The malls are busy and, in the words of the song Silver Bells, “Strings of street lights / Even stop lights / Blink a bright red and green / As the shoppers rush home with their treasures.”
Christmas specials are being shown on TV; old favourites and new offerings are available almost every evening.
Some of my favourites are the older movies, filmed in black & white (and not ‘Colorized™’). Movies like The Bells of St Mary’s, Miracle On 34th Street, or It’s a Wonderful Life are among those favourites.
One movie that I’ve not watched as often – in fact, I believe I may have only seen it twice in its entirety, counting last night – is The Bishop’s Wife starring one of my very favourite actors, Cary Grant.
As the angel Dudley, sent to answer the prayer of Bishop Henry Brougham (played by David Niven), Grant performs a number of minor “miracles,” including dictating a sermon to a typewriter.
The sermon, or at least that portion that we get to hear dictated by Dudley and, later, spoken by the Bishop, carries a rather poignant message.
Tonight I want to tell you the story of an empty stocking. Once upon a midnight clear, there was a child's cry. A blazing star hung over a stable and wise men came with birthday gifts. We haven't forgotten that night down the centuries; we celebrate it with stars on Christmas trees, the sound of bells and with gifts. But especially with gifts. You give me a book; I give you a tie. Aunt Martha has always wanted an orange squeezer, and Uncle Henry could do with a new pipe. We forget nobody, adult or child. All the stockings are filled -- all that is, except one. And we have even forgotten to hang it up. The stocking for the child born in a manger. It's his birthday we are celebrating. Don't ever let us forget that. Let us ask ourselves what he would wish for most, and then let each put in his share. Loving kindness, warm hearts and the stretched out hand of tolerance. All the shining gifts that make peace on earth.
I know there are those who deny the existent of God, and decry “organized religion.” That is their right, and I won’t deny them their own beliefs. However, I have my own right to disagree.
When I hear people making statements such as “we don’t need religion, we just need a sense of morality,” I smile. Fellow poster Spellchecker offered this retort to such a claim, recently: “As far as morality goes, where do you think it comes from? Even you atheists were influenced in your youth from Judeo-Christian thought.”
I also find it strangely ironic that those who decry organized religion and shun the trappings of everything church-related still celebrate Christmas, and will wish others a Merry Christmas.
I should make it clear that have no problem with people who follow differing faiths, who don’t celebrate Christian holidays.
It is those who borrow Christian holidays for their own celebratory purposes but then in turn deny the basis of those holidays that make me shake my head. Still, they are certainly within their rights, and I as I have already mentioned, I do not deny them their beliefs.
Another of my favourite Christmas specials is the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas. While many use the term “Grinch” as an epithet for miserly, miserable and mean individuals who lack the Christmas spirit, I prefer to hold the Grinch up as a shining example of what, when one allows the spirit of Christmas into their hearts, we can all become.
That, after all, is the underlying premise of the story: maintaining the spirit of Christmas all year long.
In the words of the immortal Dr Seuss:
Christmas day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp
Christmas day will always be
Just so long as we have we.
One of the popular Christmas songs is Here Comes Santa Claus. I do know some more evangelical Christians who frown on references to Santa. But when you examine the lyrics of this perennial favourite -- written in 1947 by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman -- one finds a deeper message.
Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus lane
He doesn't care if you're rich or poor
He loves you just the same
Santa Claus knows we're all Gods children
That makes everything right
So fill your hearts with Christmas cheer
'Cause Santa Claus comes tonight!
Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus,
Right down Santa Claus lane
He'll come around when the chimes ring out
That it's Christmas morn again
Peace on earth will come to all
It we just follow the light
So lets give thanks to the Lord above
That Santa Claus comes tonight!
Gene Autry, the "Singing Cowboy," was himself a devout Christian, and his faith is reflected in this song. For him, Santa was not just a secular figure to represent the rampant consumerism that was taking hold of the nation after the Second World War; Santa was the embodiment of the Christmas spirit, spreading not only Christmas Cheer but also God's love, faith and hope for peace on earth.
As Dudley’s sermon tells us, Christmas is about more than just secular pursuits or faithful worship. Whether or not we believe in the virgin birth, or the life and ministry of the man known as Jesus of Nazareth we can, and ought to, maintain our sense of morality.
We should be placing in the empty stocking our gift of “loving kindness, warm hearts, and the stretched out hand of tolerance.”
If we could make this our goal every day, we could celebrate the spirit of Christmas all day long.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday 21 December 2008, at 7:04 am EST marked the Winter Solstice. This astronomical event heralds the first day of winter and, more importantly, is the shortest day of the year. Starting on Monday our days will gradually become longer.
This event has been celebrated throughout history and pre-history by numerous cultures and civilizations. There exist today prehistoric architectures -- temples, tombs and other structures -- which were designed specifically to not only celebrate this event, but to mark it with the utmost of precision.
It is this celebration that the early Christian seconded to mark the celebration of the birth of Christ, and fittingly so.
This is the day that pagans celebrated the "Re-birth of the Sun," the reversal of its lowering path across the sky. It was an ideal choice of days to celebrate the "Birth of the Son."
Even today the many symbols associated with Christmas -- candles, lights, evergreen wreaths and trees, stars -- harken back to our pagan roots.
When you celebrate Christmas, as you admire your tree, the lights, candles, wreaths and stars, remember that our ancestors had also celebrated these same symbols, even if their meanings were somewhat differently interpreted; or were they?
For isn't Christmas really about letting the light into our lives and our hearts, and allowing it to shine forth in our words and deeds? Isn't it as much about beginning again as anything else?
More info: Winter Solstice Info.