The Last Day of Advent

The season of Advent ends today and the Twelve-Day season of Christmas begins at midnight.  The Church calendar and liturgical seasons change as the days pass, but the “reasons for the seasons” continue on.  The end of the Advent season today does not rule out the possibility that we may still hear an annunciation, or see some star beckoning us to follow, or be visited by some Gabriel  next month, or in May, or perhaps even in September 2018.  No calendar or liturgy can control or hold the Spirit in bondage!  Advent and Christmas continue—there is no end for the “reasons for the seasons.”

We hear many say during the seasons of Advent and Christmas that we should “Keep Christ in Christmas.”  In fact, for a number of years, religious conservatives have proclaimed that a “war on Christmas” was being waged by some (liberals, Jews, progressives, Muslims, etc.) to take Christ out of Christmas!  Well, NO, that is not what they have been harping about.  What they have been harping about is semantics—their battle has been waged over whether or not we (Christians or otherwise) should be inclusive.  The so-called “war on Christmas” trumped up by Bill O’Reilly and Fox News in recent years raised issue with the words “Happy Holidays,” saying that the term was an affront to the typical “Merry Christmas” greeting. Saying,  “holiday” (which means “holy day”) was some kind of plot, they ascertained, to outlaw the “Merry Christmas” greeting and thus remove “Christ” from Christmas.

But now the “war” is over we are told.  President Trump has brought Christmas back!  “Remember I said we’re bringing Christmas back?” he bragged some weeks ago in Utah.  “Christmas  is back, bigger and better than ever before.  We’re bringing Christmas back.”  On Christmas Day a commercial sponsored by America First Policies (a nonprofit group formed by former Trump campaign aides) will be aired on TV in which it will be proclaimed “everyday Americans are standing to thank President Trump.”  It will continue to announce that that thank you includes “letting us” say, “Merry Christmas” again.”

“Keeping Christ in Christmas” is not something we do, or can do.  We didn’t invent it or create it.   Christmas has never been lost, not in America or anywhere else in the world.  Mr. Trump does not and cannot “bring Christmas back,” nor can he make it “bigger and better than ever before.” Those who buy into that claim have just left Christ out of Christmas!