Bye Bye Christmas, Hello Holidays
Posted by Mark Greene Fri, 21/11/2003 - 10:45am :: Events and Occasions | more by Mark Greene
'Tis the season to be jolly. Or at least 'tis the season for UK citizens to spend a great deal of money on gifts, and for companies to throw their annual parties. In line with the secularisation of the whole frenetic process, rumour has it that an increasing number of companies are calling the Christmas party, the 'holiday party'. Or are simply avoiding any overt reference to Christmas, containing as it does that offensively religious word 'Christ'. This is, apparently, one more manifestation of the desire not to offend adherents of other faiths who, some obsessively politically correct Human Resource departments seem to believe, will be offended by the use of the term. Well, if they were offended, it would be one thing, but, as the Muslim Lord Ahmed pointed out, very few Muslims are. And I doubt many Hindus or Sikhs are either. On the whole, they expect Christians to be Christians and call their festivals by their proper names.
On the other hand, why should we expect secular organisations to perpetuate the use of a name that suggests they are celebrating the birth of Christ when they aren't. Is that not hypocrisy? Furthermore, why should we let the world use our 'brand' to lend a veneer of legitimacy to celebrations which have so little in common with the values of the kingdom of Christ? Why not just call Christmas 'Get Day' or 'Deeper Debt Day'? Or better still, give it the name of the god that our culture worships. Let's stop pretending that it's about the arrival on earth of the saviour of the world, the God who came to liberate people from sin and give them abundant life. Let's call it Mammon Day.
In the meantime, the Christmas season remains a wonderful time to communicate something of the love of Christ, to bless colleagues, be generous, and explain, in however small a way, what this season means to disciples of Christ. Last year we gave all our staff a star to hang on their trees - a reminder of who they follow, the witness that they are, and the fantastic job they'd done. Others wrap up a Christmas booklet or invest in an advent calendar for their colleagues. And if you're looking for a free conversation starter, you could simply download the elegant advent calendar screensaver developed by SGM - www.sgm.org After all, it isn't the world's job to tell people what Christmas is about. No, it's our privilege to show and share the wonder of the Christ who came for us all.
Mark Greene
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