Today, I had a great Christmas with the folks. I received a bunch of small gifts this time like a waffle maker, a fabric steamer, a mechanical Oral-B toothbrush, DVDs, clothes, and money. My family and I watched the Usual Suspects, one of my all-time favorite movies during the afternoon then had a great Christmas dinner. The rest of my day was spent browsing the internet and reading editorials.
One of the interesting editorials that I ran into was by Penne Restad at the Washington Post. It discussed the culture war associated with the Christmas season – Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, Happy Holidays (for the atheists), etc. This well-written article discussed this debate from a historical perspective – from the Puritans to the rise of commercialism. As a Christian, I am unsure how to approach the current Christmas culture clash (too many c’s). Part of me is frustrated by all of the politically correct speak associated with the season. Yet, I have a hard time trying to debunk the tolerance movement in this case. Sure, everyone should have the right to celebrate the holiday season in any manner they wish.
Yet, I wonder whether we, as Christians, should let the Christmas culture war concern us. Let’s face it – Christmas is a commercial holiday. Do we really want to be associated with the greed and maniacal behavior associated with the season? We can try to expound the “reason for the season” to the public but I feel that this has little effect on non-believers and only provides a stronger association between Christianity and commercialism, greed, etc. It’s an interesting debate.
Just in closing, I think the true meaning of Christmas – the celebration of the birth of Christ – is very important to Christians. We should always maintain this focus through the holiday season. But more importantly, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ should be celebrated every day of our lives.
And now for a lighter note, this is a picture of Jade bringing back a ball. I happened to snap the photo just as her ears were pointed straight up. Quite the wingspan. She almost looks like a rabbit… a wascawy wabbit.
I hope you had a great Christmas and enjoy the few days remaining in 2005!
Garret Bonnema 