Christmas Mash-up

This is the tenth in a series of twelve personal reflections on Christmas posted during the 12 Days of Christmas.

Okay. It is really starting to feel not like Christmas. The "holidays" are over. It's back to work today. Tomorrow it's back to school for the kids.

Yet three days of Christmas remain and I haven't touched on one of the most head-scratching aspects of Christmas yet. Namely, the mash-up between sacred and secular depictions of Christmas: Santa vs. Jesus.

I don't remember the first time I learned that December 25 was most likely not the day which Jesus was born but I don't think it surprised me. Christians co-opted the winter solstice celebration as a way of winning converts and giving the faithful a reason to celebrate along with the rest of the culture. It makes sense from a practical point of view and makes sense from a metaphorical point of view as well. (The return of the Son/sun; light of the world; lightens the darkness etc...) The Christmas tree, extra lights and bringing other natural decorations and signs of life indoors come from those pagan solstice celebrations. They have little to do with Christian belief or theology but are undeniable parts of the Christmas celebration. We even put Christmas trees and greens up in the Worship Room and other places around the church.

And then we have Santa Claus; the legend of the jolly, fat, toy maker who distributes gifts during the hours of darkness between Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Santa Claus was originally Saint Nicholas. But over the years this 4th Century Bishop, who put a coin in shoes that were left outside the homes of poverty stricken families, morphed into the man in the red suit who pilots a sleigh pulled by flying reindeer. Secular culture has struck back, stealing an icon of faith and redirecting the focus of the celebration from Jesus' birth to gift giving.

To be honest, I have forayed into the Jesus vs. Santa debate too. I am no different than the ornament makers who depict Santa bowing down at the manger, worshiping the baby Jesus. One year I even had "Santa" interrupt my Christmas Eve sermon to tell everyone the "real" meaning of Christmas like an enlightened Linus in A Charlie Brown Christmas. 

But I'm not so sure this has to be a debate. The more I learn about faith and tradition the more I realize that it is always a mash-up of the sacred and secular. Maybe that's because the story of Jesus' birth is about the sacred being mashed-up with the secular. God becomes human. It doesn't get more mashed up than that. In fact, the whole Jesus story as recorded in the scriptures can be interpreted as a tearing down of that false division between sacred and secular.

I'm afraid that our attempts to keep a distinct line between sacred and secular are simply ways of confining the sacred in a neat package that can be controlled or used to control others. Maybe the mash-up of Christmas traditions is God's way of telling us that it is okay to live with hope and love and generosity even when we are uncomfortable doing it in a religious way.