Merry Christmas

I had considered writing a piece on the hazards of Christmas shopping, but after watching the recent remake of “Miracle on 34th Street” Thursday night I was struck, as I was with the original, by the message this story tells: it doesn’t matter whether or not there is an actual Santa, nor whether or not his existence can be proven; what matters is that people – children and adults alike – believe in the spirit of Santa Claus.

Just as Francis P. Church, that wise editor of the New York Sun, wrote in 1897: “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be the world if there were no Santa Claus!”

For me, Christmas has always been more about giving than receiving. Even as a kid, as much as I liked getting presents, I enjoyed giving gifts to others more. I took a great deal of pleasure in selecting and giving what I felt would be just the right gift.

Often the gifts would be something I made myself – like poured candles one year, mounted photos I had taken another year – and the genuine sense of appreciation expressed by the recipients really made the effort worth while.

I’ve mentioned before that I am the only child of an only child. This means that I had very few gifts I felt obliged to give, and often I would select and give gifts to certain of my relatives and friends who weren’t expecting to receive one from me. Now, with my immediate family passed away, I continue to select certain of my friends to receive an unexpected gift.

To me, that’s more in keeping with the spirit of Christmas.

I have heard people discussing their Christmas lists, and it seems to me that gift-giving ought not to be about keeping score and matching the number and value of gifts received with those given.

Of course, another big part of the spirit of Christmas is spending time with one’s friends and families. I have fond memories of Christmas gatherings with my family who, as I have mentioned, have now passed on.

Which brings me to another aspect of Christmas that often gets overlooked: the Blue Christmas. Many churches offer a ‘Blue Christmas’ service for those who may have lost loved ones over the year, who find themselves alone at Christmas, or otherwise find Christmas a difficult time of year emotionally.

Even before my parents passed away I knew how a Blue Christmas felt. Being on my own in a small apartment, alone, with no friends or family nearby was not the kind of Christmas one typically envisions.

Watching the endless parade of Christmas programs and movies didn’t help, either. Being bombarded by the Hollywood ideal of a perfect Christmas only served to underscore my own loneliness.

I did survive, although I will admit that watching those movies – like Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life,” or “Miracle on 34th Street,” or “A Christmas Carol” – remains a bittersweet experience.

Still, I enjoy Christmas.

I also find Christmas a meaningful time of year.

Some within the broad reach of the Christian church will claim that Christians are “an Easter people,” which is to say that the source of their theology is the resurrection. While I can concur that this is the basis of our faith, I am still captivated by the Christmas story.

Even though the story itself doesn’t bear up all that well to scrutiny – the Shepherds would not be out in the fields in December, for instance – I find that it is so much a part of our culture that it can’t be denied.

Whether one believes in “all that God stuff” or not, whether Christmas is a religious experience or rampant consumerism, almost everyone embraces Christmas in some manner.

The true meaning of Christmas is epitomized in the tv shows “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the original, not the movie).

Charlie Brown and the gang discover that Christmas isn’t about commercialism, and pageants, and decorations; Christmas is about the birth of Christ, and showing care and concern for each other.

The highlight, for me, is Linus reciting the passage from Luke 2:

“And there were in the same country shepherds, abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo! The angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them. And they were sore afraid.

And the Angel said ‘Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. For born this day, in the City of David, is a saviour, who is Christ the Lord.’“

The Grinch is my all-time favourite, however. I just love when, with the strength of ten grinches, plus two, he prevents the sleigh from falling off Mount Crumpet and returns the presents to all the Whos, and later when he, himself, carves the roast beast.

In fact, it sometimes bothers me to hear people – in real life and on tv – refer to mean-spirited people as “grinches.” The whole point of the Grinch is that he comes to realize the true meaning of Christmas.

Just like Ebeneezer Scrooge, who thereafter kept Christmas very well indeed, the Grinch ought to be a symbol of to us of how we should live our lives. We should put the past behind us and concentrate on what we can do to lead a better life, one that puts others first.

Similarly, for me, it doesn’t matter whether or not I, or anyone, can prove the existence of God, or of Christ, or explain the miracle of the virgin birth, or even believe that it occurred; what matters is the faith of those who do believe.

That’s why it’s called “having faith.”

But… that’s just my opinion.

Merry Christmas!