was witnessed in the upper room on that Passover in history carries the force of forgetting so much more.

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Copyright © 2004 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate in KeruxID 25837-26027]

Somehow television Christmas specials have become a part of our holiday traditions. Yet that’s not really what makes Christmas special. To have a truly special Christmas, it’s necessary to produce your own “Christmas Specials.” It’s important to plan some things for yourself and your family that will focus on Christ Himself and the wonder of His becoming human at Bethlehem.

Here are some ideas:

• Plan now a special Christmas Eve for your family. Many families attend candlelight services at church; then, before bed, gather around the tree and read the Christmas story from Luke 2. Some families have a special menu they serve only on Christmas morning; the ingredients need to be readied the night before. Make a new “family rule” that all shopping must be done by noon on December 24, and that the evening and Christmas morning are to be given to the Lord Jesus and to the family.

• Select one special human need to fill during the Christmas season. Perhaps you could devote time to visiting a nearby nursing home, serving lunch at a local soup kitchen or going grocery shopping for a needy family. You might make up and ship a Christmas package to a soldier overseas. Brighten someone else’s life in the name of Jesus.

• Invite someone to church. Many churches offer elaborate music and drama productions. These are attractive to many non-churchgoers who keenly feel that something is missing in their seasonal activities. This may be their first introduction to church in years, but it may not be their last.

• Try to select Christmas gifts that convey a spiritual message. We can always give sweaters and ties. But think of the lasting value of giving someone a modern translation of the Bible, a Christian novel, a nativity ornament, a painting with a Scripture verse underneath or a gift-subscription to a magazine. After all, the practice of gift-giving goes all the way back to God himself. Referring to the Christchild and His saving grace, the apostle Paul said: “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).

• Do something for yourself this Christmas. Mental health experts tell us that one of the best ways to stay healthy is to do a little something for ourselves every day. Exhaustion can rob us of our appreciation of the season and pilfer our time for meditation and worship. Learn to block out an hour, make an appointment with yourself. Try calming your day by wrapping up and sitting on the back porch with a cup of hot cocoa, reading the Christmas story from the Gospels. Do a little gift-giving to yourself. Set aside a “stay at home” night and watch your favorite Christmas movie.

• Make a special family occasion out of trimming the Christmas tree.

• If you mail out Christmas cards, select ones that have a spiritual emphasis. You may want to prayerfully choose a Bible verse to inscribe alongside your greeting in each one. End your Christmas greetings with words like these: “and I’m praying that God will bless you in body, mind and spirit during this Christmas season.” As you seal the card, bow your head and sincerely pray for the recipient. (You can buy beautiful religious cards for next year at half price on December 26th.)

You’ll come up with a dozen other ideas for making your own Christmas Special this year.

Late one afternoon in 1949, British missionary Geoffrey Bull was imprisoned by Chinese communists and forced to feed horses in the dark, dank, smelly, nauseating stable. Cold, weary, lonely and ill, as he groped in the darkness, he suddenly remembered that it was Christmas. Jesus, our Savior, came to a place like this -- for us. Geoffrey bowed in worship.

While most of us don’t have to face such brutal conditions, we do often find ourselves tyrannized by “the urgent” during the holidays. But with just a little thought, a little planning, a little prayer and a few simple decisions, we can change that.

We can learn to bow in thankfulness and worship.

We can make our own Christmas special.

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David Jeremiah is the founder of Turning Point for God, senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, Calif., and chancellor of San Diego Christian College (formerly Christian Heritage College).

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My sister recently found a picture of me as a mop-haired 3-year-old standing next to a birthday cake for Jesus. The cake was my idea, a burst of preschooler inspiration in response to my mother's explanation that Christmas is the celebration of Jesus' birth. “Well then,” I concluded with a child's logic, “we should have a party and cake and Kool-Aid and sing happy birthday to him!”

Thus began a 46-year family tradition, our “birthday party for Jesus,” complete with angel food cake. Besides singing carols and reading the Christmas story from the Bible, each family member answers two questions: “What from this past year are you thankful to God for? Since it's Jesus' birthday, what gift will you give Him this next year?”

The problem with miracles is that we forget them. That's why scheduling an annual time to pause and review God's grace in our lives, and to recommit ourselves to Him, has become such a cherished family tradition.

Our party changes each year as our family changes. When my siblings and I were young, the atmosphere was light and full of wiggles. As we matured, our sharing became more intense, even profound. The same cycle repeated itself with my children, and will again with the grandchildren added. But we always grow stronger and closer from sharing our hearts and commitments to Christ.

Generations come and go. My parents are now in heaven. But in a world where everything constantly changes, it is the stability of our family's faith in Christ that enables us to face any circumstance.

That stable faith is the miracle of God's love at Christmas.

________

This article initially appeared in the Dec. 23, 2003, edition of USA Today. Rick Warren is pastor of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., and author of “The Purpose-Driven Church.”

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At times the trend to replace the use of the word “Christmas” with the more generic “holiday” seems ironic. I recently saw an advertisement for a symphony production of Handel's MESSIAH which described the oratorio as a “favorite holiday tradition.” The work's very title conveys its message: that Jesus Christ is the one who fulfills the many prophecies of the Old Testament (prophecies which make up the majority of the MESSIAH'S lyrics). No doubt this message is offensive to many, but does calling it a “holiday” tradition instead of a Christmas tradition make anyone feel any better (if in fact that is what the advertiser hoped to accomplish)?

I find that it is more often secularists (those who wish to keep religion out of the public square) than pluralists (those who believe that every religion deserves a voice in the public square) who champion the use of the word holiday. This is highly ironic and shows how few in our society pay attention to what words actually mean. “Holiday” is none other than the contraction of the words “holy day.” Although Christmas in the West may have degenerated into a celebration of food, gifts, and time off work, secularists unwittingly keep reminding us that it should, above all, be observed as a holy day!

The holiness of God is the heart of Christmas. It is God's holiness that prevents Him from being able to allow sin in his presence. But God made a way to be reconciled to us where there was no way. He took his perfect son and sent him into our midst. When Jesus Christ was born, there entered our world a holiness so true that it wouldn't be stained by the sin that the rest of us live and breath. Zechariah, the aged father of John the Baptist anticipated God's reconciliation at work, and prophesied over his own son:

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High;

for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

to give his people the knowledge of salvation

through the forgiveness of their sins,

because of the tender mercy of our God,

by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

to shine on those living in darkness

and in the shadow of death,

to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79)

The birth of Christ guides us into the path of peace because the road Christ walked and the death he died brought about the forgiveness of sins. He did not come merely to sympathize with us in our weaknesses or to make God seem more accessible, he came to reveal to us the holiness of God's wrath, wrath which he would bear for us.

The next time someone wishes you a happy holiday, I invite you to stop and consider just how holy was the child whose birth we celebrate. His holiness gives us our hope, for unless we are clothed in his righteousness, we are ill-fitted to approach the Holy One of Israel. This hope is captured in the words of the beloved Christmas hymn:

O Holy night, the stars are brightly shining;

It is the night of the dear Savior's birth!

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared and the soul felt His worth.

A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!

O night divine! O night when Christ was born!

O night divine! O night, O night divine!

________

Copyright © 2005 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

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The holiday season has officially begun with widespread reports of near rioting at various big-box retailers, including the Wal-Mart in Renton, where the police had to be called in to quell crowds driven to a frenzy over the chance to buy laptop computers at a deep discount.

So-called “Black Friday” — as in black ink, the day after Thanksgiving and the official start of the annual retail binge that's become Christmas — has become a rite akin to the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. We are treated to film footage and video accounts of rabid consumers kicking, punching, goring, and trampling each other for, well, it doesn't matter what it's for. Stuff.

Forgive me if I have an Andy Rooney moment, but remember when “Black Friday” wasn't a story? Remember when Christmas wasn't used as just another economic marker, a kind of rectal temperature taking of the national well-being? Remember when shopping was either a pleasure or a private anguish, not a public spectacle, let alone a trauma? Remember when we didn't keep score, we merely did the best we could as individuals and families?

I see two distressing trends here. One is that our media have become obsessed with quantifying everything, from holiday sales figures to athletes' salaries to movie box-office receipts. For the sake of injecting a competitive or disaster angle into everything, we now track the fiscal ups and downs of every move. The meaning of everything is determined by the bottom line. We've become a bar-chart society, and we track metrics like commodities traders.

Second, both news and entertainment have begun fusing into a variant of reality TV. Our entertainment is not great films or literature about conflict, it is conflict itself, delivered by ubiquitous Minicams. It's the difference between reading Shakespeare or Dickens and watching cockfights or Survivor. Our tales of retail madness around the holidays feed our taste for turning everything into Darwinian blood sport. We're happy to watch real children and families being abused on network nanny shows or made a spectacle of on Dr. Phil's stage; we watch attention-starved anorexics duke it out to be the next top model or next year's second-rate Vegas act. We're like the Romans in the Coliseum for whom the equivalent of must-see TV was watching what a pride of lions could do to a bunch of unarmed slaves. We care little about plot; it's the abuse that exhilarates. “News” events like Black Friday mania are effectively manufactured for our entertainment.

The sad accounts of holiday shopping insanity appeal in part because we spectators can take solace in the fact that there is someone out there — maybe lots of someones — more desperate, more willing to be humiliated, more pathetic, more deserving of scorn than we are. Better to be a fan in the stands than to be struggling in the arena yourself, right?

Watching people duke it out over Christmas gifts distracts us from the fact that we're all suffering from diminishment. We can roll our eyes over their foolishness without thinking about the bigger picture, that these foolish shoppers paid $2.50 a gallon for gas to drive miles and miles to fight with their neighbors over electronic merchandise, which they'll buy on credit, that was made by foreign workers in countries where their living-wage job wound up. We're getting desperate because we're being drained.

If people thought about the real context, maybe there'd be real riots.

With this general bankruptcy of spirit, it's no wonder the religious right is up in arms over the desecration of Christmas, the turning of a sacred season into a pie chart supervised by politically correct bureaucrats and retail-industry consultants. Evangelical preacher Jerry Falwell is upset because a Christmas tree in Boston was renamed a “holiday tree,” which, he says, is part of a concerted effort to “steal” Christmas. Even as a heathen, I join Falwell in fury. A Christmas tree is a Christmas tree. Are we also going to refer to menorahs as “holiday menorahs” to disguise their association with Jews and Hanukkah? If you strip Christmas of its religious and symbolic meaning, you're left with nothing but the emptiness exemplified by the few things you can still talk about, like sales figures and shopping riots. Who would Jesus punch for an Xbox? This is a concept of Christmas that would make Scrooge, the Grinch, and Mr. Potter all happy.

The spiritual umbrella the celebration of Christmas provides in American society also shelters non-Christians, including those who celebrate Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the pagan yule, or some solo, secular creation that allows us to exist, for a few days, nights, or weeks, in a sacred zone where the last thing on our minds or in our hearts is the latest sales figures for Wal-Mart or Target.

We seem to be living in the dystopia that Jimmy Stewart was trapped in during IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, only there are no angels to snap their fingers and wake us from the nightmare — no angels, that is, except, as Lincoln phrased it, the better angels of our nature.

It's time for them to earn their wings.

Christmas Day

December 25

Christmas is the day on which Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The Roman Catholic Church designates it as a day of holy obligation on which members of the Church must attend services.

Originally, the birth of Jesus was commemorated in the East on the Feast of Epiphany (January 6) but by 354, the Christmas Feast had taken hold in the West and was observed on December 25. Since the fifth century, most Eastern Orthodox Churches have celebrated the Nativity on December 25; however, some Eastern congregations, called “Old Calendarists,” still use the Julian calendar and honor the birth of Christ thirteen days later, on January 7. The Armenian Church continues to celebrate “Old Christmas” on January 6.

As with many traditions surrounding Christmas, the selection of December 25 as a commemoration of Jesus’ birthday may be an example of the blending of Christian ideas and the pagan traditions they replaced. December 25 was the date of the Mithric observance of the “Birthday of the Invincible Sun.” This also coincided with Saturnalia and the Winter solstice during the period when Mithraism was practiced in Rome. Since the day was already being kept as a holiday, Christians may have adjusted the symbolism of the day, declaring it the birthday of their “Invincible Son.” According to events in the Gospel of Matthew, the date of Jesus’ birth may actually have taken place much earlier in the year.

The word “Christmas” means “the mass of Christ,” and originated in the 11th century as a name for this feast. It was one of the most popular and universally celebrated holidays in Europe during the Middle Ages. During the Reformation, however, the celebration of Christmas began to decline in importance. Reformers engaged in complex doctrinal arguments in an attempt to prove the celebration of Christmas was unscriptural.

In some countries, the Protestant reforms brought about a ban of Christmas celebrations. By the time of the Restoration in 1660, however, the celebration of Christmas as a much more secular holiday was revived in these countries. In New England, Christmas remained outlawed until the mid-nineteenth century, and in Boston classes were held in the public schools on Christmas Day until 1870, with pupils who missed school that day being punished or dismissed. The mass immigration of Irish Catholics to New England brought about the reinstitution of Christmas celebrations.

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[Original illustration at this number was a duplicate of HolwickID #11908]

September is a very important month for Jews and Muslims. For Jews, September contains two of their most high, holy days: Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. In the original language, ROSH HASHANAH means “new year” and YOM KIPPUR means “day of atonement.” What do these days entail for Jews? This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur. The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim) or the Days of Repentance.(1)

These “Days of Awe” are filled with wonder and worship, days of reflection, fasting and prayer, days of solemnity and solace. These are days meant to set the tone for the rest of the year even as they remind Jews to reflect on what has gone before. Among the customs of this time, it is common to seek reconciliation with people you may have wronged during the course of the year. The Talmud maintains that Yom Kippur atones only for sins between man and God. As such, sins against persons require reconciliation with that person, righting the wrongs committed against them if possible.

Muslims similarly find September a month set apart, as it marks the month-long fast of Ramadan. Ramadan calls Muslims to concentrate on their faith and spend less time on the concerns of their everyday lives. It is meant to be a time of worship and contemplation, reflection and devotion.(2)

Reflecting upon these holidays of faiths outside my own, I realized that September is not a particularly “holy” month for Christians. We are more caught up in the beginning of the new school year, the buying of school clothes and supplies, the beginning of fall, the inevitable cooling of the air, and the changing color of the leaves -- all the seasonal reminders of the days and months of fall. Spiritual holidays for Christians don’t begin until Reformation Day or All Saints Day on November 1. Perhaps we could change this.

Examining the practices of our Jewish and Muslim neighbors, we are reminded that every day can be a day of awe and devotion for the Christian. Indeed, Jesus gave strong instruction to his listeners during the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew’s gospel. Jesus expected that his followers would engage in on-going acts of devotion like fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. In giving instruction about HOW his disciples would fast he says, “and WHENEVER you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men” (Matt. 6:16). In this same series of instructions, Jesus also assumes his followers will pray and give offerings for the poor (Matt. 6:2,5). The issue is not IF we will do these devotional acts, but WHEN we do them.

While we may have very different reasons, beliefs, and expectations than our Jewish and Muslim neighbors, there is something to learn from their special seasons of devotion to enrich and even challenge our own Christian practice. So often we neglect or altogether forget that our own acts of devotion should arise out of a loving response to what God has done on our behalf in Jesus. It is not insignificant that Jesus warned those listening to him: “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees (the religious leaders of his day), you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). Jesus demanded not just ritualistic acts of devotion, but that the intention of our hearts would be drawn to such devotion and that out of this devotion gracious acts of love and mercy would flow each and every day of the year.

While September is not filled with Christian holy days, shouldn’t we see September as an opportunity for days of devotion and awe? And not just September, but every day and month of the year? Do not miss the opportunity for your own “days of awe” choosing instead to settle for ordinary time.

________

1. www.jewfaq.org

2. www.holidays.net/ramadan/story.htm

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Copyright © 2007 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. "A Slice of Infinity" is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.

It happens every year in May, and pastors anticipate it expectantly. Mother’s Day promises a high energy, high attendance Sunday, with a smiling, eager congregation. There’ll be extra guests galore -- sons, daughters and grandchildren attending worship services with their mother. There will be new mothers, pregnant moms, substitute moms, stepmothers, foster moms, grandmothers. What an opportunity!

No pressure, pastor, but how will this Mother’s Day be different from last year’s celebration? How can your church esteem mothers, yet point the worship service toward God? It’s time to get creative. Need a few fresh ideas?

MOM & ME VIDEO

Ask the tech team to interview children and prepare a montage of testimony clips explaining why “My Mom’s the Best!” Or invite the youth group to prepare a short video to honor their mothers. Or gather dozens of photos of church members with their mothers for a slide show set to music. Use the video for pre-service viewing or play it along with an appropriate music special.

HERE’S YOUR DAISY

If your church presents gifts on Mother’s Day, it’s a good idea to give one to each woman present. (Many childless women have been like a mother to other children.) Each year’s gift can be unique and meaningful, such as:

A single flower.

A book. A CD. A pin. A pen.

Multi-ribbon bookmarks for her Bible.

A corsage made by children in your church.

Laminated copy of an original Mother’s Day poem.

A scripture bookmark with original art by a church youth.

Recruit a different group of people to present the gift each year, i.e. teen boys, deacons, fifth-grade girls, new members, elderly men or church staff.

OLD WOMEN, PLEASE STAND

Not to be a fuddy-duddy, but pointing out the oldest, youngest and most prolific mothers during worship is not always flattering. As an alternative, consider recognizing mothers with a new baby since last year, great-grandmothers, mothers of teenagers or mothers of military. Then include all mothers in a thanksgiving prayer.

I WAS BORN

One pastor announced a special prayer time for mothers, asking everyone in the congregation who had been born to a mother to stand. That’s everyone!

PRESCHOOL PARADE

Prepare signs for all preschoolers, such as, “I thank God for my mom,” “Honor your mother and father,” or giant MOM letters. While worshippers sing a chorus, the joyful Mother’s Day parade of preschoolers marches in one door and exits another. Delightful!

SENIOR ADULT BYKTSS

If it fits your church, plan “Bring Your Kid to Sunday School” for senior adults. The oldest adult Bible class invites their adult offspring to join them for class, arriving early for snacks and studying God’s Word together.

CHILDREN’S SCRIPTURE SHOUT

Choose an appropriate Scripture to teach elementary age children. Kids march into worship during a congregational song, spread out around the worship center, then quote the Scripture in unison.

MOM’S BRUNCH

Youth can pamper their moms by planning and serving a lovely brunch. Guys carry a towel draped across their arm and wear an eyebrow-pencil-drawn curly mustache. Plan a program of poetry readings, serenading and prayers.

NO COOKING

How about a catered picnic for a church-wide Mother’s Day lunch at the local park? The pastor of a Filipino church in New Jersey excitedly told me about their top-secret plan for Mother’s Day. The men of the church have reserved an entire local restaurant for lunch, and they’ll surprise their mothers and families with a special meal. Don’t tell.

SENSE AND SENSITIVITY

Scripture instructs us to honor our fathers and mothers, but use discretion. Some in your congregation may dread Mother’s Day because of marital status, childlessness, death or problems with parents.

WORSHIP HIM, NOT HER

Many unchurched family members will attend worship with their moms. Tell them how Jesus can change their life! It’s a great day for a baptism, baby dedication or children’s choir song. Joyfully honor mom on Mother’s Day, but focus on the only One worthy of worship -- our God.

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This column was adapted from the book, “Fresh Ideas: 1,000 Ways to Grow a Thriving & Energetic Church.”

“It just got out of control,” admits Cindy Johnson of Ann Arbor, Michigan. She owns about 2,500 Christmas tree ornaments, and buys about 100 more each year. And she likes using them all, every year. “I’m an ornament addict, a Christmas junkie,” she says, and it now takes 42 trees in her house to display all of her ornaments. Johnson, who has a “very understanding husband,” spends about six months before Christmas to set it all up. “Some people tell stories about their kids. I talk about my trees. They all think I’m crazy.”

________

Ann Arbor News

Last week, Patty and I attended a performance of a Living Christmas Tree at my church, the First Baptist Church of Naples, Florida. It was the best I’d ever seen. The performers did not simply offer music and a manger scene; they also brought out flags. One read: “The Great I AM”; another proclaimed “King of Kings.” Yet another said “Lord of Lords.”

In other words, the program was not confined to warm thoughts about a chubby-cheeked Baby Jesus. It made the point that Christmas is about the Incarnation.

Too many pastors, music directors, and rank-and-file Christians miss this point. We wander happily through the weeks of Advent, buying gifts, trimming trees, throwing out Aunt Ethel’s fruitcake, and listening to Eartha Kitt warble “Santa Baby.” All good fun, of course, but what we often miss is the huge, central truth of Christmas: the fact that the birth of Christ represents an invasion of Planet Earth — an assault on territory occupied by a violent and vicious enemy, Satan.

Viewed properly, Christmas is a matter of life and death for billions. God invaded in order to smash the reign of Satan and to establish His holy rule.

We see hints of the battle plan in Scripture — evidence of one kingdom pitted against another. For example, in Matthew 3, John the Baptist announces that the kingdom of God is at hand. John later warns that “even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” In other words, we are told to make a choice — God’s kingdom, or Satan’s.

Beginning in Acts, we find the first signs of the kingdom of God — believers banding together to form the first church, holding all things in common. Peter and John announce: “The kings of the earth set themselves ... against the Lord and against his Anointed” (Acts 4:26). We’ve seen the signs of the two kingdoms at war ever since — a holy kingdom assaulting the gates of hell.

Think about it for a moment. What is the kingdom of Satan? It’s a kingdom that celebrates mass murder, sex trafficking, abortion, pornography, addictions, and any other horror you might imagine.

But we don’t hear much about this at Christmas. The problem, you see, is we’ve slipped into classic American reductionism. We take a big idea, like the Incarnation, and reduce it into something small enough to cope with.

We can handle the warm, fuzzy baby in the manger bit. But that babe in swaddling cloths matured in 30 years and triumphed over sin and death and conquered the kingdoms of this world. As we hear in Handel’s Messiah, “The Kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.”

What about you? This year, will you celebrate a holly, jolly Christmas? Or will you stretch yourself to recover the huge, real, violent, beautiful meaning of the Incarnation?

So, yes, the birth of Jesus is a glorious moment, and the manger scene brings comfort and joy and Christmas cheer. But it should also inspire a holy terror in us — that this Baby, born in the manger, was the thrilling signal that God had invaded the Planet Earth. This baby is God incarnate, the mighty King who came to set the captives free through His cruel, bloody death on the cross as atonement for us, His unworthy subjects.

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Copyright (c) 2008 Prison Fellowship Ministries. Reprinted with permission. "BreakPoint with Chuck Colson" is a radio ministry of Prison Fellowship Ministries.

Merry Christmas. Seriously. And some people do mean seriously.

A vocal faction of believers, grumpy about Christmas gone wild, insist that Christians should get a theological grip.

“Christmas is being marginalized every day of the year, when pastors fail to preach who Christ really was,” says Michael Horton, who blasts these trends in his new book, CHRISTLESS CHRISTIANITY: THE ALTERNATIVE GOSPEL OF THE AMERICAN CHURCH.

Christmas without the specter of the cross, without awareness that this is a baby born to die for mankind’s sins, is a fancied-up fraud, says Horton, professor of theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, and associate pastor at Christ United Reformed Church in Santee, California.

“Santa becomes a substitute for Christ. He’ll give you presents whether you were good or bad. It’s hard to imagine Santa returning to judge the human race and consign anyone to hell. But that (judgment) is what Jesus came to save us from,” says Horton, who tells his children Santa works for Jesus.

But other Christians say love, peace, good will and generosity are well worth celebrating.

“A lot of the Christmas celebration is a nostalgic veneer that doesn’t really connect very deeply theologically,” says Mary Helene Rosenbaum, head of Dovetail Institute for Interfaith Family Resources, based in Boston, Kentucky. When she advises religiously mixed families, she finds what works best is pragmatic: Elevate the holiday trappings over doctrine.

“We really are becoming a secular society,” she says. “When you ask people their religious identity, they’re really talking about their sense of community and belonging,” not wrestling with ideas about God.

Even some who lament the rise of a less religious Christmas reluctantly agree with her.

“The focus on peace and giving gifts allows you to safely focus on nice things instead of the idea that God sent his son Jesus to be Christ, who dies on a cross. It’s human nature to want to take the ‘nice’ without the ‘truth,’” says Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research in Nashville.

It’s not that Christmas partying is wrong: There just has to be a larger purpose for it, says pastor and author Rick Warren. His newest book, THE PURPOSE OF CHRISTMAS, cites celebration as one of the three things announced by the angels at Christ’s birth, along with salvation and reconciliation to God.

But social scientists say several trends work against the push to focus on doctrine:

• The percentage of U.S. adults who say they have no religious identity has more than doubled, from 7% in 1990 to 15.2% in 2008, says sociologist Barry Kosmin, principal investigator of the American Religious Identification Survey and a research professor at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut.

• Data from Christian trends researcher Barna Research in Oxnard, California, finds the long-familiar bump in Christmas church attendance is mostly somewhat-regular attendees coming in from the cold more often.

• Interfaith marriages — in which couples often blur or ignore religious differences — have increased from 2.9% of U.S. adults in 1973 to 8.5% in 2006, says Tom Smith, director of the General Social Survey for the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

But ultimately, the most significant reason behind the shift away from focusing on a religious Christmas that stresses the birth of Jesus may be found in the latest survey from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The survey found that more than half of U.S. Christians (52%) today do not say Christianity is the exclusive path to eternal life.

Horton blames Christians themselves for taking the Christ out of Christmas. “Secularism cannot be blamed on the secularists, many of whom were raised in the church. We are the problem,” he says.

Today is Ash Wednesday, the first of day of Lent, and 46 days before Easter, the original movable feast. Why do some Christian holidays move around while others, like Christmas, always fall on the same day?

Because the church said so in A.D. 325. The date of Easter is determined according to the lunar calendar, while the date of Christmas is fixed on the solar calendar. Before 325, there was no official celebration of the birth of Christ, and Easter was celebrated by some Christians on Passover (a lunar holiday) and by others the following Sunday. The rationale: Christ’s last supper took place on or around Passover, he was crucified on a Friday, and the festival of Easter celebrates his resurrection two days later.

In 325, church officials at the First Council of Nicaea formalized the date of Easter in an effort to get everyone to celebrate on the same day (and also, possibly, to dissociate it from the Jewish Passover feast). From then on, the holiday was celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon after March 21, the start of spring.

At the same time, the council inaugurated Christmas by making Dec. 25 the Feast of the Nativity. Because Christmas was not directly related to a lunar holiday, and because it had never been celebrated before — the date of Christ’s birth is not mentioned in the Bible, and questions about it had been settled by a proclamation from the pope just five years earlier — the council was able to establish an unambiguous date for the celebration.

But Easter remained tough to pin down. The Julian calendar in use at the time relied on the leap year to keep seasons from drifting with respect to dates, but the correction only worked so well. By the mid-16th century, the vernal equinox was occurring more than a week before March 21.

In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII solved this problem by issuing a papal bull that eliminated 10 days from the calendar that year. October 4, 1582, was followed immediately by October 15, 1582. The start of the following spring occurred on March 21, and Easter was restored to its proper season. To avoid future problems, Pope Gregory abolished leap years for every year that is evenly divisible by 100, except those that are evenly divisible by 400. (So, the year 2000 had an extra day, but 1900 didn’t and 2100 won’t, either.)

In theory, Easter falls on the Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. In practice, the church’s methods are a bit imprecise, in part because the vernal equinox doesn’t always fall on March 21 and in part because the church uses traditional tables (rather than modern astronomy) to determine the dates of full moons.

Eastern Orthodox churches never adopted the Gregorian calendar, so their Easter remains on the Julian calendar. In some years it falls five weeks after the Western Easter.

Christmas is actually a big holiday in Japan. People decorate their houses with lights and many set up Christmas trees (plastic, of course). Stores begin decorating at the end of November. Christmas carols - in English - fill the malls. You can get your picture taken with Santa Claus, too. On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, gifts are given out, especially to small children.

They also do a few things differently. On Christmas Eve, single women have a romantic dinner with a man they love. The day has practically become a second Valentine’s Day.

And bakeries do a huge business selling Christmas Cakes. 75% of Japanese have a Christmas Cake -- and they are surprised to find out Americans have no idea what a Christmas Cake is. (It is sponge cake with whipped cream and strawberries.)

Do you know what’s really amazing? Japanese have almost no idea what Christmas means. Less than one percent of the population is Christian. Some think Christmas is the day that Santa was born. It is not a total loss, though. Churches there make a big effort to attract visitors with candlelight services and other Christmas festivities.

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Adapted from articles found at and