The Commercialism VS. Keeping Christ in Christmas Debate

'Tis the season to be jolly' - I used to be an executive at a major retailer some time ago and I started that job the week of Thanksgiving. At one of the executive meetings, the boss was welcoming me to the store and introducing me to the other store executives. He said, "Beau, I know you just got married, but tell your wife right now, that working in retail ruins Christmas for you forever." Everyone in the room laughed but nodded in recognizable agreement.

I got to experience "Black Friday" first hand and was a little disturbed and delighted at the same time. We opened the doors at 6am and over 600 people rushed in the door almost trampling a baby in a stroller. I headed over to the Electronics department and the sheer mayhem of people fighting over who was first in line to get our limited numbers of a camera was like something out of a movie. From a business perspective it was great! We normally did about $80k on any given day. This day we had totalled just under half a million dollars, doing $80k by ten o'clock that morning. But when I got home I was disgusted at the display I had just witnessed. How commercial-- people were treating if they did not get their child the new "Wii" (that's the new game system for all of you who are not in the loop) that it was "apocalypse now!"

On the flip side, there is the controversy of taking the "Christ" out of Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I am a Christian man, I live my life by faith and the word of God. I believe in Jesus Christ, pray and read my Bible daily... But I take issue with the debate over us making a big deal over other people not wanting to acknowledge this day as Jesus' birthday. To Christians this is a day that we celebrate as the birth of our Lord and Savior, but to non-believers -- it's just a day when a bunch of people get together and eat and exchange gifts. The day means nothing to them. It would be no different than me getting upset because my sister's birthday is on September 11, and the rest of the world is calling it "Remember 9/11 Day" and I want them to acknowledge it as my sister's birthday. I can't force them to do that. Could that be why certain stores say, "Happy Holidays," instead of "Merry Christmas?"

I'm not even sure if Jesus would be mad about it. Many of these people (not all, maybe not even most) don't even live with a relationship with Jesus consistently for the rest of the year... but make a big deal over Christmas. There is a verse in the Bible where Jesus says, "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord' and do not the things that I say." I thought that was an interesting thing for Him to say. That reminds me of people not doing a thing the boss says on the job, but on Boss's Day they try to rectify it with gifts. Just my random thought.

So someone says, "Happy Holidays...." To them it is Happy Holidays. But we say, "Merry Christmas." To them it's not. How can they acknowledge a day of someone they don't know. Can you acknowledge my sister's birthday on September 11 and genuinely be concerned on whether she has a "Happy Birthday" or not? Maybe you can.

That gives me a thought. On Halloween, many churches across the country have a "substituted" version and they call it, Hallelujah Night, or Harvest Days, etc. At this time, they allow the children to come out and dress in non-threatening costumes, and get candy and have fun. They just call it something else. Which I think is a good idea. Your 7 year old does not care about demons and ghosts, or even the cross and blood of Jesus, all they know when you don't let them participate is that "everybody else got candy, and I didn't" and may even grow up to resent your explanation of why not. On those Hallelujah Nights, it gives the parents an opportunity to impart whatever message they want. Does this sounds familiar? Strange double-standard. Maybe the devil worshipers and witches should come and protest Harvest Days?

Do you still do the commercialism side of Christmas by going out and buying a whole bunch of gifts and fighting on Black Friday, and just insist that we call it the Christmas season? Same concept. Non-believers do the same thing of commercialism of shopping and say "Happy Holidays" to the cashier at the register.

Only difference is that when you get home, you impart to the children the "reason for the season."

So maybe it's appropriate for them to use the algebraic symbol "X" meaning "unknown" to spell Xmas, because they don't know why they are celebrating. But you know Jesus is the reason for the season. And when the cashier says, "Happy Holidays" you can just say "It sure is... Thank God for Jesus' birth."