The Pain of Christmas

I love Christmas, but I can understand why this time of year brings fear to the hearts of many.  I was listening to my normal morning radio show this morning and they had people calling in to explain why they hated Christmas.  Interestingly each caller despised the season for one of a few reasons: increased family tension, stress from being too busy, or stress from tight finances. Hearing these people explain their pain caused me to wonder if we’re doing Christ a disservice by trying to celebrate his birth at a time of the year which has come to mean something completely different. 

Now, I’ve heard the arguments before about how we need to desecularize Christmas, and bring the focus back to Christ. That sounds great. I’m just not sure it’s possible at this point. No amount of picketing, boycotting, or getting angry over corporations who refuse to use the word Christmas in their advertisements is going to change those stressors, or make anyone feel better. I’m not necessarily abdicating that we give in and make Christmas a completely secular holiday either.   In fact, I’m not really sure what I’m abdicating.  It’s just disturbing to me that a time of year that Christians have set aside to honor the birth of the Savior is a source of pain for so many.  It should be a source of comfort and a time of reflection and anticipation.

As I think about this a little more, maybe the answer to the season of stress is that we, Christians, need to follow the example of Christ, and love each other.  I’m not saying that Christians should give in; I’m simply saying we need to love. Isn’t that what’s missing when people experience the tensions of the season? Isn’t that really what the message of Christmas is about anyway? Who cares if someone says Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas?  If there are people hurting we need to set those petty concerns aside and be Christ to people   He’s the reason for the season. 

When I started this post, I was leaning toward celebrating the birth of Christ some other time during the year to remove him from a time associated with so much pain.  Now, as I’ve thought through it a little more, I realize that even though we’ve screwed this holiday up, it’s still a time in which Christ is sorely needed.

Posted via email from brianhimes’s posterous