Luke 2:1-7
A. INTRODUCTION
The way we celebrate Christmas, today, is a long way removed from the story of the first Christmas.
In the story of the first Christmas we have a couple who were going through difficult times. She was having a baby—and they weren’t married. (And although that is quite normal these days, in those days . . . well that meant trouble). At the later stages of her pregnancy, she was required to go on a journey because a census was being held. And, on top of that, when they got to their destination, no appropriate accommodation was available.
When Jesus was born, there was no cot to put him in. And an animals feeding trough had to double up as his bed. And, of course, their difficulties didn’t end there. Because with the baby safely delivered, what happened shortly after . . . was that the local king felt threatened. And, as a consequence, Mary, Joseph, and the baby had to flee to Egypt for their lives.
Now in stark contrast to that, when we celebrate Christmas many of us surround ourselves with comforts and luxuries that Mary and Joseph could only have dreamed of. As a consequence, it can seem that in many ways the original Christmas story has been lost.
So what I thought I’d do, is to examine some of the things that are part of the way that we celebrate Christmas. To see just how they reflect on the original Christmas story. And I’m going to do it as a brief A-Z of Christmas.
B. AN A-Z OF CHRISTMAS
Now we’re going to skip the A’s and go straight to the B’s. Because the first thing I want to consider is Boxing Day.
1. Boxing Day
Now Boxing Day is usually celebrated on December 26th. And I say usually, because until recent years it was never celebrated on a Sunday. And Boxing Day’s claim to fame has absolutely nothing to do with the sport of boxing. Rather, it has to do with the giving of a Christmas Box, which was a well-deserved and expected gift, to someone who was owed a debt of gratitude.
Its origins began in Roman times, and it was a custom associated with the worship of the Roman god Saturn, in the festival they held in the god’s honour in December each year. Now, obviously, as far as the church was concerned, they were determined to stamp out the worship of Saturn. However, the practice of giving a box was so popular, that all attempts to ban it failed. So, instead, the church decided to adopt the practice, by giving it new meaning.
And so this Christmas Box became a symbol of the church’s charity. Indeed, every congregation had one. And each Christmas Day after the morning service, the boxes would be opened, and the priest would distribute the proceeds the next day, or if the next day was a Sunday, the day after that. And hence the giving of the name Boxing Day.
Now in modern times, the religious custom of giving to the poor became secularised. And in the 19th and 20th centuries, at Christmas time, apprentices began to go to their employer’s customers with a box, with a view to them putting a small tip inside.
And that is something that is no longer widely practiced. But the name and, for some, the custom of opening their presents on Boxing Day, remains nonetheless.
2. Christmas Card
Now, the C’s take us to the Card–—the Christmas Card. And it might surprise some people, that the Christmas Card doesn’t have a long history at all. Indeed, the card was invented by Sir Henry Cole in 1843. And his reason for doing so was not for religious reasons, but rather that he wanted to improve public taste. He owned an art shop, and went out of his way to sell anything that would improve and beautify life. And according to Sir Henry nothing was too small or too trifling to deserve his attention.
At the time the Christmas card was created, the Valentine’s Day card had been in existence for about a century. An 18th century Frenchman had adopted the practice of writing verse on the cards he sent people. And in English schools, the practice of pupils sending parents Christmas wishes in copperplate handwriting with borders and headings had become common. But Sir Henry was the first to put these ideas together. And with the one intention, to add a bit of beauty, gloss, and colour to Christmas Day.
Initially, the whole enterprise was a flop. And it took well over twenty years for the Christmas Card to be accepted. But when it was accepted, big business quickly adopted the card. So that three decades after their introduction, one hundred and sixty-three thousand varieties of card had been produced.
3. Christmas Eve
The letter E brings us to Christmas Eve, and the practice of beginning celebrations the night before Christmas.
Now this practice dates back to the idea that the day doesn’t begin at midnight, but rather when it gets dark. And there is a very good biblical argument for this. Because the idea of the day beginning at night comes from the book of Genesis, from the story of creation. In which it was said after the first day, ‘There was evening and morning—the first day” (Genesis 1:5b). In other words the biblical view of a day is that it begins when night falls. Hence the practice of beginning Christmas the night before, and the custom of some to open their presents on Christmas Eve.
4. Holly
The letter H brings us to holly. And being an evergreen plant, its place in Christmas recalls the idea of everlasting life. In addition, the red berries have been linked to the drops of blood Jesus shed just prior to his crucifixion. The prickly leaves being a reminder of the crown of thorns mockingly placed on his head by the Roman soldiers.
5. Minced Pies
M is for minced pie. Originally it was oblong in shape, with a crusty cover which was indented in the centre. In other words, it was in the shape of a miniature cradle. And in the hollow, a small pastry doll—the figure of the Christ child—was placed.
In actual fact, the minced pie was originally a meat pie, filled with minced lamb’s tongue and mutton. But during the time of the Crusades about 800 A.D., spices were brought back from the East. The meat pie became transformed. And eventually the idea of the pie being shaped like a crib was lost—and became round in shape, like we know it today.
6. Christmas Pudding
The letter P brings us to the Christmas pudding. Now, the Christmas Pudding, like the minced pie, began its life as part of the main course to a meal. Originally, it was a side-dish of wheat boiled in milk. And they were made because it was believed that by making and eating these puddings, the barren fields of the cold northern winter would be magically transformed into fertile fields again.
At some stage, however, the Christian church forgot the original meaning of the pudding. And, as the practice was to have a fast before the Christmas feast, they adopted the eating of the pudding, on its own, as the means to break the fast.
However, gradually the practice of fasting was discontinued. And even though the pudding was retained as a side dish for the Christmas dinner, little by little, it was enriched to include other ingredients, until we finally have the puddings many enjoy today.
7. Stocking
S is for stocking, and its origins are very unclear. Indeed, it is said that St Nicholas (otherwise known as Santa Claus), who was renowned for doing good (especially in secret), heard that there were three sisters who were desperately poor. And so one night he went to their home, And, in the days when chimneys were unknown, tossed three pieces of gold through the smoke hole in the side of the house. As the story goes, however, instead of dropping on the hearth, the coins fell into the girls’ stockings that they had hung up to dry. And as December 25th became dedicated to the memory of St Nicholas, his life, charity, and the stocking became linked with the birth of Christ.
Of course, whether you believe that or not, I’ll leave that up to you. More likely, the custom derives from the custom of putting one’s savings into a shoe. A custom which later developed into the use of stockings because their elasticity made them much more suitable.
8. Tinsel
T brings us firstly to tinsel – with its glittering nature. And the idea of light decorating the tree, so that darkness cannot prevail.
9. Tree
T is also for Christmas tree, which has as its origins with three basic concepts: with the Roman idea that green foliage and candles are needed in winter to magically bring new life when everything seems dead; with the practice of the Romans, who in December each year decorated their homes and temples with foliage, as a symbol of good will to all; and with the idea from Norse mythology, that the branches and roots of trees in some way link together heaven, earth and hell, and are symbols of enduring and renewed life.
Now, the Christian church knew all these traditions, and consequently tried to abolish the tree. However trees were too popular. So again they adopted the tree, but gave it a new interpretation. Indeed, evergreen branches symbolised the eternal nature of the spirit. And with the inclusion of candles (which was a Jewish tradition), the tree became a symbol of nature and the eternal hope of spring.
The practice of having trees in homes, however, took off in Germany first, and then spread through migrants, sailors, and merchants.
10. X-mas
And so our journey through that A-Z of Christmas is almost complete. That is, apart from that abbreviation that stirs up so many people—the concept of X-mas.
Now for those who are irritated by such expression—because it seems that the name Christ has been replaced by an X—I’m sorry I’m going to disappoint you. Because the reality is, that the abbreviation was a creation of Christian monks and had the Church’s full approval.
You see the letter X is the equivalent of the Greek letter Chi. And Chi is the first letter in the Greek word for Christ. Scribes in earlier days were busy people, and copying texts by hand was a long and arduous task. Parchment paper was also very expensive. So the solution to reducing the burden, and to ease the cost of parchment, was to come up with a bit of shorthand—of which X for Christ is just one example.
C. IMPLICATIONS
Now I’ve been through a number of practices and traditions that we are familiar with at Christmas, and each has a story of its own. Most customs have had beginnings outside the Christian faith. And most of them were given new meanings to make them relevant to the Christmas story.
Nevertheless, the truth is that today the meaning of many of the customs has changed again. Some of which have no real meaning, but may be just fun things to do.
The question from a Christian point of view is, though, are these customs helpful or unhelpful? Do they help us to remember the meaning of Christmas? Or do they simply distract us from it?
From a Christian point of view, if Christmas is about God’s plan to save you and me, if it’s about making us worthy of living life in eternity with him, if it’s about Jesus being born so that he could bear the punishment of our sins . . . If all that is true, then what are we doing when we celebrate Christmas with trees and tinsel and pies and presents? And have we, as a society, really lost the plot regarding what Christmas is supposed to be all about?
D. CONCLUSION
Each year, about September these days, the shops start to fill with Christmassy sorts of things. Trees and decorations begin to fill up the shelves. And we are reminded that cards are to be sent, and food is to be bought, including, turkey and ham and puddings and cakes, etc.
And some of these things may have special meaning, and some of these things may be just fun to do. But do they help us to remember what Christmas is supposed to be all about? Or are they simply a hindrance to the way we should be thinking about our faith?
That is the challenge we face this Christmas (and every Christmas). As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, with the many trappings we have inherited.
Posted: 9th December 2023
© 2023, Brian A Curtis
www.brianacurtis.com.au
