Holy Day?

A recent conversation I had involving the topic of whether "Happy Holidays" is an appropriate or tolerable phrase for Christians inspired me to do a little research yesterday.

During the conversation, I had wondered aloud whether the people who complain the loudest about the use of the phrase "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas," and who every year object to the "secularization" of Christmas in the "public square" and in the "marketplace," and who demand that we "keep Christ in Christmas," even bother to attend church on Christmas day. That in turn got me wondering whether most churches (except Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and other liturgical churches) are even open on Christmas.

I don't remember ever—even once—during my upbringing as an Evangelical Christian attending church on Christmas day. Christmas Eve, yes, but never on Christmas day.

So I decided to makes some calls. I contacted fifty local (and two out-of-state) Evengelical churches to find out who was holding services on Christmas day and who was not. Out of fifty-two Evengelical churches, a total of ...zero... were planning to celebrate Christmas on Christmas. In fact fifteen of them (that's 30%) weren't even having services on Christmas Eve! One of the churches that was planning four Christmas Eve services, not only wasn't planning to be open on Christmas day, but wasn't even having services on the 26th...that's a Sunday! Another church was planning a New Years party, and yet another was planning a "burning bowl" ceremony on the 31st (according to the receptionist, that's where you write down all your problems and concerns for the coming year and toss them into a flaming bowl for "god" to receive). Some churches were scheduled to have "candlelight" servies only on the 24th, others on the 23rd and 24th; five churches were planning three or more pre-Christmas services. But not one, I repeat: not a single one was planning to come together as a community on the feast of God's Incarnation in the flesh to celebrate His birth of a Virgin as foretold by the Prophets. Not one.

So, what's my point in all this? My point is that anyone who can't be bothered to get dressed and go to church on Christmas morning might do well to rethink whether or not they have a leg to stand on when demanding that people say "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays." I have heard people say of politics that if you don't vote, you have no right to complain about the government. I believe the same principle applies here: if you don't make a practice of attending church on Christmas day, you forfeit your right to complain when someone else says "Happy Holidays."

Furthermore, I would suggest that anyone who attends a church that doesn't even bother to open its doors on Christmas (even if it happens to fall on a Sunday!) is not to be taken seriously when they complain about the secularization of Christmas in the "public square" or when they boycott retailers and other businesses for not giving Christmas its proper respect. (see also here, here, here, here, etc...) My guess (and I welcome your correction if I am wrong) is that these churches have also done away with any observance whatsoever of any other event in the life of Christ (like His baptism, or His presentation in the Temple, or His Transfiguration, or His Ascension), or of the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost; and heaven forbid they should ever commemorate Mary or the Saints!*

I think it's pretty safe to say (and, again, please correct me if I'm wrong) that a lot of these churches that choose to lock their doors on Christmas, and that have decided to eliminate altogether the many other beautiful holy days throughout the year are the same ones that use theater seating, laserlight shows, rock bands, multimedia, and dramatic performance to entertain communicate their message. And these are probably the same ones that have removed from their building any visual cues that would identify the place as a house of worship (except maybe a cross above the rock band).

The "worship space" looks like a high school auditorium hosting a battle-of-the-bands contest, the "praise and worship" music sounds like something you would (and sometimes do) hear on any secular radio station, the feasts of the church are gone, any sense of majesty: gone; any sense of spirituality: gone; any sense of beauty, wonder, humilty, dignity, or awe: gone; any motivation to humble oneself before their Creator: gone. In other words, these places are about as secular as a "Christian" community can possibly be and yet there are people who attend them that actually have the temerity to complain, not about the secularization of their own churches, but about the secularization of the secular world. Hey folks; I undersand you want to put Christ "back into Christmas," but how about first putting Him back into Christianity!

If there is, in fact, a "war on Christmas," it is being LOST in American Evangelical "churches." Please pray for these people, that the scales may fall from their eyes and that they will allow the Lord to lead them into His Church.


*And yet, curiously, some modern churches have adopted the practice of observing Jewish holidays! That's right: they have eliminated all the ancient Christian Holy Days (except for one, Easter. Although I wonder: would these churches even celebrate Easter if it didn't happen to fall on a Sunday every year?) and have replaced them with non-Christian festivals! The old Jewish observances were given for the purpose of foretelling the coming of the Messiah. Now that the Messaiah has come, there is no need to celebrate them. Modern Evangelical Christians would know this if they had not completely lost touch with historic Christianity.

And please don't tell me that merely holding a candlelight Christmas Eve service is equivalent to celebrating Christmas, especially if you're unwilling to allow that "Happy Holidays" is as acceptible a greeting as "Merry Christmas." Christmas is, after all, one of the holiest days of the Christian calendar. At least to some of us...

St Nicholas: He Who Punches Heretics in the Face (and Gives Gifts to Children)

source
When President Teddy Roosevelt was a college student, he taught a Sunday School class for elementary school children. During this time, Roosevelt awarded a dollar to a boy in his Sunday School class for beating the snot out of a bully who tormented little girls. "You did exactly right," said Roosevelt with pride. However, the congregation disagreed. They immediately dismissed Roosevelt for teaching the "un-Christian" principle of laying the smack down on those who have it coming to them.
Well, if tradition is true, that little boy was also richly rewarded by Jolly Old Saint Nicholas since the good Saint Nick allegedly "h-slapped" ("heretic slapped") the heresiarch Arius. You see, Arius wrongly taught that Christ was not fully divine. Rather, Arius taught that Christ had been created by God the Father.
During the First Ecumenical Council of Nicea (AD 325), Arius was called upon to defend his position on the inferiority of Christ. Saint Nicholas just couldn't listen to all of Arius' nonsense and so he stood up and laid in to Arius with his fist.
The Emperor Constantine and the bishops present at the Council were alarmed by Nicholas' act of violence against Arius. They immediately stripped Nicholas of his office as a bishop by confiscating the two items that marked out a man as a Christian bishop: Nicholas' personal copy of the Gospels and his pallium (the vestment worn by all bishops in the East).
Now if that were the end of the story, we probably wouldn't know about Saint Nicholas, and our children wouldn't be asking him for presents. However, after Nicholas was deposed, the Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary visited Nicholas who was being held in a prison cell for his fist-fight with the heretic.
Our Lord Jesus Christ asked Saint Nicholas, "Why are you here?" Nicholas responded, "Because I love you, my Lord and my God."

Christ then presented Nicholas with his copy of the Gospels. Next, the Blessed Virgin vested Nicholas with his episcopal pallium, thus restoring him to his rank as a bishop.

In Defense of the Christmas Tree

From Mystagogy:

By Father Daniel Daly

Several years ago during the Christmas season, a religious program on television caught my attention. The program featured a discussion on the dangers of cults, especially to young people. I found myself agreeing with the panelists as they warned young people about the hazards of involvement in occult or “new age” spirituality.

During the interview, however, one participant made a statement that shocked me. “…and the Christmas tree is pagan too…,” he asserted. The Christmas Tree? Pagan? Could it be that something most of us enjoy so much might be actually pagan in origin? Despite its growing commercialization, the Christmas tree is still associated with the fondest memories of our early childhood. Who does not remember approaching the tree on Christmas morning? Today people are so captivated by it that some even put it up in November! It finds a place in the homes of believers and unbelievers alike.

Most people are aware that the Christmas tree came to America with immigrants from Germany, but just where did the Christmas tree originate? Are its origins to be found in paganism, as the speaker suggested?

The Christmas tree does not date from early Germanic times. Its origins are to be found in a tradition that has virtually disappeared from Christianity, the Liturgical Drama. In the Middle Ages liturgical plays or dramas were presented during or sometimes immediately after the services in the churches of Western Europe. The earliest of these plays were associated with the Mysteries of Holy Week and Easter. Initially they were dramatizations of the liturgical texts. The earliest recorded is the Quem quaeritis (“Whom do you seek?”) play of the Easter season. These plays later developed into the Miracle and Morality plays. Some were associated with events in the lives of well-known saints. The plays were presented on the porches of large churches. Although these liturgical dramas have now virtually disappeared, the Passion Play of Oberammergau, Germany is a recent revival of this dramatic form.

One mystery play was presented on Christmas Eve, the day which also commemorated the feast of Adam and Eve in the Western Church. The “Paradise Play” told the well-known story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Paradise. The central “prop” in the play was the Paradise Tree, or Tree of Knowledge. During the play this tree was brought in laden with apples.

The Paradise Tree became very popular with the German people. They soon began the practice of setting up a fir tree in their homes. Originally, the trees were decorated with bread wafers commemorating the Eucharist. Later, these were replaced with various kinds of sweets. Our Christmas tree is derived, not from the pagan yule tree, but from the paradise tree adorned with apples on December 24 in honor of Adam and Eve. The Christmas tree is completely biblical in origin.

The first Christmas tree dates from 1605 in Strasbourg. By the 1700s the custom of the Christmas tree was widespread among the German people. It was brought to America by early German immigrants, and it became popular in England through the influence of Prince Albert, the German husband of Queen Victoria.

The use of evergreens at Christmas may date from St. Boniface of the eighth century, who dedicated the fir tree to the Holy Child in order to replace the sacred oak tree of Odin; but the Christmas tree as we know it today does not appear to be so ancient a custom. It appears first in the Christian Mystery play commemorating the biblical story of Adam and Eve.

How legitimate is it to use a fir tree in the celebration of Christmas? From the very earliest days of the Church, Christians brought many things of God’s material creation into their life of faith and worship, e.g., water, bread, wine, oil, candles and incense. All these things are part of God’s creation. They are part of the world that Christ came to save. Man cannot reject the material creation without rejecting his own humanity. In Genesis man was given dominion over the material world.

Christmas celebrates the great mystery of the Incarnation. In that mystery God the Word became man. In order to redeem us, God became one of us. He became part of His own creation. The Incarnation affirms the importance of both man and the whole of creation. “For God so loved the world…”

A faith which would seek to divorce itself from all elements of the material world in search for an absolutely spiritual religion overlooks this most central mystery of Christmas, the mystery of God becoming man, the Incarnation. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” Enjoy your Christmas tree.

Originally published in “The Word” magazine, December 2002. The Very Rev. Daniel Daly is pastor of St. Nicholas Orthodox Church, Grand Rapids, MI.