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Robyn was angry and confused. She had just discovered that
her much beloved roly-poly red robed Santa Claus was a marketing
ploy invented in the early 20th century by Coca Cola to encouraging
consumerism. She was angry because she realized she had been
duped by the commercialization of what should be the most
meaningful season of the year. She was also confused because
she didn't know how to break the news to her kids that Santa
Claus wasn't real without destroying their faith in her honesty.
"I hate Christmas," she told me. "I eat too
much, drink too much and constantly rush from one store to
another, afraid that I have forgotten to buy a gift for someone
important. The fact that we are celebrating the birth of Christ
hardly even registers on my screen."
How many of us, like Robyn, feel that we have been duped but
find it difficult to move beyond the commercialization of
Christmas to the true meaning of the season? What should be
an ideal opportunity to model and teach simplicity and the
tenets of our faith to our children has become one of the
greatest displays of materialism and the values of the consumer
society. But how do we escape from the insidious pressures
we face at this season?
First we need to establish and focus on meaningful traditions
that reflect our Christian faith and values. My husband and
I did not grow up in the Anglican church, but in the last
few years we have embraced the tradition of the Advent wreath
with great enthusiasm. Each morning before breakfast we light
the appropriate candles and read the scriptures for the day
from the Book of Common Prayer. It is a wonderful way to focus
our lives on the real celebration - the coming of Christ,
Emmanuel - God with us, God in us, God for us. We also go
on retreat for a day or two during the Christmas season, using
this as a time to reflect and reprioritize our use of time
and resources on God's purposes for us as Christian disciples.
Of course we do also like to enter into the celebration aspects
of the season. We hold an annual Advent party that focuses
on our anticipation of the return of Christ and the coming
of God's Kingdom in all its fullness when all things will
be made new.
Second, we need to look at ways to transform the symbols of
the consumer culture into expressions of our faith. I suggested
to Robyn that she share with her children the story of St
Nicholas who lived in Turkey in the fourth century and was
known for his expressions of love for God and for neighbour.
One of the best-known stories involves a poor man who did
not have enough money to provide dowries for his three unmarried
daughters. As a result they were likely to become prostitutes.
Nicholas walked past the house on three successive nights
and each time threw in a bag of gold. He became a symbol of
anonymous gift giving. Robyn encouraged her kids to focus
their gift giving on those who were really in need at this
season and in so doing to remember the One who gave us the
greatest gift of all - Christ our Saviour. They volunteered
to serve Christmas dinner at a local homeless shelter and
bought a goat for a poor family in Ethiopia. "It was
our most satisfying Christmas ever, " she said.
It may be too late this year to do much about your consumer
extravaganza but start planning early for next year. Sit down
with your family and your friends and talk about what is really
meaningful for you during the Christmas season. Develop a
plan of action so that next year you too can enter into the
joy of Christ's birth and the wonder of God coming into our
world to dwell among us without the overwhelming pressures
of consumerism.
Christine and her husband Tom live and
work in America, but are well known throughout their world
for their commitment to helping Christians model their whole
life on faith. Together they have recently written Living
on Purpose. 206 pages Baker Books; ISBN: 0801063884
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