THE CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS OF CHRISTM4s 12/23/62

What is this thing called Christmas? A stranger ta@ our culture,

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unfamiliar with the matrix of events and customs that characterize

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the last few weeks of the year, well might ask that question f To

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him Christmas would be overwhelmingly confusing; [if he were to

attempt to discover what precisely we are about in our celebrating

he probably would find himself at wits end. | I think it is a good
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idea every so often to put ourselves in this stranger'sshoes--it is
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especially appropriate to doso at Chri stmas./ wnat I have in mind
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is what I asked of you in my Christmas letter; that is to put some
reflective distance between yourselves and the culture in which
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you live. When you return, hopefully you will find that culture deeper

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and more meaningful than you ever imagined.
All of the contemporary trappings involved in the event of
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Christmas warrant careful examination. / To an unbiased eye Christmas

could appear to be a conglomeration of bright lights, flashin
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colors, pink wreaths, aluminum resemblances to fir trees, a very

busy time at post office and bank, hilarious parties, a steady flow

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of liquor and so on. Everyone is trying his utmost to put on an

veneer of cheerfulness, everybody is exhauséed from trying to have a

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good time Coldly analyzing the seagson in an article entitled the
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Blight before Christmas." Time Magazine remarked in prose--that

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(‘christmas Bure can be the season to loge your reason,” ) Tt further

noted chat ("veginning avout Thanksgiving, family quarrels become

fierce, relations with relatives become more strained, tradesmen
assume 2 forced friendliness, and the dispenser of holiday cheer

begins to feel there is not an honestly cheery face to be found

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anywhere" Husbands and wives often get into bitter Christmas
wrangles over which parent to visit or invite, and reunions are not
always the joyous occasions Christmas cards crack them up to be.

The article went on into the more tragic elements of the blight, such as

the 84 million families that face potent ial trouble--because one of

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their members is an alchoholic--and Christmas Sprit often comes in a

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bottle, neatly packaged with a bright #ed bow. / This caustic but

thoughtful arti

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le ended by discussing a childhood truma it ea2lls

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Santa Claustrophobia--a subject to which I will return,

The point now is that much of that which falls under the heading

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Christmas tradition is tragic; much more is outrageously cheap and
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Svule@esr. While there is, or must be, the good and the beautiful
about Christmas, there very definitely is the tragic and the cheap and

imezssdekly vulgar.f/ I had two very real experiences last week that

illustrate this cultural dichotomy. The first occurred in a drug

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store in Chicago. On the counter there sat a small ereche'! made
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of plastic; resting on the roof of th stable was a poker game

ehildren; and to the immz immediate left a toy cannon zeroed in

on the manger. jf On the same day I saw another sight, equally as

unintentional but equally as symbolic of our eultural schizophrenia
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Along the Calumet #xpressway there are two displays sitting side by

side; the one a life sizes image of ©.C., retendeer, sleigh and all;
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the Nativity. fAt a glance it appeared that the North Pole curriers

party below and shouting( Merry Christmas to all and to all a

good night." }

completely lose their minds, in purchasing items to amuse and enter-
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tain their children items quickly coma to woasel Firsty there is

noises, When struck by a dart from its wee owner's gun it automatically
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fires a

a jet fighter plane, with a sereen that shows the target areas, The

child in control can drop bombs and fire rockets--and then gleefully

watch the destruction reaped on the enemy penow. | Add to these the
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possibility that todays youngster can, and in all probability does,
ewe Gf F shit guts, aetonah< Cbs birce

own snub nosed revolvers, cannons ane the conclusion one must make
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is that Christmas is a time when we train our children to kil) in a
thousand different wavs Hitler's brown shtrted youth movement has

nothing on us really; we do it just as efficiently on our own; and
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there is no better occasion on which to buy and five these treasures
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than Christmas--the birth of the Christ Child.
there was a third _item 2 saw; and I mention only because of the utter

shock I felt when I saw it. Ina very highly respected toy store

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I came actoss 2 battery nowered model of Charlie Weaver.f Push a

button and it shakes and pors a drink, consumes the drink, the face

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turns red and smoke shoots out the ears, \fter this I wasn't
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so sure I wanted to have anything to do with Christmas at all.

It is a fact that Christmas is 4 gigantic, orgy: it is a fes®8ival
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that has been violated end abused by our culture. These are facts--
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on the money earned and spent and no amount of wailing or gnashing
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of teeth will alter however, is to

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look heek into history, to ses when ind how @ it cll bervan. We ean

tan tradi

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int ong orm ctome af the

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discover the source af our }
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meanings the

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F OUght to have toda,

Por about 100 years after the birth of Christ there waa no GQhrict-
mas celebration ss such, /Thesewent did take nlance in Marrh on Anpril

hut the sorly Christians neither @lehrated nor even aslled it Christ-

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mar. f Peeember 2F wee the first day af the lack week tn thea Boman
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vear., It wie 3a time af celebration and fames for the PRomsanc.

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-avish snd elaborate, the selehpiticn lanted for seven dave, drinkin:

und e@spronteing spotted with Pagan mligton, ] Ts was a mood time for all;
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ond all of Rome SOined im; 211; thet is oxnent the Christiane / The

Christians giant naptieipite in Roman Testivities, ind at no time
wis their abstinence moro obvious then oat the and AP the cascr in the

Testival.jy They weve nercrecuted for vrefosing to Join in,

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hut 8bove all else they Found mony of their nimber temnted to format
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their religion for a while und keve come fur. faAnd so the caplyl
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Christian community decided that they would have 2 eelebration of
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thoir own. / 4s the Romens hegon their week of debauchery on Dee, oh
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Che Christians would celebrate the birth af their ie agp mae thev

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did, |: waen'* until the foufth century that Christmss was aefinitely

nomed 8nd pleeed on Dee, 24--but eines the first eentury GQhetatiane
ae weet.
have been celebrating on thet day,

Traditions gradually built un and were nainsed From Feneration to

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generation. Sach age had ites own way of selehratine the birth of

Ghrist~-3and the logaer of thess sacred traditions is etill dimly
a a a
yvisibls corey | Ror L, O08) wwe, in req me ehureak snc omtate wore one
ore. in Surans ehurs mc matates were one
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and fhe same. For all mraetie?] ournoces everyone was 9 Shristian

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and so Christmas was 3 cultural sclishvatton.} fh the great cathedrals
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of Rurope Christmas rituals ana hymeans were born: it was a time
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ebration

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of universal celebration and Jo vf But it wes 2 ee
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springing directly from the advent and birth of Jesus Christ--ane
had

i as its outside limits the church of Jexus Christ.

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In the New World of America the Suropean Christians brought their

traditions and customs with them, But foremost among the settlers,
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and those who most profoundly influenced American morality, were the
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Putitans The Puritans left Hurove primarily because they didn't

like European Christianity. Theyabhor ed the elaborate ritual of

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the Cathedral, they hated anything faney or elaborate for that

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matter, / For them Christmas was a special day--but to be treated

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like any other aay / Ang so they outlawed any special celebrations;
there would be, <MXS=s5eneeyxXnexankwardxesiabeakionxakx im no treannins

no wreathes, or trees--theee would be, in essence, no outward cele-

bration of Christmas The Puritans failed to do what they intended;

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411 they really man4ged to do was to pu sh the ish the celebration of Christmas

out of the church and on to the 1 ee aeaere People Kept on celebrating

the event; but now to st ane expression for the religious motives and

emotions they had to look to soecieS5y; to the world of merchandise

and free enterprise {/ It was a hanpy marriage; culture gladly welcomed
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this wealth of Teel ling; ctkkeers simply took over and exploited what

were once Christian symbols and made them into symbols of a secular

Christmas--a Christmas that because of the religious ideas of the

puritans had nothing whatsoever to do with the birth of Jesus Christ,

Today, it mis

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at once. There is the birth of Christ; forturstely the ehurch has re-

sht be said, there are two senarate celebrations oceruing

claimed it; /and there is a ecular Festival; that like the Roman
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holiday, hapoens to occur in the last week of the year end is almost

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dlalectically opposed to anything Christian. It is, indeed, becoming

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increasingly difficult to see any connection between the two at all.
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One alternative that has been aired is that the date of Christmas
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again be changed; this time to avoid interrupting a pagan celebration.

But the problem is that there is much about the secular Christmas

that belongs to un, devils everything I have said there is mich
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shout Christmas that is essentially Christin: there ors manv tra-
a hy i E i ssent tally Chris : ere any
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ditions. But above all else, the birtn of Christ is an occasion

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for celebration. / During advent we thought about the mystery of the

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Incarnation, about the element of comfort and hope inherent in

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God's descending to earth in the Christ cniad | Ang at Christmas we

ought to be bursting with Joy and gladness. We ought to celebrate--
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to sing loudly and ==" We ought not retreat to another

gay. We ought not even to reject the entirety of the seculr

Christmas, /Rather we ought to observe closely; to discover what there
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ls that belongs to us, to reclaim it and embrace it as our rightful
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inheritance from those down through the centuries who have joyfully
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heard the words ("ohn Christ the Savior is Born")

ind so for the remainder of our time today I want to look at some

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of theses Christmas traditions-traditions that have come to us as
contemporary Christians.

There is no more anprorniate symbol of Christmas than the tree. In

the ritual of the church green has always signified eternity The

evergreen tree, the tree that does not wither and dis in the fall
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is a given symbol of the éternal nature of God and his Son Jesus
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christ. | Trees are part of the ecraation God has siven us: 3 erestion

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that is good, and to be enjoyed by man./ The Christmas tree--is 4
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Christian symbol--we ought only to recognize it as such,
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The Holly Wreath as a Christian and esnecially a Christmas symbol

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is a very ancient cYstom. /Tt was 9 popular medieval myth

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that the kkekex thorns that made the crown our Lord wore to his

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eurcifixion wi€ holly; and the red berries are the droplet: of his

blood that have become a vart of the plant

With the wreath of hoaly

then cattle Jowing and sweet-smelling hay.

of old reminded themselves that the birth of a_savior mennt moro

they rejoiced that Christ had worn such a crown, and that his blood

had been shed for them. [our vests today then, are basically Christiar

symbols; when they adorn our church and homes they are more than

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pretty things,/they are symbols that we celebrate the birth of 3
King; a King who died that we might live.

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Tradition has it that Martin Luther was the first to put_eand

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on s@hingskiam a Christmas tree. / And it is an anelent German legend
that candles on_a tree will be magically lighted at Midnight on Christ-

iturgy and titual of Christianity ./ Christ has been called the
oter of the Gosnel of John contains

"Light of the World." The lst cha

the words ("In him was life and the life was the light of men, The
light shinesin the darkness and the darkness has not overcome ve. }

The darkness is a_sinful world andinto that world came a spark of

light, Every candle in a Christian church represents this magnificent
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afrfi mation, Hvery Christmas candle in our homes, every light on

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our trees, is our personal affirmation not that colored lights

are pleasing to i ale but that Jesus Christ is indeed the light

of the World

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The last tradition I wish to examine and the most erucial, is that
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of givine gifts at Christmas./ 4 4th Century Saint named Nicholas
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is the person who began it all. Tradition has it that he was kindly

and good, especially to the poor--and the cnidren. /Tn the

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Mees &8t. Nicholas day was celebrated on Dec. 5 as it is today in

Holland. / On that day a man in each town would distribute candy to

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the children in remembrance of the Saint of Tronueatay, the Dutch

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themselves are responsible for deriving 5.C from St. Nicholas--but

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it is here in Americatgain that we have made a clean break with
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win
Christianit Givine ciffts to those we love began as a demonstration
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of our gratitude that God has given us his wondrous girt./ Giving
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gifts to our chidren besan, innocently enough, as a s¥milarly

profound gesture. [Christmas is a time for giving, and ekving

generously--but giving without love is one of the hollowest and

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cheanest of customs, fm our age Christmas has hecome the t+:
get--to recive | Santa Claus the descendant of St. Nicholas has

become not the symbol of God's love, but the subsitute, totally and

completely as American cels prates\Ule time .| I want to share with

you a small editorial from the Diily News, by Sydney Harris. It

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sums un completely what I--and 9ll of Christianity ought to sa

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to the cult of Sante Claus. (Read article)

Essentially S.C. is--or used to be 4 Christian tradit n. Is there
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room for him today? That depends on how you and your children think
of him, Personally--in my home he is not needed--for there is no

more anpronvriate, or real, stry of tenderness and goodness and
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selfless giving than the birth of Jesus Christ.

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Without exeention the Christian traditions of Christmas have
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been usurped and seculsrized by our culture. / god's girt of green
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trees has become shiny aluminum, green wreaths have become anuseatingly

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lights and S.C sof -eumey shapes

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pink, every barroom has its string of
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and formfappear on every street comer. [ But we must not retreat

and reject. We must reclaim what is rightfully ovrs; the tree--

the wreath--the lights--giving gifts--these belong to a race of

peoople that is glad and joyous. a church that is overwhelmed

oy the great goodness of God. / Let us embrace these symbols, these
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gifts of God's creation--let us use them as they are intended to
be ana meee Le

be used--to express our love and adoration and praise--to a new

born King.

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WHAT WH HAVE DONE IS A SYMBOLIC ACT: WE HOLD CANDLES IN FRONT OF US

THAT GIVE US LIGHT: TOGETHER THE LIGHT OF THE CANDLES FILLS THE SANCTUARY,

BUT TONIGHT WH MUST INVOLVH OURSELVES IN SOMETHING MORE THAN SYMBOLISM,

ACCEPT HUMBLY THER GIFT OF LIGHT GIVAN US THIS NIGHT. ACCEPT AND NUTURE
THE TREASUR® GIVEN US BY GOD ALMIGHTY, TH TREASURH SYMBOLIZ&#D BY THE
LEAPING FLAME OF THe CANDLE.

LT JOY AND PRAISE ABOUND: WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN LIGHT: LIGHT THAT

WE MIGHT SE: LIGHT THAT WE MIGHT BE SAVED: LIGHT THAT WILL NOT GO OUT,

AS THs LIGHT FROM OUR CANDLES FILLS THE SANCTUARY: MAY THE TRUE LIGHI

OF CHRIST INVADE THE SANCTUARIES OF OUR HEARTS.

JOY TO THE WORLD - THE LORD HAS COME!

ALMIGHTY AND MERCIFUL HEAVENLY FATHER, PULFILL AND ENRICH OUR EXPERIENCE

TONIGHT, MAY THR LIGHTING OF THESE C:

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NDLZS MARK THE RENEWAL OF OUR FAITH:
MAY THE LIGHT CAST BY THEIR GLAZAMING TOGETHER BE SYMBOLIC OF THE LIGHI
OF JESUS CHRIST REFLECTED IN OUR LIVES. O GOD, ACCEPT THE REDEDIC ATION
‘ND RECOMMITTMENT OF OURSELVES ON THIS NIGHT. WITH THY GUIDANCE MAY WE

FIND THE WAY: MAY ALL DARKNESS BE DISPELLED.
AMEN