Christmas – Oh, Holy Night

Christmas has always been a wonderful holiday. As kids we couldn't wait to see what Santa Clause left for us under the tree. Of course we marveled at the miracle of Christ's birth and loved the carols that helped initiated the season. As adults it has always been a joyful time that has been celebrated through the ages. Or has it been? Actually there has been much controversy over Christmas Read Robert Freer's article below to learn of the differing views of our Saviour's birthday and why despite that, we' be better off if we just lived the Christmas message of peace on earth – goodwill towards men.

By Robert E. Freer, Jr., President of The Free Enterprise Foundation

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock 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 unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:8-14)

Who amongst us can read those words without feeling an inner stirring of half forgotten memory as if you were there? They are simple words, trumpeting the beginning of a new age. It would remain for the carpenter whose birth was the occasion for such celestial fireworks to bring word himself to all mankind of the eternal life available to all, if we but open ourselves to his message of love and forgiveness. He would be gone almost before we knew he had come, but while he was with us, his teaching transformed the relationship between God and man

Something happened that night two millennia ago. It has forever changed our relation with our Creator. Whether you accept that God forgave mankind’s sins by offering His Son to bear all the burdens of humanity, the significance of God’s message of His identification with all humanity is most clearly stated in Christ’s time on earth. Regardless of the horrible squabbles and misery continuing even unto our own time, costing so many lives and so much pain, Our Creator calls us to the truth that there is a Creator who loves us and who offers us eternal life in Him.

Many have yet to accept this message. While Christianity has spread to lodge in the hearts of about a third of the globe’s population, many people conclude the story of Christ’s arrival is just a nice story. Atheists complain that to be awash in Christian sentiment assaults their rights not to be interfered with in their “worshipful non worship.” Druids remind us that Christmas is but a pagan holiday to mark the winter solstice, while even Christian theologians agree that it is far more likely that Christ was born in the spring around Passover or in the fall at the time of Rosh Shoshanna when it would be far more likely that Joseph would have been required to return to the seat of his family, and there would still have been shepherds in the fields with their sheep rather than at home by the fire with their sheep penned in some corral at the village wall.

Evergreens, as well, are ancient totems of celebration and probably were adapted by Christians from pagan rites as part of that which was familiar and life affirming to the newly converted. They along with mistletoe, excessive carousing and merrymaking come down through the age without any essential Judean Christian connection to be part of what still characterizes much of what is the modern Christmas holiday.

The Christmas of today was not, however, always that way as far as Christian practice. In fact our ancestor Pilgrims shunned the holiday, and The English Parliament in 1644 outlawed it as did the Massachusetts colony a few years later; nor is the holiday of ancient Christian origin. It was not celebrated in Christ’s time or in that of his Apostles. It was only in the fourth century that the church recognized its significance in the church calendar. Again it was picked not because it marked Christ’s true birthday but the winter solstice. One of my sources notes that the Puritans repeatedly pointed out in the early years of our founding that “Christmas was nothing but a pagan festival covered with a Christian veneer.”

The term Christmas comes to us from the Old English, “Christes Maesse,” first found in 1038 and “Cristes-messe,” in 1131. The current popularity of the holiday stems more from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” Thomas Nast’s famous cartoon of Father Christmas and billions of promotional dollars spent on the holiday over the decades. The special feeling that is evoked by the passages in Luke, however, is another thing. Its hold on us is deeper, more primordial.

If there is such a thing as species memory, our compelling consciousness of something we cannot quite touch, something we cannot quite define affirming that all humans are somehow unique among life forms, that we are somehow linked together by that which we cannot fully articulate or define, it is made real in the Book of Luke. It matters not that the time of year is not quite right, that pagans and other faiths for eons have been inwardly compelled before and since to celebrate special rites at this time of year only adds to that which confirms our belief.

Jerry Fawell not long before his recent passing said, “I believe the celebration of Christmas is a wonderful opportunity to honor Christ and share the gospel, and I plan to celebrate it on the ‘other side!’” I am sure he is! We are The Human Family. We are called at this time of year to contemplate the gift of life, the prospect of Life eternal, the wonder and magnificence of all we survey. Christmas in its diverse history unites us in our humanity. It is to be treasured for its universality not shunned.

Your Creator calls you to celebrate the joy of your being. Come, join me; let’s celebrate together and may God keep you and bless you now and throughout 2008.

Copyright © 2007 by Robert E. Freer, Jr. All rights reserved

About the author: Robert E. Freer, Jr. is President of The Free Enterprise Foundation. He is a Visiting Professor, at The Citadel and elected in 2005 to be their first John S. Grinalds Leader in Residence. A regular contributor to the Mercury, He can be reached by E-mail at The Citadel . Copies of his earlier columns can be found The Free Enterprise Foundation.

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