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Robbie Price
Robbie Price's blog
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Tis the Season.....for Controversy
1 star|3 comments|December 10, 2007|606 reads
 
It seems that the Christmas season each year gets more controversial every year. 

On one side you have the group that is trying to rename the holiday so you do not offend any one.  So instead of Christmas you get your choice of what to call that day:
Happy Holidays
Merry X-mas
Happy the next major holiday after Thanksgiving
Merry rhyme's with ShishMas

The local hospital has an annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.  It is an elaborate event and they always have some local dignitary as the official tree lighter.  Over the years I have seen it go from
"Come celebrate our Christmas tree lighting ceremony" to
"Come celebrate our Holiday tree lighting ceremony" to this year (no lie)
"Come celebrate our tree lighting ceremony."

Bah Humbug!!

It makes the headlines if someone sticks with the word Christmas.  I read recently that Lowes was actually going to sell (gasp) Christmas Trees as the liberals jingle bells tremble.

This year however it seems like there is more (or maybe I am just aware of more) discussion  within Christian circles about the evils of Christmas.  I will be the first to admit we as Americans have turned the Christmas holiday into a gluttonous feast of materialism.

I will also admit that Christ needs to be the center of our Christmas celebration.  That being said the American Christmas has many traditions that have emerged over the years, Christmas lights, Santa Claus, caroling, Alvin & the Chipmunks.  So I think as Christians as long as you keep Christ the focus, it is harmless to enjoy the other festivities of the season.

Growing up we could not go down an open our gifts on Christmas morning until my Dad had read us the Christmas story.  That was probably the longest scripture reading I have ever endured (that is saying a lot, because I sat through a lot of sermons).  But it is probably the thing I remeber most about Christmas in our house.

We as Christians have a habit of demonizing things whether it be Santa, Teletubbies, certain books or movies.  We seem to have a fear of fiction.  The God I know & serve is bigger than any fictional character I have ever learned about.

The logic that if you teach your children about Santa and then they find out he is not real, they will likewise think that Christ is not real, does not hold with me.  If my children do not believe that Christ is real because they find out Santa is not real then as a parent I have done a horrible job of teaching them about Christ.  It means I have relegated Christ to nothing more than a bunch of stories.  I have not lived the life.

Think about a child's life and how much of it is rooted in fiction and how much in reality.  If we had to go by the above logic then when your child finds out that Barney, the Wiggles or the Tooth fairy are not real they could think the same about Christ.

It seems the real winner in the Christmas controversy is Satan.  While half of us our worried that the government is trying to secularize religious holiday the other half is worried that participating in established Christmas traditions could set jeopardize or children's future.  Satan sits back and laughs as he has successful taken the focus of Christ during the Christmas season.

I'm not saying I'm right in this, I am just thinking out loud.  Love to hear your comments (except negative ones it is Christmas after all)

Merry Christmas
Robbie

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Chris Chesley
 Chris Chesley
December 11, 2007

Robbie,

I think you are right with this perspective. Sometimes, I think to myself that  it might have been better if a long time ago the well meaning early church pioneers had not come up with the Christmas celebration beacuse although the purpose of taking a specific time and devoting it to the remembering and celebration of the coming of Jesus to earth is a great concept, we Christians have so neglected this focus and  proper celebration that sometimes I wonder if it is even worth it to take part in it.

Then I remember though that as long as me and my family keep the focus right as you say in your blog, then the other stuff (within reason) is okay to enjoy and particpate in. So, that was a long comment with the end result being: I agree!

God bless you and your family, and Merry Christmas.

 

P.S. What do you mean Santa is not real????!!! 

Katrina Bradberry
 Katrina Bradberry
December 11, 2007
I think that this is a perfect blog...it covers so many of my own feelings.  I personally love Christmas!  If we are keeping the Christ child's birth at the center of our celebrating, what is wrong with that celebration lasting for weeks?  Wouldn't it be awesome if we stayed as excited throughout the rest of the year as we do at Christmas!!!
Karen Bradberry
 Karen Bradberry
December 15, 2007
"Ho! Ho! Ho!  This is not politically correct. 
This was told to me by a little boy in elementary school...something he had heard at school I think.  And the reason is..................well, you can probably take a stab at why "someone" thought it inappropriate. I am appalled at them stifiling Santa!
Robbie, your blog was great. I am 53 years old and finally I did find out santa was not real....
I looked for Santa and sang songs about him. Left him cookies. Left many a tooth under my pillow too for the "tooth fairy".
And I knew there was Jesus..that He was real. That God was everywhere, all the time. Never did I compare Him to santa or the easter bunny or the tooth fairy!!  Show your children that Jesus is the true reason for celebrating Christmas. And keep celebrating it all year long so your children will know that He is important enough to celebrate all the time!!! Make Him an everyday Jesus!

And Rob, you are right.....satan is having a real time with this season.
Probably laughing at us believers as we try to deal with all the hub-bub [a word?] and taking the focus off of Christ. 
Happy Holidays? Uh...I hope all of them are.
But there is only one Merry Christmas....so lets keep our Christ in Christmas and let others see that He is first in our season of love.
MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!