CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

November 26, 2006

25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, TX.   77373

www.geocities.com/adon77373/cypresswoodbulletin.htm

CONTINUE TO LIFT UP IN PRAYER THE FOLLOWING:

Our congregation                                                                 Our nation, military and leaders

Our students                                                                         Various friends, relatives and friends

Leon in the Army in Korea

HOLIDAY TRADITIONS

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them…to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant” (Luke 1:68, 72).

As you know, I really like this time of the year with the decorations and the music.  Just add some snow and it would be great!  Much has been written about Christmas and much of it is based on traditions that have developed over almost two thousand years of church history.  Let’s take a look at some of these.

First, we must understand that Christmas, which means Christ mass, began in the 300s A.D.  The early church did not think much about the birth of Christ,  The only idea to remember was the death of Christ on the first day of the week.  One reason for not thinking about the birth of Jesus was the expectation of the return of the Lord quickly.  As the years went on, this idea began to fade.  When Christianity became the state religion, leaders in the church began to develop traditions in which to follow Jesus.  Many of these are now a part of what is known as the church calendar, specific days and weeks such as Lent, Easter, and Advent. 

As the years rolled on, interest in when Jesus was born grew.  Any number of dates have been suggested throughout the calendar year.  Several reasons came into play in the choosing of December 25^th.  One of the important ones was to counteract the pagan celebrations of the winter solace, which were wild and drunken affairs (1).  Even then, it took sometime to change it from that to a more solemn occasion.  As the centuries moved on, less celebration was involved.  After the Reformation began, some of that changed.  Carols began to tell the story of the birth of Christ but also of the traditions that had developed over a thousand year period. 

For instance, we find that it was believed that there were three wise men who came to visit Mary and Joseph based on the three gifts offered, though the Bible doesn’t tell us how many there were.  We also find that they became known as kings.  Epiphany involved the twelve days of Christmas and the revelation to the wise men about the birth.  Names were given to the three wise men as well (2). 

The story of Santa Claus comes from an early monk named Nicholas who lived in Asia Minor (modern day Turkey).  As the story goes, he heard of a man who had three daughters but did not have the dowry to pay for them to marry.  Nicholas having or coming into some money, came to the man’s house late at night and put a bag of gold in the house.  The next morning the father found it and was overjoyed.  This happened each time a daughter was to be married.  The father caught Nicholas who asked that he not tell anyone.  Out of this came the tradition of gift giving, following the giving of the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ.  Nicholas became a saint and the tradition grew.  Various cultures picked up on this tradition and gave different names to it; Kriss Kringle, Sinterklass, and others, with one tradition having a side-kick.  It was a combination of the Clement Moore’s poem, “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and the commercial aspects of the holiday that we now have the Santa we all know and love.

Living in an area with pine trees, we know that they stay green year round.  In many of the northern European countries, this is true as well.  The pagans saw this as hope for the future.  Out of that, Christians took those same ideas of life and hope and began the tradition of the Christmas tree as well as the holly and the ivy (3).  Meaning was given to each part from scripture. 

Other traditions have developed along the way.  The candy cane began as a treat for children in a Cologne, Germany pageant.  It was made to look like a shepherd’s crook.  Out of that developed several ideas.  The shepherd’s crook referred to Jesus as the Good Shepherd, the peppermint, similar to hyssop, which was used for purification and sacrifice in the Old Testament and as a representation of Jesus’ sacrifice, and the red strip as the shed blood of Jesus on the cross.  Poinsettias are very popular at this time of year.  Found in Mexico and because of there winter bloom, they became popular around Nativity scenes.  The color reminded the Aztecs of sacrifice and Christians developed that same theme for the plant as well (4).  There are many other traditions for Christmas that we might or might not be familiar with, ways in which people have attempted to honor the coming of the King.

However, there are several arguments against celebrating in any way this holiday.  One is that many of the traditions have developed out of pagan ideas.  This is true but it doesn’t mean that people have accepted paganism.  Most do not realize or know the pagan roots of some of the traditions.  Most of us do not know the roots of the pagan traditions of the names of the days of the week (Monday, Wednesday, etc.) nor the months of the year (January, March, etc.).  That doesn’t stop us from using the terms.  One can argue if it is wise to make cultural adaptations from pagan ideas to Christian.  I think there is validity in that argument and we must be careful.  By the same token, we can go overboard as well.  Some have used Jeremiah ten in opposition to Christmas because the people of Jeremiah set up trees, decorated them, and then bowed down to worship them.  I know of no one worshipping any trees yet.  I doubt that many of us even think of the original meanings of the tree, we just enjoy looking at them.  Then there is just some silliness out there.  I read one article in which the author was so intent on opposing Christmas that he took the word “noel,” which means to be born, birthday, or coming, and tried to give it the mean of no God; no and “el” an Old Testament word for God.

Traditions have a way of developing and we become so use to them that we do not even think about it (5).  We take the Lord’s Supper each Sunday (can I use that word?) which consists of the bread and the wine.  Jesus instituted the Supper in the midst of the Passover celebration.  A study of the Passover tradition reveals that four cups were used, each representing an idea out of Exodus 3:7-8.  In the original Passover, we find two things; roasted lamb and unleavened bread.  We do not see wine mentioned.  Yet by Jesus’ day, it was part of the tradition.  Interesting, isn’t it? 

Another argument used against this holiday is that we are not told to celebrate any days as special days except the first day of the week and the Lord’s Supper.  Paul argues in Romans 14 that if one wants to celebrate a day as special unto he Lord, then he can, but should not force it on anyone else.  Purim is a minor holiday for the Jewish people that developed out of the events in the book of Esther.  Another major holiday for the Jews is Hanukkah.  It developed out of the events of 168-165 B.C. and the desecration of the Temple by pagans.  Interesting, in the Gospel of John, John mentions the times that Jesus was involved in several Passover events.  He also mentions “the Festival of Dedication at Jerusalem.  It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade” (10:22-23).  Here was a non-Biblical holiday that Jesus seemed to be participating in. 

So why celebrate Christmas?  I think that it is an individual choice if one wants to or not.  Having a Christmas tree or singing a Christmas carol certainly suggests a recognition of the day whether you consider it that or not.  A congregation, who in unity, agrees to celebrate it is also perfectly scriptural as Romans 14 suggests.  I enjoyed a candlelight service in a sister congregation several years ago.  Listening to the familiar carols and there rich meanings can focus our attention on the joy of God coming into His creation to redeem us from our sins (6).  While limited to a small area at the birth of Christ, angels “celebrated” with song the announcement to the shepherds and the shepherds went away praising God (see Luke 2:1-20). 

Another reason to celebrate it is that despite all the hustle and bustle of the shopping season, there is a reason for the holiday.  We can focus peoples attention on what that is through the use of traditions and songs.  We can call people back to the origins of the holiday by using traditions.  Interestingly, there was a time in American history where it was illegal to celebrate Christmas.  As more European immigrants came however, that changed.  The Puritans saw it as a problem, especially because of the wild nature of the day in England.  “Give us some piggy pudding” from the song We Wish You A Merry Christmas became a means to threaten the well-to-do into giving not only food but other items.  Roving bands of thugs would threaten people.  Finally law and order was restored and the holiday became what it is today.

Sometimes I think we send the wrong message in opposing this holiday.  Our rather humorist tradition has been to preach on the resurrection on Christmas and the birth of Jesus on Easter.  One can imagine how a visitor would react when it would be announced that we do not celebrate Christmas because we are not told to celebrate any holidays.  The response, as I have personally heard, is, you do not believe in the birth of Christ.  Explanations can be given but a visitor already has an expectation and an impression.  It would appear even more contradictory if he sees a Christmas tree in one’s house.  I also think that some churches not meeting last year on Christmas day, which was a Sunday, sent the wrong message as well.  While Christmas is a family day, what better place to be than with brothers and sisters in Christ.

You can draw your own conclusions to how to view Christmas.  I have mine.  We are thankful that God came into this world, Immanuel, God with us; and we are thankful that He died for us, bearing as a sin offering our sins; and we are thankful that God raised Him from the dead, offering us hope, confident expectation, of eternal life with Him.

                                                                                                                                George B. Mearns

(1) J. John, A Christmas Compendium, Continuum, 2005.  He offers brief explanations to many of the traditions we see and hear about around Christmas.

(2) See the popular song We Three Kings of Orient Are.  The five verses tell a story and give meaning to each gift, and indicate quite clearly the purpose of Jesus’ coming.

(3) See the songs O Christmas Tree and The Holly and The Ivy.

(4) J. John, ibid., p. 91.

(5) Next week we will look at some traditions that have developed around the birth of Christ itself, especially in song.

(6) Carols for the most part focus on Biblical events where as songs of the holiday focus on non-Biblical or secular ideas such has shopping.